Newsletter: Urbana potato farmer shares what to do with leftovers, see a Christmas pop-up bar and more🍸

Credit: Bill Lackey

Credit: Bill Lackey

“My family’s always on the go, but we eat potatoes at least four to five times a week,” Sponheim said. “Potatoes have complex carbohydrates, which give you energy over time, and they don’t spike your blood sugar.”

Around Thanksgiving, Sponheim’s family sometimes takes the peels of the potatoes and makes potato chips out of them to eliminate food waste. All you have to do is take the peels, dry them out, put them in the air fryer, and you have chips that you can eat or smash up as a crunchy topping.

They’ve also used leftover mashed potatoes to make potato pancakes (which is my favorite).

A new potato tradition is lefse, which is a Norwegian potato that’s like a tortilla, but made out of potatoes, that can be used for breakfast burritos or a dessert.

Other favorites include her aunt Beth’s cheesy potato casserole, her mom’s potato soup recipe, and something she calls firecrackers, which are little red potatoes, roasted, smashed, seasoned with a red pepper mix and roasted again.

Michael Family Farms is a year-round supplier of potatoes for the Great Lakes region. They grow, pack and ship to several large chains, as well as serve local distributors.

READ MORE: Thanksgiving season is ‘Super Bowl’ for Urbana farm

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New Christmas pop-up bar to open Friday north of Dayton

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

The owners of Cherry Street Bottle Shop in Troy have transformed its downstairs cocktail lounge into a Christmas pop-up bar for the holiday season.

“Cheer on Cherry Street” will open Friday and run through Dec. 28.

Sara Studebaker, who owns the bottle shop and cocktail kitchen with Carly Witmer, said they want to offer the community something “fun and different for the holiday season.”

As guests walk down the stairs to the cocktail lounge, they will walk through a winter wonderland-themed archway with lights. They’ll enter through a present wrapped door and be met with a heavily decorated, intimate space. The lounge area features all the holiday colors with ornaments hanging from the ceiling, multiple Christmas trees and glitter.

To go with the space, the pop-up will have a holiday-themed drink and food menu.

Guests can expect classic drinks such as a gin and tonic or old fashioned, cookie or espresso martini variations, spiked hot chocolate, a selection of bourbon, party punch bowls and much more. Snacks include dips, grazing boards, sliders, chicken noodle soup, popcorn, toasted nuts, reindeer chow, homemade cookies, chocolates and candies.

Reservations can be made online for $25 per person, but are not required.

PHOTOS: Sneak peek inside a Christmas pop-up bar in Troy

Table 33 opens for brunch at Dayton Arcade

Credit: Facebook Photo

Credit: Facebook Photo

Table 33 has officially opened its doors in its new spot at the Dayton Arcade.

“To ensure a smooth and efficient opening, we’ll be starting with a smaller, streamlined menu, carefully crafted to highlight some of our best offerings. This approach allows us to focus on delivering exceptional quality and service as we welcome you back,” the restaurant said in a social media post.

A “full, more extensive menu” will be released in the coming weeks, the post said. Dinner service will be added in December.

The restaurant is located at 45 W. Fourth St. in the Arcade’s Commercial and Fourth Street buildings. This was the former home of Est! Est!! Est!!!, an Italian restaurant that closed in July.

Table 33 was previously located on West Second Street. The restaurant closed in July as it prepared for the transition to the new space.

Frisch’s closings list: The ones that have closed, may close, or are staying open

Credit: Natalie Jones

Credit: Natalie Jones

The Frisch’s Big Boy location on Wilmington Pike in Kettering is set to close at 8 p.m. Saturday, according to an employee who answered the phone last week.

This news comes after several Frisch’s locations have closed across the region. The following restaurants are permanently closed:

I called the other Frisch’s locations in the area. The following are expected to close, but a closing date has yet to be announced:

These four restaurants are expected to stay open:

Quick Bites

🍺 Loose Ends Brewing collaborates with Death Grip Donuts: Cientifico Loco, a Mexican Hot Chocolate Donut Stout brewed with donuts, ancho chilies, habanero peppers and German chocolate, will be released Friday. READ MORE

☕ Kettering to get Coffee Bar by Val’s Bakery: The drive-thru only coffee stand is expected to soft open Dec. 6 at 5707 Bigger Road.

🍴 Basil’s in Troy on market for acquisition or lease: This news comes after the restaurant had closed its doors at the end of May due to a fire.

🍩 Glazed Donut Eatery celebrates grand opening: The doughnut shop has opened a second location near Wright State University at 3800 Colonel Glenn Highway Suite 200 in Fairborn. PHOTOS

🎄 Countdown to Christmas: Tree lighting ceremonies to illuminate holiday spirit across Dayton region.

The Legendary Lights at Clifton Mill open Friday with nearly 5M lights

Each year, just after Labor Day, Tony Satariano and about five other guys start putting up Christmas lights at the Historic Clifton Mill — a tradition that started in 1987.

The Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill is approaching 5 million lights. Satariano says the final count is somewhere around 4.8 or 4.9 million lights. Last year, the final light count was around 4.6 million.

Satariano has added the bulk of the new lights to the covered bridge light show — happening every half hour. Fans can expect a new 30 second scene involving life-sized deer before the main light show begins.

“You have to see it to believe it,” Satariano said. “I highly suggest, especially if you’re local, try to come Monday through Thursday. If they can’t, try to get here early.”

He described the feeling of the lights turning on as fireworks at the Fourth of July. On opening night, Grace Norman, a four-time Paralympic medalist and two-time Paralympic champion in the triathlon, will turn the lights on.

TAKE A LOOK: Here are 6 things to do in Dayton this weekend

Tell Us

Thank you so much for reading my weekly newsletter! If you see a new restaurant opening or are wondering when an establishment is expected to open, feel free to email me here, and I’ll check it out.

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