The casual food trend is lively, playful, sometimes even silly - but also more sophisticated than you think. There are snobby gourmands - maybe you know one or two - who lament the trend of casual cuisine starting to eclipse fine dining.

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.