The new reins behind CoachWondering about that brand new name recently opened near the Trevi Fountain at the Forum Shops? Reed Krakoff is best known as the current president of Coach, Inc. - and the man that brought said label back from designer handbag purgatory and onto the arms of many a well-heeled suburbanite and city-dweller.

When you're eating out, the dining experience begins long before that first forkful hits the flavor zone (i.e.

Ask your kids where carrots come from, and we bet you ten bucks they say a carrot factory. Consider it a symptom of an era when agribusiness and grocery megachains have turned sustenance into a global cash machine - one that contributes to childhood obesity.

If you find yourself hungry for more after you've digested our Restaurant Awards (page 42), dig into our panel of critics' other picks for Sin City foodies to swallow. A new book by John Curtas, Max Jacobson and Al Mancini, Eating Las Vegas: The 50 Essential Restaurants (Huntington Press, $12.

As we close out the two thousand "ands" -- the decade that was the "ohs," "aughts" and "naughts" -- there's no argument it was an extraordinary one for Las Vegas. And not just for us.

The Healthy Baby Bundle by LaVanila Laboratories, $42For: Your adorable new niece/nephew/cousin/godchild/foundling (and the accompanying parents who will appreciate the gesture) Why: They'll be so delighted you remembered to get a gift for their little darling that you may be spared babysitting duty for the next few months. Where: Sephora in the Meadows Mall, 870-9182; Miracle Mile in Planet Hollywood, 737-0550; Grand Canal Shoppes in the Venetian, 735-3896; Town Square, 361-3727Skull cardholder wallet, $35For: Your husband, whose wallet bulge you can spot even from where you're sitting, even though he's in the kitchen making himself a BLT.

The Cosmopolitan will unleash Vegas' next big culinary blitz - and bring a renewed focus on local palatesJaleo's arroz mediterraneo paella, with porcini mushrooms, mixed vegetables, olives and thymeWe got our first taste of the upscale food phenom on the Strip with the opening of the Bellagio in 1998. We got another taste when Steve Wynn tried to up his culinary cred with Wynn Las Vegas in 2005, and again when his rival Sheldon Adelson opened the Palazzo.

To most of us, November means a big turkey, loud relatives and deathlike, tryptophan-induced slumbers in the easy chair. However, it's also Native American Heritage Month.

Few structures still stand tall in Southern Nevada after 75 years -- and fewer that do still leave you in awe. But standing on the Hoover Dam, it's still inspiring to peer over the edge into the river far below your feet.

The envelope (and the check), please. It's time for our annual Desert Companion Restaurant Awards.