On the subject of writing.

Writing is writing, right? When I was starting out as a blogger, I didn’t see much difference between this mode of writing and that which I’d experienced in TV. And I sure didn’t think there was much variance from writing as a blogger and writing as an author.

I was wrong… so wrong.

Photos I wished were in the book:
the Typewriters sign at Hugo's
in Fayetteville.

My second book came out last month. While my first book, Arkansas Pie: A Delicious Slice of the Natural State, was conjured up and pieced together from blog entries and articles in a span of just 30 days, Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley took nearly nine months from conception and contract to completion… and that nine month time span was no secret. It really did feel like having a baby.

A postcard from Ozark Mountain Smokehouse.

See, when I blog at
TieDyeTravels.com, what you read is usually what has come fully formed out of my head. I may add a few words as I’m patching in photos, but I conceived of my blog as a place where I’d put down those complete thoughts – the story as I’m telling it. That defines my writing style.

Interior shot at Taliano's Italian Restaurant in Fort Smith.

You can’t do that with a book. I mean, you CAN but whether you SHOULD is pretty much in the negative. There aren’t many people around here who can keep up a single-topic conversation for hours. So you have to take it in bites – and when you do, you have to make sure the bites aren’t too big or too small.

The incredibly pink brisket sandwich
at Jerry Neel's in Fort Smith.

The historic Potts Inn Tavern in Pottsville.

You also have to think really clearly on what you’re doing. On a project like this new book, I had reams of notes and months of research invested in the overall tome. I thought that, like the pie book, I could just write each restaurant segment and sew them together. However, that just doesn’t work when you’re talking about more than 100 different restaurants. My average piece is 1000-1200 words. My first manuscript, a larger piece entitled Classic Arkansas Eateries: A Delectable Tradition of Dining Out, was already at 120,000 words when I went pleading to my editor to please, PLEASE allow this to be more than one book. I hadn’t even started on Little Rock stories.

KJ Zumwalt of KJ's Caribe in Eureka Springs.

Then there are photographs. As you know from my blog, I like the connection between words and photography. There are some things that are better conveyed with each medium; together, they bring together a more solid picture (video does this more, and I hope to incorporate more of it into my future blogs). Problem is, with 100 restaurants – each with its own interior, exterior, historical shots, postcard, food shots and profile pictures – there’s no way to pack them all into a 60,000 word book with a 100 photo limit. I found myself fighting to get as many photos in as possible.

The Raccoon Bearclaw WaWa at
Wood's Old Fashioned Soda
Fountain in Mountain View.

I had disagreements with my editors. I fought on release date. I struggled to make the book as comprehensive as possible, knowing that there was little chance I’d be able to include everything. And then I handed it to my editors and made a wish… that I’d done a good enough job for the book to be readable and enjoyable. And I let it go.

When times are slow at these book signings, you might catch me reading my book. I’m trying to capture what you see when you open the book. I’m to the Russellville chapter, and I’m tempering the fact that I wrote the thing in my head. I think it’s all right. I see where I wanted to add so much more, but only I know that more was meant to go in those chapters.

A pie at Tommy's Famous A Pizzaria in Mountain Home.

So when you read Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley, I’d love for you to give me your feedback. Sure, I can’t just go change a book, but I can blog about the places I didn’t get to cover, and I can expand on the shortened subjects. And I’m taking notes – because the next book, Classic Eateries of the Arkansas Delta, isn’t all that far away.

If you'd like to check out the new book, head over to www.classiceateries.com.  There's a tab for book purchases.  I thank you for your support.

A Wish List for Christmas 2013.

Every year around Thanksgiving, my mom asks me what I want for Christmas... and every year I have a hard time telling her something. This year was easy -- I want a GoPro camera for shooting video. That's easy.

But I have a number of items on my wish list that would be fantastic... I mean, not just a momentary joy, but truly life-changing pieces of a bigger puzzle. Now, I've been accused in the past of dreaming too big. Think about this -- in 2011, I wished for a chance to write a book. Hey, some wishes come true. So... this year's bunch of Christmas wishes, accompanied by photos of my daughter Hunter.  Just because.

