{"id":4904,"date":"2019-01-18T12:10:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T18:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/?p=4904"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:53:44","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:53:44","slug":"down-by-the-river-side-story-of-the-riverside-inn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/2019\/01\/18\/down-by-the-river-side-story-of-the-riverside-inn\/","title":{"rendered":"Down By the River Side (Story of the Riverside Inn)"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Down By the River Side<\/h1>\n

by Joshua Heston and Dale Grubaugh<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ozarkers of Christian County, Missouri, lost an old friend last December.<\/p>\n

On December 12, 2009, the Riverside Inn (on the banks of the Finley River just north of Ozark) closed for the last time, a victim of misplaced FEMA money and too many summer floods. It is a tragic loss.<\/p>\n

Although the Riverside\u2019s history is one of public record, it is a history which bears retelling.<\/p>\n

The Riverside Inn first opened in 1923. The Finley River flowed by out back \u2014 and the fried chicken was some of the best to be found.<\/p>\n

It was owned by Howard Garrison, a young, if eccentric, member of the Ozark community.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4865″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]The rambling building \u2014 later added to the Ozark Register of Historic Places \u2014 was constructed over the decades, every section a silent witness to passing styles (PLATES 1, 3).<\/p>\n

If you looked closely, you could see each era in the construction.<\/p>\n

The first portion of the building, entered beneath the shade of a sweeping magnolia, was all stucco and arches (PLATE 2).<\/p>\n

A long, sloped hall led to the back patios, all uniquely adorned with post-impressionism-style art.<\/p>\n

Howard Garrison was more than a business owner. He was an artist of considerable skill.<\/p>\n

The interior of the Riverside Inn proved Garrison\u2019s own unconventional canvas, marking each passing decade with more art.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4866″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]It would prove a warm, beautiful \u2014 but surreal \u2014experience.<\/p>\n

Beyond the delicate, scrolling mural of a French garden? The old speakeasy and gambling den (PLATE 4).<\/p>\n

Garrison would be sent to prison for that bit of history.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of my best vacations were spent in jail,\u201d he would later say, and painted The View from the Jail in Ava<\/i><\/b> just to prove it.<\/p>\n

That painting hung in the foyer for years (PLATE 5).<\/p>\n

As the decades marched by, sprawling dining rooms progressed westward from the original building.<\/p>\n

The place would ultimately seat 800.<\/p>\n

And, although the Riverside Inn will be long-remembered for an ambience and cuisine best defined as exquisite, the restaurant\u2019s decor could effortlessly shift from the sublime to the absurd in a proverbial heartbeat.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4867″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Amidst the candlelight and good wine, a bacchanal dedication to 20th century art erupted.<\/p>\n

It was French post impressionism meets 1950s-yard sale with a healthy dose of folk art thrown in for good measure \u2014 and generations of patrons loved every square inch.<\/p>\n

Old green and white linoleum tiles led the way to tables decked with polished silver, fine linen and good china (PLATES 6, 7).<\/p>\n

Exposed and unfinished cement blocks made up a fireplace, dressed for the occasion in a lyrical watermelon motif (PLATE 11).<\/p>\n

A mirror in the Blue Room, polished and spotless, sedately \u201crested\u201d atop a figurative oak stump mural. Upon one branch (conveniently sawed off) sat a vase holding a wild, oversized bouquet of poppies (PLATE 10).[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4868″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Sometimes even ceilings became unexpected canvases for Garrison.<\/p>\n

Using copious amounts plaster, bunches of three dimensional flowers and leaves framed chandeliers (PLATE 8).<\/p>\n

More plaster shored up a massive candlestick in one banquet room. A testimony to baroque or pure, 1950s-era kitsch?<\/p>\n

That interpretation was left to the viewer.<\/p>\n

Walls of heavily white-washed Ozark limestone reflected soft light from lamps masquerading as Roman sculpture (PLATE 9).<\/p>\n

Beadwork and drapes reminiscent of Cleopatra separated some rooms, willowy pear trees others.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4869″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Ozark winter scenes competed with Russian alcoves and amphorae.<\/p>\n

And then there was the food.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine food\u201d is clich\u00e9 these days. But not at the Riverside.<\/p>\n

A simple meal of fried chicken was art itself \u2014 art as exquisite as anything ever produced by the Jazz Age (which is probably when most of the time-honored recipes were developed).<\/p>\n

\u201cA fried chicken meal can be exquisite? You\u2019re joking, right?\u201d I can just hear the gourmet snobs asking now.<\/p>\n

At the Riverside, a fried chicken meal consisted of five courses \u2014 six if you ordered hors d\u2019oeuvres.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4870″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]First, there was a cheese plate (Cheddar, Swiss and Danish Blue), arranged with a cluster of grapes alongside Spanish olives, and, occasionally, strawberries.<\/p>\n

Second, the Riverside Platter was the hors d’oeuvre of choice.<\/p>\n

Handmade meatballs in a sweet \/ savory sauce. Fried chicken livers, crispy and not at all bitter.<\/p>\n

Barbecued carrots and gizzards.<\/p>\n

It was a taste of that Jazz Age \u2014 all the excitement of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel \u2014 in one dish.<\/p>\n

These were simple recipes, each successfully defying generations of caterers to equal them.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4871″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Third, a cup of clear chicken noodle soup, embellished with chopped green onions. A heavy, cut-crystal vase sported light, crunchy bread sticks, baked that evening.<\/p>\n

Fourth was the salad. It was simple. Romaine lettuce, red onions, homemade croutons, tomato wedges, all tossed with vinegar and oil, topped with imported Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.<\/p>\n

A small loaf of dark bread \u2014warm from the oven \u2014 was served alongside, garnished by pats of butter.<\/p>\n

Fifth, the chicken, soaked in buttermilk, tender on the inside, crispy, light and full of flavor.<\/p>\n

This \u2014 the original Riverside recipe. History on a plate.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4872″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Cook Mary Ellen Marley \u2014 in 1923 \u2014 fried up batches like this, when the Riverside Inn was just a single, long, low building attracting the curiosity of nearby Ozark.<\/p>\n

Eighty-six years later, it was a recipe which had lost none of its strength.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4873″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Seasoned green beans and gingered baby carrots rounded out the entr\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

Sixth, and last, a tall slice of rich cheesecake, drizzled with raspberry sauce and garnished with mint \u2014 and a cup of coffee \u2014 finished the meal.<\/p>\n

Art itself.<\/p>\n

The Riverside Inn will be missed.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4874″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_text_separator title=”Story Credits”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Story originally published by StateoftheOzarks on January 31, 2010. Photography by Joshua Heston.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Down By the River Side by Joshua Heston and Dale Grubaugh Ozarkers of Christian County, Missouri, lost an old friend last December. On December 12, 2009, the Riverside Inn (on the banks of the Finley River just north of Ozark) closed for the last time, a victim of misplaced FEMA money and too many…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[955,466,489,582,581],"tags":[673,675,674,676,672],"class_list":["post-4904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hillbillyhistory","category-ozarkshistory","category-ozarkskitchen","category-sotoarchive","category-sotofeature","tag-christian-county-missouri","tag-finley-river","tag-howard-garrison","tag-ozark-fried-chicken","tag-riverside-inn","category-955","category-466","category-489","category-582","category-581","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4904"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4918,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904\/revisions\/4918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}