He is the man who left, but some of us won’t let him go. I mean Dave Hickey — the famous art critic who lived here many years before leaving in 2010.

Ah, New Year’s Eve. That magical night when Vegas is transformed into a volcano filled with drunks.

Look at this guy, Troy Heard! Is he bringing it or what? Now, that’s the look of a director you can imagine slamming “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” onto a stage. Not to mention the gonzo history of “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson” or “Summer Camp the Musical.

Regarding the Black Crowes, we hear there’s new life in the old birds these days, possibly thanks to new guitarist Jackie Green. Scouting reports from the current tour reassure us that frontman Chris Robinson will be his usual dervish of charisma when the band jams at the Hard Rock Hotel on Dec.

The West’s great camel experiment sought to bring Mother Nature’s irritable, spitting, cactus-eating off-road vehicle to the mines and mountains of Nevada.The great desert of the West beckoned explorers, exploiters and settlers throughout the 19th century.

La Cucina Italiana Food and Wine FestivalDec. 5-8.

We took three of the valley's top food writers out to lunch to dish about the state of the Vegas dining scene. We didn't save you any pizza - but here are a few slices of our lively conversation.

Where I eat “With three kids, we mostly eat in the neighborhood and of the moment. Being spontaneous seems to be our best bet.

Surprise of the Year Yonaka. Brilliant new Japanese cuisine is popping up all over the dining scene, but no one expected a former French café at Flamingo and Decatur to emerge as a palace of future-sushi, a thoughtfully experimental kitchen where any fresh, bright ingredient you can think of — and many you can’t — find their perfect place on a plate with raw fish.

The post-bubble economy may have inspired a new embrace of comfort food and casual fare but, thankfully, some chefs realized that not all of us need a celebrity-branded gourmet burger to heal our souls. Come on: Thrill us! They did.