grace grits and gardening - ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Superior Bathhouse Brewery and Distillery

April 8, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

After years of sitting empty, Superior Bathhouse in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has been transformed into a restaurant, brewery and distillery. Superior Bathhouse, built in 1916, is rumored to have been the first integrated bath house in Hot Springs. That in itself is cool. So is the creative menu from chef Angela Nardi (trained in Dallas) which includes black-eyed pea hummus, crab risotto, Petit Jean seasonal meats, etc.

We went twice in three days. That’s how much my husband and I enjoyed it. I ordered the citrus quinoa salad with apple basil vinaigrette (both times). It was as tasty as any I’ve had and honestly, up until the Superior Bath House Brewery opened, I doubt the words quinoa and Hot Springs have been used together. Just a suspicion I have based on past experience…

Not only was the food and drink superior; the renovation is pretty darn superior too. The main floor has been transformed into a craft beer tasting room and the original front sun porch features almost 75 feet of windows overlooking busy Central Avenue.Continue Reading

Describe the Air

April 6, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Describe the air, he says.

Don’t think about it, just start

writing. Whatever comes to mind.

Air? She mumbles the word and stares

at him or at least he thinks she is staring at him

but really she is looking at the clock on the wall

just above his shoulder. From her spot in the classroom

the clock appears to be perched near his ear

which strikes her as funny. Not haha funny

but crazy funny. Like describing air.

He paces in front of his desk then stops

and repeats himself like he is prone to do.

Just whatever comes to mind, the way air feels, he says, drawing

out the word f-e-e-e-e-l-s.

She doesn’t know how to describe air. She doesn’t

belong in this class or this school or this place or this

life.

This uncomfortable life.

The classroom is filled with sounds

of scribbling. Pen to paper. Thoughts spill

and pens move effortlessly, yet she sits frozen.

Immobile.

He walks to her desk.

He stares.

He snatches her blank notebook paper.

Her pen bounces to the floor

and hides beneath her desk.

Nothing, he says.

That’s how the air feels to me, she whispers.

He stares. She watches the clock.

Grace Grits and Gardening

April is National Poetry Month. Although Air is not written in the style of a traditional poem (and I do not profess to be a poet, heaven’s no), I do enjoy writing poefictiontry which Carve Magazine describes simply as poetry that tells a story or flash fiction that sounds lyrical.

The Difference Between YOU and ME.

April 4, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

You: There’s a strange car parked in front of our house. The man inside is typing on his iPad. And I saw another strange car this morning when I was working in the yard.

Me: Oooooooh! Maybe we won the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. I bet they are about to come to our front door with one of those giant checks for a bazillion dollars.

You: Or maybe you upset someone when you wrote about those apartments on the corner. Someone is casing our house, probably planning to burn it down.

Me: You think?

You: Yes.

Me: Nah… Probably Publisher’s Clearinghouse.

You: {insert head shake}

Me: {smiling}