1. A grant to study Arkansas foodways. Mind you, I'm doing what I can to research where our food came from and how our cuisine developed and spread on my own -- but a grant would make things easier. As it is, researching this series of books I'm working on (without an advance, in case you were wondering) is not just time-consuming. It's a financial investment. I travel thousands of years and spend thousands on food at the restaurants I'm researching, the places I stay when I overnight somewhere, and on maintenance for my vehicle. All this on a "hobby" that takes up a huge chunk of my weekends and weeknights throughout the year. It'd be pretty cool to not worry about carving that slice out of the slender budget of a single mom with a child in a pretty expensive school.

2. A decent camera lens. Last year I invested in a Canon Rebel T4i -- and my photography has taken off. It came with a kit lens, which... well, it's better than my old point-and-shoot, but still. Along with it, I purchased a mic set (lavalier and handheld), camera lights, a tripod and bag. But the impressive lens I have been utilizing most of the past several months (a marvelous 17-40mm Red Line lens) is borrowed. It'd be marvelous to have my own.

3. Clothing. My mom was awesome last month, coming with me to Branson and purchasing clothes for me -- work pants, jeans, underwear and shoes. With the Veteran's Day sales, it came to around $200 ($5 pants at Vanity Fair for the win!), and that was a blessing. However, it's time to update what goes above the waist. My blouses are getting threadbare, and the company I use (HolyClothing.com) has stopped making the model I like. I wish I had time to find a substitute as well as a replacement. For now, I use my scarves to bring a new look each day. I know, there are a lot of folks who don't have a good set of clothes. But I'm wishing big.

4. A fruit basket. No, really. Back in my TV days, each year B.J. Sams would give me a big basket of fruit for Christmas. Since I left TV, I have realized how much I miss it. I know that may sound crazy, but it's true -- having a basket of fruit on my desk at work or on my counter at home reminded me to eat healthier, and I felt better for it. A few years ago, Grav made one himself for me full of Blackapples and pears and nuts, and it was wonderful.

5. Time. With two books out and a third underway, every vestige of free time is just gone. I have my very time consuming day job. I have a wonderful five year old daughter who I enjoy spending time with. And I have a drive to tell stories. But all of that leaves little time to do anything else. I'd love to have an afternoon to enjoy a movie at a theater, or a weekend in a secluded cabin with no expectations. I'd like to sit down and watch The West Wing (of which I've never seen a single episode) all the way through in a weekend without feeling guilty for not working on my writing. I'd love two weeks to catch up with all the writing for which I've already done my research and taken my photos. A couple of hours to clean up the photo files in this blog. A morning with Hunter to bake. A few days to take my mom on the road and do something she mentioned on that Branson trip -- to just head in a destination and stop wherever we wanted to and do what we felt like on our own schedule. At 40, I now see the real value of time.

6. A clean car. I really wish I had the time set aside to clean all the debris and collected materials out of my car, and have someone shampoo the carpets and wipe down the seats and wash the windows, and maybe give it a tune-up too. After all, I can't go traveling without it.

7. A documentary series. Well, if I'm going to dream big, I might as well go all the way. I've really grown tired of the flashy food-related shows on Food Network -- and while I've been hoping for a Burger Land type program with some place like Travel Channel, I fear that ship may have sailed. What I'd really love to do is build on the crossroads of "Cooking on the Wildside" with John Philpot and Phyllis Speer -- and Chuck Dovish's "Exploring Arkansas" to create a documentary series on the foodways of Arkansas. Of course, that intersects with the wish for more time, the need for money to make it happen and the simple fact that I'm a chubby bit of tallness that's not really made for TV. But I do have a pretty decent voice, I think.

8. Computer file storage. Upgrading to a camera with a larger sensor means I get great images now, but they take up far more space. I'm saving up for a really big, 4T stationary drive for backup.

9. Patience. It's been a productive year, but it's also been very tight. My day job paid the bills when I first took it, but with rising inflation, accelerated bills and jumps in food costs, it's not covering everything any more. I know, I could chose to put my daughter in daycare rather than Montessori school, but that's more important to me than just about anything else. Why is this under patience? I know things will continue to improve. I know my life will get better. I just wish I had the patience to wait for that sometimes. Patience isn't something someone can give you. It's a gift you give yourself.

