No, that’s not your imagination. Santa is taking over Lawrence this weekend. SantaCon is back at The Sandbar (17 E. 8th St., Lawrence, Kansas) on Saturday from 2 to 11 p.m. It’s a pub crawl and meet up and there are more beards on ladies than you can believe. Santas are asked to contribute $5 to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Douglas County.
Cafe Europa (2976 Gillham Road) has opened in Union Hill. The second location for the local restaurant has an attached market and bakery. The bakery is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Lunch and dinner are served from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. One key tip: get the lemon cake.
Dive into the world of charcuterie as The Meat Shed — a butchery out of Frontenac, Kansas, — hosts a pop-up at Olive Tree at Hawthorne Plaza (4937 119th St., Overland Park, Kansas) from noon to 4 p.m.
Okay, you filthy procrastinators. Bonfire (6104 Johnson Drive) is hosting a party and shopping bonanza tonight from 6 to 10 p.m. Keep an eye out for the handmade rolling pins from This and That Made Goods. The Sundry (1706 Baltimore Ave.) is hosting a KC Makers Holiday Market where you can fill up on plenty of kitchen essentials and delicious non-essentials from 12 to 3 p.m. Saturday. And on Sunday, there’s the Holy Cow Market and Music (3107 Gillham Road) from noon to 5 p.m. Don’t miss Jazzbo Santa — it’s as arresting as it sounds — at 3 p.m.
Manila Bay Ihaw Ihaw (4800 E. Bannister Road, Grain Valley) is hosting a Noche Buena buffet on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dive into Filipino cuisine with a lechon roll (pork belly), embutido (Filipino-style meatloaf), bibingka (coconut cake) and Filipino desserts.
Just like pool and darts, waffle fries start to sound pretty good after a beer. Those who venture to Cinder Block Brewery (110 E. 18th Ave., North Kansas City) are in luck, then: Waffle fries are now on the menu. The Cellar Man’s Kitchen is the brewery’s new food truck, offering BLT waffle fries, a bison burger on an egg bun, fish and chips, smoked wings, and a charcuterie platter. It’s also making house chips with beer queso. Your waistline has been warned. The food truck will be open Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m. Cinder Block plans to extend the food truck’s hours in early 2017. For more beer events this week, check out On Tap — our weekly beer calendar in The Pitch.
— Jonathan Bender writes about food trends and is the author of “Cookies & Beer” and “Stock, Broth & Bowl.” Follow him on Twitter @jonathanbender.