
. . . and while we
know you're not complaining about today's heatwave, you certainly want to be somewhere fabulous to cool off with some mighty fine drinks:
Maven's hosting
Mischieve in the Garden of Agave, a sexy, offbeat party with an open bar and deejays spinning sounds you love to hear. Comped cocktails 8-10pm; RSVP to mischieve@directiontourmarketing.com for admittance. At
District Bar 8pm-midnight.
According to
Delilah's, the city's first-ever absinthe tasting happens there tonight. You'll get to sample 16 different spirits available in the United States—including
North Shore Distillery's
Sirene. The tasting's also part of Delilah's
Vincent Van Gogh bday celebration, which includes Van Gogh-related films. Deejay
Mike Miller spins. 6-9pm. $20.
Settle on
Red Kiva's spacious outdoor patio and enjoy a number of "adult"
SnoCones. Our faves?!
Mojito (Bacardi Superior Rum with muddled mint and fresh squeezed lime juice),
Tropicana (Absolut Peach and Absolut Razzberry with tropical fruit syrup) and
Cappuccino (Absolut Vanil with Starbucks coffee and cream liquors). $8 each.
Beer enthusiasts should head up to
Affinia hotel's glamorous scenic lounge,
C-View, for an all-new menu of distinctive large format beers. You'll toast to the 750ml bottles of
Lindeman’s Peche Lambic ($14),
Unibroue La Fin Du Monde ($23) and
Unibroue Don Di Dieu ($23).

Rick Bayless, chef of Frontera Grill/Topolobampo, demos at Green City Market on Wednesday.
And Wednesday . . . Rick Bayless (
Frontera Grill/Topolobampo) is the chef
du jour for the
Green City Market. He'll slow-cooked Goat Birria at 10:30am, and you best believe if you want a seat you should arrive early. Market opens at 7:30am. Free. Also, catch him later on
Bravo's
Top Chef Masters at 9pm CST.
Several award-winning chefs duke it out in the
Summer Market Mystery Soiree at
Calphalon Culinary Center (1000 W. Washington Blvd.). Competing chefs include
Michael Taus (
Duchamp),
Roger Herring (
Socca),
Chris Pandel (
Bristol),
Giuseppe Tentori (
Boka),
Bill Kim (
Urban Belly) and
Rick Gresh (
David Burke’s Primehouse). $60 ticket includes summer-styled cocktails and samples of their signature dishes. 1-3pm.
Paul McGee (
Whistler) and
Charles Joly (
The Drawing Room) go head to head in this week's
Sweet 16 of Mixology at
Perennial. Celebrity judge is
Vie Executive Chef
Paul Virant. Appetizers and sampling of competing cocktails. 6:30-8pm. No cover.
And the second-annual
Chefs on the Grill happens at
The Plaza at
Park Grill with a number of high-profile, downtown chefs participating in a grilling competition. Chefs include
Bernie Laskowski (Park Grill),
Cliff Ostrowski (
China Grill),
Michael Fiorello (
Mercat a la Planxa),
Ben Walanka and
Daniel Romero (
Rhapsody),
Michael Cisternino (
Tavern at the Park) and
Dirk Flanigan (
The Gage). 6-8:30pm. $55 (a portion of the proceeds benefit the
Grant Park Conservancy).