10. Built-in shelving for my bedroom. I can't really wish for more closet space, but I hope I can acquire the construction skills to build my own shelf unit into a corner of my bedroom that's pretty nigh useless to me right now. It'd also be great to build a shelf from the wall out on either side of my bed, so I can finally once again have a bedside light.

11. The ability to help and counsel my friends better. I feel like I'm lousy at this. I have a very bad tendency to stick my foot in my mouth. I wish I could help my friends in their search for jobs, contracts, assignment work, relationships -- you name it. I may be a good storyteller, but sometimes I just don't have the right timing in these personal issues.

12. A case of bleach wipes. Because there are never enough.

13. Stamina. Before Hunter came along, I was pretty good on stamina. Took me a couple of years to get it back, but even as little as two years ago I was able to take on even the craziest expeditions. The day job has made me soft again. I'll never have ripped abs (who wants those?) but it'd be nice to be able to walk more than five miles in a day, or to be able to move furniture by myself.

14. Beads. My daughter received as one of her birthday gifts, a bead stringing kit. Since then, she's been making necklaces left and right. I love to make things with beads, too -- last year I learned how to properly handknot with silk, and I have always loved the tactile sensation of working with different size beads. I hope by the end of the holiday season, if I sell enough books, I'll have some cash to spare to purchase more silk thread and more beads of different sorts.

15. Perspective. Yes, times are tight and I'm frustrated with some of the things that have happened in my life, but I have a brilliant daughter and a trustworthy companion and good friends... and I'm doing what I really want in life with writing books and stories, even if it is on my spare time. Not a lot of folks get to master their dreams. I'm lucky and I'm blessed. I wish for the perspective to clearly see that more often, rather than gnashing my teeth over the rough spots.

An Apple Fried Pie at the Rison Country Store.

In the book Arkansas Pie: A Delicious Slice of the Natural State, we talk about the Delta custom of the fried pie by the cash register.  You can find them all over the state, wrapped in wax paper or cellophane and offered for sale for a buck or two to pick up and take with you.

The danger in this is when the pie needs heat.  A good pie is buttery and spice-packed enough where it doesn't matter.

That's the case at the Country Store in Rison, a gray-washed convenience and fuel center that offers wax paper wrapped fried pies in a cardboard box right next to the register.  The apple-cinnamon pie is our favorite; packed with soft-stewed cinnamon spiced apple and just the right amount of sugar, this pie takes it over the top with a decadent dusting of even more cinnamon and sugar.

Rison Country Store

1980 U.S. 63

Rison, AR 71665

(870) 357-8259

Time Capsule: 1993.

Fall 1993

Most folks who follow this blog know of me as a food and travel writer... or from further back, probably from my time spent at Today's THV in Little Rock, maybe even KAIT in Jonesboro. But before I set foot into a newsroom (at least as an employee), I was sure radio would be my life's work and passion.

I recently came upon a program I recorded in June 1993. The program? A novelty music show unlikely named "Th'XNTRYK Show." I thought I'd be the next Dr. Demento. I spun vinyl and acquired the beginnings of my CD collection during the show's run.

The first season of the show
was actually on Tuesdays.

Major Lee Clueless was an improv
segment on the show.  Wonder
what ever happened to that guy.

By 1993, more segments had
been added, including an odd
news segment called People
Are Strange.

It wasn't a big show. It started out as a college radio program on KXRJ, the station at Arkansas Tech University, in September 1991. A couple years later, I began airing a slightly different, more urban version at KABF Community Radio in Little Rock.

Th'XNTRYK Show never earned me any money, but it did get me started in radio -- which lead to me changing majors in college, which lead me to a career in television and eventually out into writing for a living. Humble beginnings.

I've been gnawing over this a few days, and I've decided to share this recording with you. You might or might not like it. You'll also notice my voice has deepened and slowed in two decades. I present it here, uncut, the entire recording. Sadly, I don't know if more of this show exists -- it was a three hour program at this point, airing late on Sunday nights. By June 1995 it was five hours airing Monday nights, and it was a doozy. KXRJ folks may remember the Monday night run.

