Plenty of libation specials take place this weekend

By Lesley Abravanel4/26/2012

Marinating in Midtown
No one needs an excuse to do happy hour, but it is inexcusable to spend an arm and a leg doing so, which is why Ricochet presents R.A.W, Ricochet. After. Work. (their punctuation, not ours), from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday. Call it a welcome misnomer because in terms of this R.A.W. deal, you are getting a bargain with half off every lick of food and drink on the lounge's menu for those four hours.

Wasted in Wynwood
Raw seems to be a running theme this week, at least as Earth Day, Earth Week and Earth Month come to an end from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, April 27 at Cafeina, where artist Lucinda Linderman closes out her exhibition, Reclaiming Miami, with a reception, live performance and installation. Linderman sees beauty in trash—something that has absolutely nothing to do with beer goggles (for that, see below). “Frustrated by my over-consumption and production of plastic and paper waste from food and product packaging, I 'upcycle' my trash to create abstract sculptures that reference the body. By using waste as building blocks for sculpture, I offer one alternative to throwing trash into a landfill and hope to inspire others to think of waste as a raw material.” Also at the reception is an Eco-Market featuring goods by Miami’s local, organic and eco-friendly vendors.

Lions & Tigers & Beer, Oh My
Despite the fact that you’re never, ever supposed to feed the wildlife, Zoo Miami puts its cardinal rule aside for one night only when it teams up with Miami New Times from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 28 for the third annual Brew at the Zoo. In addition to samplings of over 100 kinds of beer, there will be live performances by Alien Ant Farm, The Spazmatics and King Louie and the Bushmen. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the door and $70 VIP, which includes a 6 p.m. entrance into a tented area featuring food and more beer. For more information, go to www.newtimesbrewatthezoo.com.

All The World’s The Stage
Promoters are pretty psyched about the lineup from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. Friday, April 27 at The Stage. On the marquis: Bob Log III, an American slide guitar one-man band, performing his first show since moving to Australia. Says a promoter, this “looks to be a show of the ages.” Also headlining: singer and NC-17 songwriter Blowfly, Mr. Free, The Satellite Freakout, and on the new outdoor stage, banjo wielding Lone Wolf OMB, and jazz-a-billy band Pravda V Glaza.  Admission is $5 in advance or $7 at the door.

Conscientious Consumption
With 100 percent of net proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida, there's no excuse not to imbibe at Vibrant Rioja's grand wine tasting from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, April 30 at the InterContinental Hotel Miami. For just $25, you'll sample over 200 different Rioja wines, to the tune of live music and, according to the event coordinators, “a large variety of food.” Pre-register online at http://us.riojawine.com/en/. 

Dive Masters
By now most of Miami’s mixology enthusiasts have already adopted Indian Creek Hotel pop-up bar The Broken Shaker as their Cheers, but a recent cocktail menu there may have inspired even the most muddled barflies to reconsider the whole mixology thing and take the plunge. That menu, inspired by some of Miami’s most magnificently seedy dive bars included cocktails created in the likenesses of Club Deuce, Ted’s Hideaway, Dewey’s, Free Spirits and Cucu’s Nest. And while “aromatic pumpkin syrup” and “Ted’s Hideaway” are as likely a pairing as a Kardashian and a “No Pictures” sign, the dichotomy is downright delightful, not to mention, an inspiration to revisit Miami’s seedier spots. Speaking of Miami’s less fancy watering holes, we have three words: Save Scotty’s Landing.