Starry Eyed Surprise

“We’re all damaged in our own way. Nobody’s perfect. I think we are all somewhat screwy, every single one of us.” -Johnny Depp

Stove House

Filed under: Uncategorized — Taylor at 4:05 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012

If you’re looking for a small, cozy sit down restaurant my hometown Central City, Ia, has exactly what you want. Stove House is a small restaurant run by local people. When you first drive up to the parking lot you will notice that there is a Subway at the other end of the building, but this didn’t stop Stove House from being successful. The building is brick and has large windows. the sign telling everyone where they are (Stove House) is made of black iron, it’s also very large so that people can see it from the highway. When you walk in the first thing you see is the long counter accompanied by small, black stools and the cash register, the smell is overwhelmingly good. If ever a place smelled like home cooking, this is it. It reminds me of my grandma’s house on Thanksgiving. There are salty, sweet and savory smells.

Your first steps in are also where a host or hostess will be standing ready to seat you. The restaurant is split in two, the counter and four booths are on one side of a partial wall and the rest of the booths and tables are on the other side. Due to the large windows the lights don’t all have to be on during a sunny day, giving the room good natural lighting. The decor is a lot of black iron in clocks, picture frames and some craftwork of all iron. The reason for all of the iron is the reason the restaurant is named. the decor goes along with a big, black iron stove that is centered on the far wall of the restaurant. It is the rirst thing to draw your attention when you get on the other side of the wall. When you are finally seated (at a booth because those are my favorite) you notice the smell of everyone else’s food, this makes it impossible to sit still while waiting to order. It is such a small restaurant and the aroma of food is everywhere. You sit close enough to other people for it to be cozy and not crowded. You can hear bits and pieces of conversations going on as people wait for their food such as, “this heat doesn’t seem like it’s going to ever let up,” because weather is always a topic in a farming community and of course there’s that question “are you ready to go back to college?” you dodge the question thanks to the waitress coming to take the order.While waiting for your food you try and distract yourself with more decor on the walls while being tortured with all the smells of food. More iron craftwork is very intriguing to look at; all of the designs are very intricate.

Finally your food is at you table and your no longer are looking around at things in the room, now you’re focused on the food making your mouth water in front of you. The first bite is like a relief to your growling stomach. It’s no wonder this placwe hasn’t gone out of business in such a small town; the food is wonderful. It’s obvious that this homey, little restaurant isn’t going anywhere in the next 10 or so years because the regulars won’t let it.

 



3 Comments

492

   Alexis

September 11, 2012 @ 5:18 pm

This sounds like such a lovely place to eat! I think this was well written and captured the cozy feeling I think you were trying to portray. I also like that you explained how there is a Subway so close by and yet the restaurant still is very successful. Really cool that you noted it smells like your grandma’s house on Thanksgiving.
There may be some room for even more details here and there. I do understand you do not want to overload the piece with too much description. I caught the word “Iron” being repetitively used. You could use the word material or maybe even element?

Overall I really enjoyed this article and in all honest I am now starving! It sounds like a lovely restaurant with a comfortable atmosphere. Well written.

493

   fuglsang

September 12, 2012 @ 6:41 pm

A good mix of objective and subjective, Taylor. I’m not sure “cute” works in the last sentence, but you do a good job of creating a sense of place.

Consider working on the beginning, the lead. What’s the overall picture you’re trying to create for the reader? This is a friendly place? A homey place? Then use that summary idea in the beginning to establish a theme for the article, and to prepare the reader for what’s to come.

You have some mechanical things to fix — capitalization, punctuation.

Good start.

494

   fuglsang

September 12, 2012 @ 6:44 pm

And one more thing: Dialogue. I guess you’ll have to work from memory, but what kind of conversations do you hear? Who says them? What do they look like (in a general way, like farmer or businessman)?

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