Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events:

Bernie’s Burger Bus, 5407 Bellaire, is participating in a cool new project hosted by the James Beard Foundation. The Blended Burger Project is a nationwide initiative to encourage restaurants to create a burger that blends beef with at least 30 percent mushrooms, thus making a healthier, more sustainable alternative to the typical burger. Participating chefs/restaurants will offer their blended burger creations through July 31, during which customers can try them and vote online. The top five burgers will earn their creators a chance to compete at the famed James Beard House in NYC. Chef Justin Turner’s creation combines an in-house ground blend of brisket and chuck with 30 percent local Kitchen Pride crimini mushrooms, then tops the patty with goat cheese, oven-dried tomatoes, baby arugula, crispy shoestring potatoes and a charred green onion aioli.

Harold’s Restaurant & Bar, 350 West 19th, will also be getting in on the Blended Burger competition action. Made with fresh mushrooms from Indian Creek Farms and beef from 44 Farms, it is topped with Texas cheddar cheese and served on Oak Hollow Farms herb salad along with an egg from Ole Dad Farms. Chef Antoine Ware’s Blended Burger will be available during both lunch and dinner until the end of the competition. Vote for your favorite burger online by July 31. 

The fresh-casual eatery H.S. Green, 5092 Richmond, has launched a new special: wine and pizza pairings. The pizzas offer a range of thoughtfully prepared combinations, including crisp rotisserie duck with fontina cheese, the Greek feta pizza with grilled chicken and the margherita pizza. The wine selections provide options that complement everything from the boldest to the simplest flavors. A bottle of wine and pizza is $22 and serves two. The dessert pizza with a bottle of Prosecco is $18.

In a “Hump Day” special to kick off the summer, all three Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen locations will be offering small and large fajita plates of tender beef or chicken at half the marked menu price, available every Wednesday from 4 p.m. until closing. Plates include rice, beans, guacamole, cheddar cheese, sour cream and guacamole. For a one-pound platter of beef fajitas, that’s a savings of more than $17.

Beginning June 12, Sal y Pimienta, 818 Town & Country Boulevard, Suite 105, will be offering a new Sunday brunch buffet. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., guests can enjoy more than 50 individual menu items, including the restaurant’s signature 100 percent grass-fed Uruguayan beef, whole roasted pig, fresh seafood and a plethora of desserts. Cost is $35 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Endless mimosas, bellinis, and red or white sangria will be available for $13.

Backstreet Cafe, 1103 South Shepherd, will be hosting a Compañía de Vinos dinner with special guest Telmo Rodríguez on Wednesday, June 15 at 7 p.m. Enjoy the brilliant wines of Spain alongside four courses — plus a cocktail reception and amuse-bouche from the chef, with featured dishes including summer-style mussels and spice-rubbed quail over mushroom risotto. Cost is $105 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Email [email protected] for reservations.

It's 93-cent coney time! All locations of JCI Grill (James Coney Island) will be celebrating 93 years in business every third Thursday of the month through September (the celebration started in May). Get the legendary original coney – made with mustard, onions and the chain's Greek-inspired chili, a.k.a. “coney sauce” — for just 93 cents on Thursday, June 16. 

Join Monarch Restaurant at Hotel Zaza, 5701 Main, and Moët Hennessy as they pair some of the finest handpicked bubbles to complement a chef-inspired culinary experience on Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m. The five-course meal will include dishes and pairings like Maryland soft-shell crab with corn pancetta, hoppin' John paired with Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Brut and Black Hill Ranch pork carnitas with a goat milk ricotta tamale paired with the 2006 vintage of Dom Perignon Brut. Cost is $135 per person. To RSVP, call 713-527-1800 or email [email protected].

On Wednesday, June 22, chef Michael Pitrello from the soon to open Union Kitchen on Ella will be creating the menu for a special Spindletap Beer Dinner, held at The Merrill House, 2502 Algerian. The dinner begins at 7 p.m., with a reception starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $65 per person and $60 for loyal club numbers (not including tax/gratuity). Purchase by calling The Union Kitchen — Bellaire at 713-661-0025.