With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant by Black Spalding and Jennifer Castle (2004) a review by Andrea Broomfield
It’s May 29, 2014, Moab, Utah. I’m 49 on this day, and as is traditional in our family, we are on vacation when May 29th comes around. My favorite way to celebrate is to hike something amazing, and all had gone according to plan. We finished the day in Arches National Park, had had dinner at a brewpub, and for yet another special treat, I was left to myself for an hour in a downtown Moab bookstore.
I wasn’t entirely sure what type of book I was after, but having recently finished writing an article on Mormon or Latter Day Saints (LDS) foodways, I wanted to read something that touched on LDS culture and food. As we were in Utah, I was pretty sure something would pop up, and sure enough, I happened upon With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant. I was only about five minutes into browsing through it when I knew I had my hands on my birthday gift.
With a Measure of Grace is indicative of what cookbooks must be in order to remain relevant in the 21st century. Recipes themselves are less important given the instant gratification of the Internet, and so stories and context are what make a cookbook special. The recipes in With A Measure of Grace are no doubt stunning, but more so is the story of Blake Spalding and Jennifer Castle and their commitment to running a restaurant in the tiny town of Boulder, Utah. With a population of under 200, Boulder is in one of the nation’s most remote areas, and the culture there is very much a closed one, with most residents LDS. When the Grand Staircase-Escalante was designated a National Monument, the tensions in this community ran high. It meant that Boulder would have to prepare for encroachment from tourists, a distinct threat and distraction to their residents’ way of life, and an upset to the delicate ecological balance that makes life possible in this part of Utah. It was during this tense time that Blake and Jen arrived in Boulder to open Hell’s Backbone Grill. Not only did these two young women manage to create an extraordinary restaurant that honors the spirit and culture of Southern Utah, but they have also managed to strengthen the small community’s bonds, not weaken them.
The title of this cookbook, With a Measure of Grace, tells it all; it is only with grace that cultural and religious barriers, prejudices and stereotypes will eventually collapse. Jen and Blake are firm believers, as I am, that food, blessed and sacred, is the conduit by which such barriers begin to fall.
One of the most dramatic parts of the story is how these two women persuaded the LDS councilmen to allow their restaurant a liquor license. Others had tried in the state of Utah before, but they had never succeeded. After all, the Mormon Word of Wisdom forbids coffee, tea, and alcohol. Part of what persuaded the councilmen, however, was Blake’s and Jen’s attitude and demeanor. They employed Boulder residents at the restaurant, but they also relied on the meat, dairy and produce that resident farmers were growing. They were not obnoxious or loud, but they were respectful and entirely willing to make their restaurant into a town affair. Slowly, Boulder came to love these women as two of its own, and Hell’s Backbone Grill not only brought in money, but the restaurant invested much of that money into the town itself.
In regards to my own story, I was so moved by this book that our family decided to brave the drive along Highway 12 to go to Boulder and visit Hell’s Backbone Grill. This drive is deemed one of the world’s most amazing, and for flatlanders, terrifying. Either coming into Boulder or leaving it, one must drive along a treacherous span of narrow, two-lane road with vertical drop-offs on both sides. There are no guard rails on this hogsback; there are no shoulders. But, as one of the sayings in this book suggests, “All the world is a narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be afraid.” We had it easy enough getting to Boulder, as we were in Torre, Utah the day before, and the drive from that direction is breath-taking and unforgettable, but it is not necessarily dangerous. The meal at Hell’s Backbone, the restaurant, and the staff were so exactly like what I had read about in the cookbook that our enthusiasm and our courage for the drive out of Boulder were bolstered. We returned to our car, and we faced the Box Death Hollow (the most treacherous part of Highway 12) ahead of us. And we did it with grace. Let’s just say that it was only along Box Death Hollow that I finally experienced what I think that the Romantic poets defined as the Sublime. I highly recommend not only the cookbook, but a trip to Hell’s Backbone and a drive and a hike in this most beautiful part of Utah.
Below are some of my favorite recipes from With a Measure of Grace, a cookbook that champions Southwest cuisine:
Desert Sage Flatbread
Moqui Mac (the most delicious and decedent mac and cheese I have ever had, complete with roasted poblano chilies)
Arugula Pesto
Poblano Crema (to top everything from pasta to steak)
Very Special Steak Rub (I have not made this, but my friend, Cathleen O’Neal, swears by it!)
