CHICAGO— Micah Melton, beverage director of Grant Achatz's haute cocktail bar the Aviary, has teamed with Washington's BroVo Spirits to create a cherry liqueur called Boomerang. The Chicago Tribune reports Melton developed the spirit "using the same flavor-mapping technique he uses to craft recipes at The Aviary," and it's currently available only at select Chicago restaurants and bars. BroVo will roll out the bottles in select Chicago-area markets by the beginning of 2015. [Trib]
NEW YORK CITY— Next Wednesday, November 12, chef Christian Puglisi (of Copenhagen's Michelin-starred Relae) will host a star-studded chef panel about "what the conventional fine dining experience gets wrong." Puglisi will be joined by chefs Danny Bowein, Ignacio Mattos, Carlo Mirarchi, and Isaac McHale at the 92nd Street Y; more information and tickets here. [EaterWire]
LAS VEGAS— Downtown Summerlin, a 1.6-million-square-foot upscale retail complex, opened in Las Vegas last month, but a whopping 13 previously announced restaurants are still yet to come. Eater Vegas brings word of projected opening dates for all of Summerlin's upcoming concepts, including a second location of "downtown darling" MTO Cafe. [ELV]