This poorly preserved image from an April 1993
Arka-Tech shows that even early in my career,
I was no stranger to publicity stunts.

A Change for Robinson Center Music Hall.

In the movies, pretty much all my life, you see people dreaming of ending up at Radio City Music Hall. I never really dreamed of that (I had no desire to be a Rockette) but I did want to end up on another stage – that of Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock.

I suppose I wasn’t really dreaming big, but to a young child growing up in 1970s Little Rock, it was the big time. Sure, when rock stars came to town, they went to Barton Coliseum… but when good music was involved or theater came in, the best seats in the house were on the floor of the august structure.

Mind you, it’s been around a while. The Joseph Taylor Robinson (absolutely no relation to me, btw) Memorial Auditorium opened in 1940. Named for the Arkansas senator who supported the effort to create a new venue for performances, the hall replaced the auditorium at Little Rock High School (now Central High) as the largest such space in the city. It featured a big performance hall with a mezzanine and balcony, and another hall for all sorts of activities – including basketball games, conventions and ping pong.

After the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra made the auditorium its permanent home in 1966, changes were made. An extensive renovation in 1973 took out the second performance space in favor of an underground parking deck, and that year the facility was officially renamed Robinson Center Music Hall.

My mom and I had several trips to Robinson over the years. I recall from my earliest days her tales of playing on that stage (Mom was a saxophonist) – and how somehow during the performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, the art deco light fixtures overhead spun about. I had my first performance there as a young ballet student when I wasn’t much older than Hunter – a performance I best remember because it called for a cartwheel and I never managed to master a single cartwheel in my life.

I performed there again in my adolescence with a variety of groups, including the Arkansas Youth Symphony. During plays there, I can recall the crowded dressing rooms, accessible by a spiral staircase. To me, it was absolute magic.

However, what was magic to a teenager can’t be all that wonderful to a touring group. I’ve been lucky enough to see so many shows brought in by Celebrity Attractions over the years – Beauty and the Beast, The Producers, Miss Saigon, Rent, Stomp, Mama Mia, you name it. I’ve seen 1964 as The Beatles, the Russian Ballet’s Nutcracker, even the Beach Boys on that stage. Knowing the tight quarters backstage, I’ve been surprised that every act’s been able to pull it off.

But there are other shows I’d like to see – like The Lion King. It can’t come here right now – because there’s just no way to get those sets in or handle that sort of production staff size. The lone loading dock faces out onto Broadway… and to get one of those big 18 wheelers for the production in there, police have to shut down the street.

There’s also the acoustic resonance inside. Music fans, you should be nodding your heads. Up front and center, the sound’s great – but there are many echoing nooks and crannies in the big hall that cause dissonance.

I love the history behind Robinson, and I love its epic columns and glorious steps out front. But I also know what it’s like to stand in line for one of the limited restrooms during an intermission – and the limited foot traffic pattern that requires planning ahead. If you’ve been to a weeknight performance and stood in the crowd waiting to go down the one escalator from the balcony, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

That’s why I support the renovation of Robinson Center Music Hall. I was one of a group who happened to catch the briefing in September about the plans to redesign the hall. The new plans call for a massive change in the inside of the building, without changing the façade. The performance hall itself will be opened up and lowered into the hall below, angled and transformed to a more acoustically correct facility. The stage will also be dropped a whole story – which will allow for the creation of new theater access for productions from Cantrell Road.

That bathroom problem? Gone. The new plans calls for a three level lobby with more restroom facilities being built into the levels below the current lobby. If you look at the current plans, that puts those facilities where the conference center lies today.

But conferences will still be served by Robinson… thanks to a new addition that will go on the back side of the theater, overlooking the Arkansas River. A big conference center, topped by a grand ballroom, will complement other meeting spaces around town. This one, though, will have the best view of Dickey Stephens Park, the North Little Rock riverfront – and the new Broadway Bridge.

