A James Beard ‘Rising Star Chef’ and her mother cook to raise funds for Puerto Rico

On Dec. 4, Independent Brewing Company in Squirrel Hill will raise money through a casual fundraising dinner for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican-native Jamilka Borges — head chef at Spoon in East Liberty and James Beard “Rising Star Chef” semifinalist — will join her mother, Jenny Muniz, who lives in San Juan, to prepare a homestyle meal available for the night’s alacarte menu.

All proceeds for the dinner, and a dollar for every drink sold, will go toward Ms. Muniz’s nonprofit, El Buen Samaritano (The Good Samaritan), which, under Ms. Muniz, has been cooking lunches for the people of San Lorenzo, Utuado and Manati, Puerto Rico, where access to food remains limited following the hurricanes.

Ms. Muniz is the owner and chef of Plato Bohemia in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and started El Buen Samaritano to serve meals to more than a dozen nearby communities in need of help following the hurricanes. Ms. Borges will be joining her mother’s efforts in Puerto Rico in early January.

Then all month long, The Independent’s sibling bar Hidden Harbor, next door, will donate a dollar from every drink to the nonprofit. Ms. Borges’ em-panadilla sales on The Independent’s food menu will also go toward relief efforts.

Speaking of Spoon...

John Wabeck is no longer the general manager at Spoon, but will continue to run the wine and bar program as he moves into more of a wine and cocktail consulting role for restaurants. Longtime employee Elise Ramirez Sloan has taken over the role of general manager.

Zone 28’s grand reopening on Dec .3

Harmar’s massive game destination, formerly FunFest, is now Zone 28 at 2525 Freeport Road.

The location throws open the doors at noon until 5 p.m. Dec. 3, for an all-ages event, with the first 280 visitors awarded free $10 game cards. Look for bowling among 33 lanes, 30 new arcade games, skee-ball, laser tag and more.

Eats come from the Rail House Restaurant and End Zone Sports Bar, with a new Rail House menu as part of the opening.

The Commoner offering its Grinch-inspired holiday drink menu

The Commoner’s head bartender, Alex Dando, has concocted a cocktail menu inspired by “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” available Friday through the end of the month.

Look for over-the-top garnishes like Jell-O shots and marshmallows as well as drinks like “It’s because I’m green, isn’t it?” with the pressed green juice from brunch service with grape fruit tarragon infused Tito’s, Do maine De Canton, Berentzen ApfelKorn, lemon and al ace of vanilla and cardamom.

It’s the third year for the restaurant’s holiday movie-themed drink list, following “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and the one from the year before that ,“A Christmas Story .”