Muddling through the week gets easier, thanks to "Make Your Own Muddle" Nights at Excelsior. Back by popular demand, the muddling bar, offered on Sundays and Mondays from 4:30 to 9 p.m., features fresh fruits, herbs, syrups, and purées for guests to pair with the liquor of their choice. Not feeling particularly creative? The restaurant's daily cocktail menu has plenty of muddled options, including the Bajito (Bacardi Select, fresh lime, mint, and basil, and sugar) and the Strawberry Caipiroska (Grey Goose, fresh strawberries, lime, sugar). >> Get your tickets (and start saving room) for the fifth annual Tanglewood Wine & Food Classic, the perfect summer culinary weekend, held August 9 through 11 in the Berkshires. Events include a wine-auction dinner, wine seminars, and a Grand Tasting. Get a three-day ticket, or board a special bus at Symphony Hall for a one-day Grand Tasting trip on August 11. Call 888.266.1200 or visit www.tanglewoodwineandfoodclassic.com for information and tickets. >> It may not have Venice's famed canals, but the Venetian Wine Barbecue at Rialto will certainly have the food. The four-course al fresco dinner, held in the courtyard of the Charles Hotel on July 12, features Venetian small bites, grilled delicacies, and wines from the region. The cost is $95, all-inclusive, and the event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. Call 617.661.5050 for reservations and information. >> Worked up an appetite? You just might be able to handle the "Dinner for Two" option at the Palm. Through July, the restaurant's $90 prix-fixe menu includes two summer salads, two side dishes, and a four-pound lobster split two ways (for $105, try a five-pounder; for $125, see what you can do with six whopping pounds of the crustacean). We're putting our bibs on now.
