Next time you’re playing tour guide on short notice, consider these Strip gems hidden in plain sight It’s a true rite of passage, one of those singular experiences that naturalizes you as a citizen of Vegas. Friends are in town or, worse, relatives.

Eating at gourmet burger joints all over town has reminded me what I love about a burger. Combining contrasting textures and splashing wild flavor around is fun, but what are we really talking about here? That super juicy, savory-rich bite of beef.

Jajangmyun at Chapaghetti In South Korea, April 14 is known as Black Day. The anti-Valentine’s Day, it’s an occasion when the lonely commiserate by wearing dark clothes and wallowing over bowls of jajangmyeon, or noodles in black bean sauce.

THE BROWSER Spring cleaning — the feng shui way There’s a home cleanse that all the Windex and Lysol in the world can’t deliver — a balance of energy and promotion for good health and fortune that a 4,000-year-old Chinese tradition claims to accomplish. Sound more appealing than sweeping away that trail of crumbs going from the couch to the kitchen? Thought it might.

Q: I want to avoid high gas prices and do my part for the earth — I want to take the bus a few times a week. What should a new bus rider know? A: Four bucks for a gallon of gas? It’s just the start.

The Smith Center’s big, brash pipe dream The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is a stately limestone building whose classical composition — both elegant and formal — features Art Deco details drawn from Hoover Dam, suggesting enduring social purpose and monumental achievement. Indeed, the newly opened center has already attracted a constellation of star talent.

A beginner dips a toe into the dance scene to find a footloose world where strangers become friends — in just a few simple steps Last summer, a friend of mine married into a Bavarian family. Following custom, the first dance was a full-on, magic-of-Disney, Fred-and-Ginger-eat-your-heart-out waltz — none of that gentle swaying stuff people get away with these days.

In the studio of Brent Sommerhauser, fine art emerges from dirty, hot, dangerous places CORRECTION: This article has been corrected to reflect that Brent Sommerhauser was an assistant gaffer in the creation of the Domsky Glass sculpture for The Cosmopolitan's Book & Stage venue. Artist Larry Domsky conceived, designed and fabricated the piece.

British reserve? Pshaw! Transplant Claire Jane Vranian takes English sensibility and rocks it up Fashion and music have seen a recent British renaissance of sorts. From the ongoing buzz about the royal couple to Adele’s domination of pop music to the worldwide craze over Alexander McQueen, everyone’s eye is on British style — and Las Vegas is no exception.