What is this mysterious thing of beauty?

It looks a little like one of those photographs from deep space captured by the Hubble space telescope.

 A strange, new world, perhaps?

Maybe it's a photograph inside a volcano crater with molten lava bubbling up at night.

Or possibly an image captured by an electron microscope of some very small bit of matter blown up very large.

Actually, it's none of the above, but in its own way, it's just as mysterious and interesting.

It's a portion of the surface of the wine bar at Viking Culinary Center. It's fashioned from polished slices of  stalagmite, a cave formation made over eons through the dripping of water. The glow comes from lighting underneath.

You can get a closer look 6-9 p.m. Friday at an open house at the new business on Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. There is a $10 fee, but you get a tour, cooking demonstration and something tasty to eat.

There's been a lot of buzz about Viking.

Friday is also Music on Main at Lakewood Ranch. Goodbye Eddie will be performing. And there will be a couple of new businesses on the street to check out: Pastries by Design and Athletic Edge.

For more on Viking Culinary Center, see Friday's Lakewood Ranch Herald. It sounds like this will be a fun place to visit.