Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
Staplehouse, the one-Michelin-starred restaurant dreamed up by chef Ryan Hidinger prior to his death in 2014, has gone through numerous iterations in the past decade. It’s been a prix fixe restaurant, a neighborhood market, an a la carte lunch spot, and back again. Owner/chef Ryan Smith recently stopped offering a tasting menu at Staplehouse. Instead, he’s serving a 14-or-15-item one at Uberto, a fine dining restaurant at Quercus, a working farm and luxury ranch resort in Gay, Georgia, for which he serves as culinary director and founding partner. Located about an hour south of Atlanta, Uberto was originally designed as the in-house restaurant for guests staying on the property. However, Smith and his wife, Staplehouse co-owner Kara Hidinger, decided to open it to the public on Friday and Saturday evenings.
“This whole place is an extension of welcoming people into our home,” Smith says. “The thought of this place is reducing the distance your food needs to travel for you to eat it.”
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
Every dish has a connection to Quercus, although select ingredients may come from other local producers. The food is associated with the seasons and changes with product availability. Vegetables are a priority, and meals last approximately three hours with the first few items hitting the table at once. However, Smith does not want diners to leave feeling overly full or bloated.
“‘Restaurant’ is rooted in the word ‘restore’. We want to restore you during your visit through intentionally feeding you food that will help you digest and give you energy,” he says.
Photo by Andrew Thomas LEe
One dish he’s excited about is a beet that’s cooked, dehydrated, and vacuum sealed with olive oil, vinegar, and beef fat emulsion, then arranged in the shape of a rose with horseradish and sourdough rye. It results in a meaty texture that Smith describes as “like a roast beef sandwich, but not.” He’s been working on the technique for years. Other dishes may include beef tartare with aji dulce, chicken noodle curry, and sablefish with kimchi.
The meal costs $255 per person with wine pairings for an additional $125. Biodynamic wine by the glass, cocktails, beer, and non-alcoholic options are available, too.
Photo by Emily Followill
Though Uberto seats 30 diners, Smith says he prefers people have room to relax and plans to space out guests among multiple seatings per evening. Inspired by the flora and fauna of the farm, Uberto is decorated in calming colors and natural materials. The outside of the dark green building looks like a barn. Visitors enter near the garden. Inside, there are handmade tables and chairs and plates made from clay harvested on the property. Custom steak knives feature handles made with wood also on the property. In the center of the dining room, there’s a dimly lit, glassed-in food laboratory. There, Smith and his team experiment with fermentation and innovative culinary techniques during off hours.
“We built an experimental lab in the center of dining room because that is the heart and soul of how I like to approach food,” Smith explains. “We want it to be a conversation piece if people are interested. I’d like to give people a garden tour before they eat so they are familiar with what we are growing.”
Photo by Emily Followill
A James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef in 2016, 2017, and 2019, Smith is splitting his time between Uberto and Staplehouse, along with chef de cuisine Jake Pollitz.
Uberto reservations are available on Resy. Guests staying onsite at Quercus do not need to make a dinner reservation, as all meals are included.
Quercus Farm was founded in 1977 by Duke (Uberto) and Duchess Visconti di Modrone. Di Modrone’s daughter Chiara Visconti di Modrone, co-owns it and named the restaurant after her father.
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