This Fresh Forkin’ Friday morning I discussed with my 8 year old that it was likely we would have no snow for Christmas. You would have thought I told him that someone shot Santa and the toys were on fire. His jaw dropped and he said “what are we going to do?” which I adore because it means he really thinks there’s action to be taken, he’s a solver. But short of hijacking one of the artificial snow guns at Afton, I think we all just have to come to grips with a brown holiday. There is that little glimmer of hope inside of me, that if we watch White Christmas over and over (there must be some squinch of power in Bing’s liquid voice and Vera Ellen’s freakishly strong tapping toes) and drink hot chocolate until our tongues burn, maybe just maybe we’ll get a weather miracle. I’m a wisher.

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OPENS/CLOSES

The Valley Tap House in Apple Valley is open. It’s the sister to Lyndale Tap and seems to have much of the same menu with some new pizzas (pork belly?) and entrees (spaghetti with lamb meatballs?).

I’m hearing some rumors which I can’t seem to get confirmed, but there might be something interesting to talk about on Monday…teasey, I know.

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Remember last week’s whine about the Christmas markets? Well, the good mensch at Black Forest Inn are holding their own market this weekend in the beer garden. There should be all sorts of Germanic fun including stollen, pfeffernusse, and springerle demonstrations at 3pm both days. If you feel the need to refresh yourselves with a Deutsches bier after shopping, you will be among friends.

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Hell’s Kitchen is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a whole bunch of madness. Check Mitch Omer’s Bite Me blog and website for coming info about special give aways, free tickets, a potential block party and more. The mayhem begins on New Years.

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Golden Fig is hosting the second annual local writer’s soiree on Thursday the 22nd from 7-9pm. Go have a lovely sipper while you kibbitz with local writers such as John Michael Lerma, Beth Dooley, Klecko, Raghavan, Nicole Kelby, and more! It’s a great opportunity to get a signed book for your locavore.

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And if your eater is a reader, sign them up for Birchbark Books BYOB book and dinner club on January 8th. For $50 and your own bottle of hootch, you get a copy of MIchael Ondaatje’s new book and a seat at the table with some beef stroganoff and Louise Erdrich herself chatting up theme and plot. Only 40 seats, so sign up soon!

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