Oh, but you’re wondering why I’m getting political. Thing is, I’m not. The City of Little Rock has come up with a way to pay for this that won’t change what you pay for this and that. There’s an existing 2% Advertising and Promotion Tax that was dedicated all the way back in 1980 to pay for the Statehouse Convention Center. That tax was allowed by Act 185 of 1965, which allowed for a tax of up to

three percent on hotel rooms and prepared foods (restaurants) to cover things in cities like convention centers, tourist-oriented facilities and promoting those towns. It’s already there. The election coming up December 10th would allocate the funds generated by those taxes to the renovation of Robinson Center Music Hall. The city expects the renovation to cost around $68.6 million dollars -- $60 million just for the construction and the rest for upgrades that the Center desperately needs.

Does this mean the place will be bigger? Strangely enough, Robinson Center Music Hall will lose a few seats – and the overall facility will lose about 4500sf. But when it’s done, it’ll be a LEED-certified structure, and a good anchor to the western end of the entertainment district in downtown Little Rock.

The renovations won’t change how I feel about Robinson… and maybe one day I’ll figure out someway to be back on that stage myself. Doing what, I have no idea, but hey – everyone hopes for a moment in the spotlight.

If you'd like more information about the plan, check out this site.

Sweet Transition: Chuck Wagon Becomes Top of the Hill Cafe.

Raisin pies.

This restaurant has closed.

The problem with print is that once something's printed, it's unchangeable.  That was my bit of regret when I stopped in at the Top of the Hill Cafe in Bee Branch this past month.  I was taking my mom and daughter with me to check it out and see how it was -- after being told about the demise of the Chuck Wagon Restaurant, which is actually covered in my new book, Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley -- which had just been published.

My barbecue brisket plate.

Mom's barbecue pork plate

I had high hopes and they were met -- okay, sure, there was no chicken fried steak the day we stopped in, but the restaurant was just a few weeks old, and I was willing to cut a little slack.  It was Saturday, so it was a barbecue day -- I had the brisket and my mom had the pulled pork.

Greens!

Hunter was as usual obsessed with corn and ate most of the corn off my plate.  It was a good hearty meal.

But what really stuck out for me wasn't the cake Mom had or our meals -- but this remarkably sweet, tart, pungent pan pie -- a Possum Pucker pie.  No, not a possum pie like I've shared with you before -- no chocolate here -- but a pie where the bottom is a soft, sweet and crunchy bottom with a sweet cream cheese layer and lemon custard over the top.  This little bit of pie meant I had to come back.

Possum Pucker pie.

And so I did one late afternoon... only to be swept through the store.  I was given a chance to photograph the sweets in the case up front and then brought to the back to witness the crowning of meringue upon pies.  It was something else.

And rather than mess it all up with a bunch of words... I will let the photos do the speaking this time.

Raisin pie... I've only ever seen it served at Chef's In up in Jonesboro.

Peanut butter cake.

A classic -- sugar cream pie!

German chocolate cake.

Butterscotch chocolate oatmeal cookies.

Chocolate meringue pie, uncut.

Chocolate meringue pie, cut.

When I was swept to the back end of the kitchen to the baking
area, I was greeted by three ladies and two waiting coconut
pies awaiting a meringue topping.

After conversation and a hell of a beating, the meringue was ready... and in
this series of images you can see how it all went down.

Of course, coconut meringue requires coconut on top.

And now, ready for the oven.

I'm interested in seeing what I find on my next visit to Top of the Hill Cafe.  At this point, the restaurant had just been opened a little under a month... but boy was a lot going on!  I've also been told I must come back for the turtle cheesecake/

You might be able to make it up there earlier than I can -- if you think you'll be in the area or just want to see the progress, check out the restaurant's Facebook page.

* * *

One of the restaurants named in both Arkansas Pie: A Delicious Slice of the Natural State and in Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley -- has moved on. The Chuck Wagon Restaurant in Bee Branch has been sold, and is now operating as the Top of the Hill Cafe. Opened just two weeks ago, this place is promising.

Each day you can get a burger or one of the day's lunch specials (Saturday's barbecue) on a hot line. And every day there are desserts -- bundt cakes, cupcakes, layer cakes and of course pie.

The pie recently experienced at the Top of the Hill Cafe is the Possum Pucker Pie. This is a dessert entirely different from the better known Possum Pie. This dessert consists of tart lemon curd over a sweetened condensed milk cream base and a sweet cookie crust -- for a good combination of both sweet and tart.