McHuston Booksellers

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Tag: new books (Page 36 of 91)

The Rising Rose

December 7, 2014 /

Somebody’s going to love living here. Plenty of folks enjoy mowing the lawn and raking the leaves and racing the car for miles down Elm to get to a restaurant. Others will think they have it as good as it gets living in a loft apartment in the Rose District.

And – they are beginning to look like apartments.

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For the longest time, I had a hard time imagining the Rose District appearance changing much, even after the Ross Group’s announcement of the District@222 project, which will feature Andolini’s as the anchor tenant. When I was heading back to open the shop after Saturday morning’s parade ended, it was almost a shock to see the construction progress.

By gosh, it is almost a skyscraper.

Except for the grain elevator near the railroad tracks, the District@222 (couldn’t they have picked a shorter name, though?) building will be the tallest structure in the downtown area.

I’m guessing.

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Could be the new bank building’s spire will be taller, I can’t say for sure. At any rate, the appearance of Broken Arrow’s downtown will be decidedly taller in a very short time.

Those who find themselves as loft-living Rose District residents will be able to come home from work and kick back in the living room or walk a couple of doors down to some of the finest dining around. One of the perks of working in the area is stepping outside and sniffing the great-smelling aromas. Depending on where you are standing at the moment, you might catch a scent of Mexican cuisine from Fiesta Mambo or grilled steaks from BruHouse Grill.

And who wouldn’t love to step out of the living room into the middle of delicious-ness?

I was asked Saturday, “Where is a good place to eat in the Rose District?” That is a tough question to answer, since they are all good places to eat. It depends on your mood and preference, although you can find something for every taste at any spot. I finally just listed everyone on the block and explained their offerings.

People are still surprised. “There’s an In the Raw in Broken Arrow?,” she asked, with a surprised look. Middle of the next block, I told her.

For now, there a few more options at lunch time, since Back Creek Deli and our own McHuston’s Irish Bistro service are currently limited to mid-day. For our part, we have our plans and are working toward that end.

As for the plans regarding the opening of Andolini’s and the loft apartments, I can’t say – but it looks to me like some serious progress is being made.

If you haven’t visited the Rose lately (or even if you have!)…

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

Opened up the morning news, and…

December 3, 2014 /

Boom! There was a frightening thing looking back at me…

I know Thanksgiving is past, but my appreciation is heartfelt for the article in this morning’s Tulsa World Weekend supplement. Mr. Scott Cherry has kindly included a mention of the bistro in his restaurant column today.

The photograph surprised me.

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When Mr. Cherry visited for a review two years ago, photographer James Gibbard took a number of shots, including one while standing atop a barstool. I remember wondering whether he was trying to keep the overhead lights from reflecting off my bald head. A couple of pictures accompanied the article back then, but I never saw the one included in this morning’s paper.

It’s more apparent to me now, that perhaps Mr. Gibbard was angling his lens for a canyon-of-books effect, which is what caught my eye right away. (Being a bookseller, it’s what you’d expect.) Seeing the image this morning reminded me of the day the restaurant critic and his photographer dropped by, two St. Patrick’s Days ago.

We’ve come a ways since then.

The point of the article, which may be too small to read in the image I’ve posted (you can click on it and try, if you like!), is that my son Dustin and his wife Rachel are now providing the service that I used to race around trying to manage. It was a challenge to do it all myself, and I enjoy a good test, but one person with two hands can only do so much. I want each guest to have a great experience, and found myself increasingly sending larger groups to the neighboring restaurants, knowing I would have had trouble delivering their meals in a timely fashion.

That’s in the past.

So, a big Thanks! to Mr. Cherry for the article, and for digging into the archives for a photograph to accompany the text. I was more than a little surprised by it, but enjoyed the chance to recall his visit that day – and the way I was racing around in the kitchen preparing a meal for the newspaper’s food critic.

I can smile about it now!

A great day for lunch in the Irish Bistro, so…

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

That was then.

December 1, 2014 /

He was the old man at the piano. Musicians gathered around him on the stage at S. Arch Thompson Auditorium. Playing the classical pop stuff. I was in tenth grade. But I liked music.

Every kind, pretty much.

It had to have been one of the first legitimate concerts I had ever attended. I mean, he was an out-of-town guy. Had to have been, with a name like Peter Nero. Like I said – he was the old guy at the piano. I had seen my cousin Bill and his band at the high school prom, and he was older. But not old, older.

And what a difference a little perspective makes.

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A song just played in the shop, and it was credited as being a Christmas-medley by Peter Nero. Hey! I thought, “I remember that guy.” And I wondered how long ago he had died. Googled him.

Turns out, he hasn’t.

Another thing. I guess he really wasn’t as old as I thought, way back then. I figure he was about the same age as my boss Marshall, who ran a corner grocery in McAlester – probably in his early-thirties. Back then, I figured Marshall for an old man too.

All these years later, I discover that I was surrounded by a bunch of young whippersnappers, and I just didn’t know it. Peter Nero (and Nero is his real name, just spelled a little different than his birth certificate. It’s the first name that he changed…), well – he is eighty years old as of last May and probably still pounding away at the piano keys.

Mr. Nero attended the Juilliard School of Music and later won a Grammy and has all kinds of credits to his name. I have a hard time imagining him playing our little school auditorium, and I could be confused about the pianist, but I distinctly remember Craig’s mother asking us what we thought of it as she drove us home. (We were still pedestrian age high-schoolers.)

Craig was non-committal, but I just blurted out that I liked it. It was out of my mouth before I could be non-committal cool, too. Heck. I did like it.

The shop was empty when the medley began, so I was able to belt out, in various accents, the various holiday tunes all mashed into one. Loud and proud.

It’s helpful, I think. Remembering people in a new light. Humbling too – in a way.

Gives me a better idea of what my younger reader-customers must think when they plop their books on the checkout counter in front of that ancient old man.

Geezer-up!

We’re still raising the roof in song, Peter and I, and there are music books on the shelf ready for a lyrical journey, so…

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

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