With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant [Hardcover]

Blake Spalding (Author), Jennifer Castle (Author), Lavinia Spalding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2004

With a Measure of Grace recounts with sensitivity and wit the tale of a women-owned, Buddhist- based restaurant becoming a community anchor in a small Mormon town. Within the book's 176 beautiful, color-photographed pages, former backcountry caterers and professional river chefs Blake Spalding and Jen Castle share their struggles and successes as the coowners of Hell's Backbone Grill. Spalding and Castle began with the goal to meld their ideas of place-based, seasonally appropriate cuisine, right livelihood, environmental ethics and social and community responsibility into a restaurant they would operate with compassion, generosity, loving kindness and grace. They were unaware at the time that given the unusual circumstances of their venture, this plan would be the restaurant's only chance of survival. Located in the heart of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Boulder, Utah, was the last town in the nation to receive year-round mail by automobile. Today it has no stoplight, cell phone service, ATM, grocery store or medical facilities. But it has Zagat-rated Hell's Backbone Grill, which despite all odds, has won the acclaim of national and international media. Sixtyfive favorite recipes accompany charming anecdotes, old-fashioned rural wisdom and introductions to captivating local characters, making With a Measure of Grace a warm and earthy, unforgettable read.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Provecho Press (June 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971936420
• ISBN-13: 978-0971936423
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A blessing in the desert, June 21, 2005

By 

Melissa O'neil - See all my reviews
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This review is from: With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant (Hardcover)

This book is grace and beauty. It eloquently captures the heart of a small town and its people. And gives you insight to this beautiful restaurant, Hell's Backbone Grill, their recipes, their staff, their spirits and hearts. I met Blake one morning over breakfast. I was sitting there, eating the most amazing breakfast, and there was this lovely woman sitting and talking to some people about social justice, Tibet, organic food, etc. I stopped eating and started eavesdropping harder. My life and work involve social justice issues; I do a lot of work to raise awareness of China's violent occupation of Tibet. I hadn't seen the book yet, but I ordered a bunch of them. Blake, one of the owners, was that lovely woman. She came over and made sure I wasn't going to spend my rent money on her books. Then she invited me to tea. And about two minutes later, she became one of my dearest friends. The spirit of this restaurant is based in Buddhism, which just means that it is based in love and kindness, compassion and beauty. The restaurant and the book are infused with that love and compassion. Tibetan prayer flags are, simply put, flags with prayers on them. When the wind blows them, prayers are sent out, prayers of love and compassion, an end to suffering for all beings. Prayer flags surround the restaurant. I can't help but feel that the place is blessed. The book is an invitation into their lives, into their hearts. And it is an invitation to visit Boulder, Utah.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique presentation, March 31, 2005

By 

Anne Marie Monteau (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant (Hardcover)

This book is a unique treasure. It drew me into the lives of the people who live and work in the restaurant. The photographs are beautiful, the recipes, easy to follow. "A Measure of Grace" is a book I will read through again and again. It brought me a measure of peace, here in New York City.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for your kitchen and your library, November 1, 2005

By 

Brooke Blackwelder (Boise, Id) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant (Hardcover)

Reader Beware! If you open this book to look for a recipe, make sure you have the rest of the day to spend reading. It will draw you in like your favorite Novel and soon you will be cooking in Hell's Backbone Grill. It should be first on your gift list for anyone you know who cooks, reads or eats.