This summer, a new bar named “Fern Bar” will be coming to Downtown Kansas City. Fern Bar is an agave and sugarcane-centric bar. Although the bar is stil being renovated, it appears there is a strong sense of what the future business will be. On Fern Bar’s website, it states that the Fern Bar is “willing to create a culture of community and hope, to stand out, to stand up and say: There’s a better way to do things,” and driven through a team of world-class hospitalists, they are to be housed in an inviting and connected space This short introduction to the bar shows a dedication to its craft and an introduction to its mission. So far the company has established some branding principles, a logo, its future location at the Crossroads, and some possible menu items. 

During the last week of March, Fern Bar held an early pop-up event in anticipation of its future opening. At this event, the business was able to showcase all the hard work that has been put into Fern Bar thus far. The pop-up contained a variety of drinks that were in the spirit of its agave-forward mission. The drinks I tried were the margarita and the Daiquiri. The margarita was made from Libélula tequila Joven, Tapatio Blanco, Duckett curacao, lime, and agave. The Daiquiri was made from Probitas blended rum, Gustoso Mexican rum, Uruapan Charanda Blanco, lime, and Demerara. These drinks were bright, refreshing, and thoroughly developed. They were also served in glasses that were visually alluring. Tacos Valentina, a local taco restaurant, and Casio Mccombs, a local DJ, were also present at the event. The event was held at Big Mood Natural Wines, a warm and eccentric wine store in the Crossroads. This was fitting as Fern Bar will be opening its upcoming location at 2045 Broadway Blvd in Downtown Kansas City. 

Interacting with the owner of Fern Bar, Bryan Arri, at the event was insightful. He’s an enthusiastic individual passionate about great cocktails. He shared parts of his vision for Fern Bar at the event as well as expressed his thanks for those who came to support him and his new business. The event appeared to be successful. Personally, I enjoyed the food, drinks, and music that were present. Other people looked as if they were enjoying themselves as well. There was also a line extending through the door for the majority of the night. Although it is not yet known what exactly Fern Bar will look like, the spirit and community of  Fern Bar seems supportive. Although there is no set date for when the bar will be opened, it is estimated for late summer of 2023. Until then, I will be looking forward to re-visiting!

Kansas City is home to a handful of truly amazing plant shops. The two I visited this weekend were Virgil’s Plant shop on Cherry Street and Verdant which is in the Crossroads. Both shops offered gorgeous plants and surroundings.  

Virgil’s offers a wide variety of plants, as well as plant care tools and merchandise. They have just about any house plant you can imagine. These plants all seemed high quality and well taken after. Virgil’s Plant Shop caters to a wide audience. They have both cheap plants for the average plant parent as well as rare and expensive plants for the plant connoisseur. Notably, they had an Albino Monstera plant that caught my eye. While it was a beautiful plant, it was far out of my price range. I focused more on the large variety of cute and affordable succulents. Something else that makes Virgil’s unique is the potting station. For a small fee, the lovely employees at Virgil’s will pot your new plant for you. In the front right corner of the store, they also have a neon sign which is perfect for people to use for photos. Something that I believe gave Virgil’s a lot of charm was the polaroids they had up around the shop of past customers sitting in that space. Another thing I appreciated about the shop was its well-designed merchandise. Their tanks and t-shirts reading “Loosen your Roots” among other sayings are also available online at the store’s website. I really enjoyed visiting this shop for the first time and certainly plan on returning. 

Verdant also offers a large variety of plants and flowers. In addition, this plant shop also offers small home furnishings such as handmade ceramics and candles. Their candles are made by Convivial, another local business located in Kansas City. My favorite scent at Verdant was Lavender Seed. Something that I thought was really cool is that once you burn through your candle and bring it back to Verdant, they will give you 50% off your next candle purchase. Another thing that makes Verdant different is that they also offer flowers. The flower bouquets they had in the fridge within their shop were beautiful and well-balanced. The bouquets I enjoyed the most were the mini bouquets on the top shelf. I also appreciated the dried flowers they had for sale. This is a great alternative for someone who enjoys plants and flowers but has a hard time keeping them alive. Generally, the shop, its plants and its employees were very welcoming and I enjoyed my time there. They had a lot of small details throughout the shop that made the environment warm and inviting. Many of their ceramics and various other products are available on their website. 

Hoerman’s work is predominantly digital, stylized as bright and playful while maintaining dark undertones. In their artist statement, they refer to their work as “macabre with a candy coating.” Oftentimes, Hoerman’s illustrations feature invented characters with corresponding environments around them. In one piece, a character named Pesto the Possum boxes with a mantis named Marrow. 

