Special meals

• Firenze is hosting a two-week "Tour of Liguria" with four courses for $25; it's part of the restaurant's regional series of dinners. You can also order any of the courses a la carte; the tasting menu is offered Sunday-Friday, and the place will work through the most stellar regions sequentially (though are any of Italy's regions not stellar, culinarily speaking?). 6414 Rea Road; 704-544-4949; www.firenzecharlotte.com.
  

• Max’s Ally plans a back-to-school party weekend beginning Sept. 12: Live music on the patio, a sneak peek at the new menu, which begins the following day, and a specials lineup. Sept. 13, brunch will be served 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (reservations required; $18.95 for adults; $4.95 for kids). That menu includes a cold salad buffet, tapas, a roast beef carving station, hot buffet and more. (Also, through October, the restaurant offers drink specials on different nights, and half-price appetizers on Wednesdays.) 355 John Galt Way in Afton Village, Concord; 704-721-6297.
  

• Passion8 offers two noteworthy dinners in September: Four courses featuring mushrooms from the Organic Clover Mushroom Farm on Sept. 16 for $35, and a tribute to Julia Child, with four courses from her seminal "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" on Sept. 30 (plus French wines) for $55. 3415 Hwy 51, Fort Mill; 803-802-7455.
  

• Rooster's hosts a Jon-David Headrick wine dinner Sept. 22, with artisanal wines from France's Loire Valley. Headrick leans toward young owners using progressive techniques and organic and biodynamic farming. $75; 6601 Morrison Blvd.; 704-366-8688.
  

• Blue serves up five Greek dishes, with Greek wine pairings, Sept. 24 -- inspired by this weekend's Greek festival. The menu includes shrimp spanakopita; rabbit moussaka; sweetbread stifado (like a stew) and more. $34.95; in the Hearst Tower at College and 5th streets; 704-927-2583.