Hoerman uses a variety of mediums throughout the collection. One mixed media piece titled “Create Xing” is a deer-like creature painted on cardboard, holding a metal stop sign. They use ink and graphite to show their creative process. Next to their finalized digital pieces, they display sketches they made on paper. Allowing the audience to perceive the beginning of an idea before the final polished piece shows a certain amount of vulnerability from the artist which not only contributes visually but is also conceptually appealing. Displaying their process is fitting, as the show is meant to depict the intimate thoughts and feelings of Hoerman. 

“These pieces are my dreams, my hopes, my fears,” Hoerman details in their artist statement. “These are my defying thoughts and defining memories.” 

They also refer to the works as a collection of memories. Hoerman invites viewers to explore these memories in hopes that onlookers might find joy in the works or even relate to them personally.

Photos by Claire Henry.

Every good Christmas tale says the Christmas spirit is made up of love, joy and magic – and every good cook knows love, joy and magic begin in the kitchen. That’s why I’ve compiled the best recipes for cooking up the taste of Christmastime – as well as the best Christmas song pairings for an ideal holiday baking playlist. 

Rudolph Noses

Song pairing: “Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer” by Kacey Musgraves 

Festive, simple and delicious, these three-ingredient treats look like little Rudolph noses. 

Peppernuts 

Song pairing: “Oh Holy Night” by Céline Dion

Peppernuts, or “pfeffernüsse” as German-speaking communities call them, are nut-sized spiced cookies traditionally baked at Christmastime by Mennonites. I have many fond memories of rolling out skinny logs of peppernut dough and cutting them into tiny cookies with my Mennonite family. Anise oil gives peppernuts a similar flavor to black licorice, so if you do not like black licorice omit the anise oil. 

The Best Iced Sugar Cookies

Song pairing: “Cold December Night” by Michael Bublé

The key to shaped sugar cookies is to make sure your dough is extremely cold before cutting and baking the cookies. This keeps your shapes from spreading. Adding almond extract into the dough also takes these sugar cookies up a notch.

For icing both sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, I like to combine a small bit of water with a lot of powdered sugar until it reaches my desired consistency. There’s no need to get fancy with the icing – the cookie should be able to hold its own. 

Gingerbread Cookies

Song pairing: “Heaven and Earth” by Leslie Odom Jr. 

Nothing tastes more like the holidays than a soft, spiced gingerbread cookie. Adding details with white icing gives these cookies a classic, rustic look that will be sure to impress – that is, if you get time to admire these cookies before they’ve been gobbled up. 

Gingerbread House

Song pairing: “Candy Cane Lane” by Sia

I stumbled across this video by Tasty a few years ago for a perfect gingerbread house, and I have to say it has all the secrets to a no-fail cookie home. I have followed the video’s instructions for the past two years and have ended up with perfect, beautiful gingerbread houses – which is no small feat. 

The best part of a gingerbread house is the decorating. I like to add pretzel logs for a winter cabin look and frost sugar cones with green icing to make pine trees. 

Peanut Clusters

Song pairing: “This Christmas” by Ben Rector 

You cannot go wrong with chocolate and peanuts. These simple treats keep well in the freezer, so go ahead and make a big batch. They make for perfect holiday gifts for neighbors, friends, the mailman – really anyone, sans those with a peanut allergy.

2 pounds white chocolate

3 cups dark chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ pounds salted peanuts

Directions:

Slowly melt white chocolate and chocolate chips in the top section of a double boiler. When completely melted, stir in vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, pour in salted peanuts and then stir in the hot chocolate mixture. Drop clumps the size of small cookies on waxed paper to cool until hardened. 

Cracker Toffee

Song pairing: “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande 

Another perfect Christmas gift is this simple and addictive toffee. Made from saltine crackers, this Christmas dessert perfectly balances salty and sweet.

Ingredients: 

Saltine crackers 

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

6 ounces of milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place a layer of saltine crackers over the entire surface of foil. Combine sugar and butter in a saucepan and boil for three minutes. Pour hot syrup over saltines. Bake at 400 degrees for five minutes. Sprinkle the hot surface with chocolate chips and spread the chocolate evenly as it melts. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top. Cool and break into pieces. 

Cheese Fondue 

Song pairing: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Ingrid Michaelson and Will Chase

Not a sweets person? In my family, we make cheese fondue every Christmas Eve. Sourdough bread, tart green apples, carrot sticks and summer sausage all pair well with this fondue, which uses gruyere cheese and cherry brandy. 

Ingredients: 

½ pound imported Swiss cheese

½ pound gruyere cheese

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon cherry brandy

½ teaspoon mustard 

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions: Shred cheeses and coat with cornstarch. Heat wine and lemon juice to a gentle simmer. Gradually add the cheeses. Once smooth, stir in brandy, mustard and nutmeg. 

When it comes to Christmas, there’s no place more nostalgic than the kitchen. Food can remind us of some of the best memories of Christmases past, so recreating family recipes is a great way to get into the spirit. Turn on some good Christmas music, pull out the cookbooks and get baking.