HOW YOUR GARDEN GROWS Take this tree advice Shopping for a tree? A little detective work get you a happy, healthy tree that’s much more likely to thrive in your garden. Here are some tips.

Perhaps on his days off, Rick Moonen swaps his chef’s jacket and toque for a tailcoat and top hat. Is there any other explanation for the pseudo-Victorian flavor of his latest project? Rx Boiler Room, which opened in early July, just might be the first gastropub in America that capitalizes on the popularity of steampunk, a subculture inspired by 19th-century science fiction.

The Titanic at Carmine’s An appropriate name for a dish that will sink to the bottom of your belly. The signature dessert at this Italian-American institution is basically a banana split on steroids: Hot brownies are smothered with scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, chopped fruit and cookies.

Set aside the sushi menu. The valley’s new wave of Japanese cuisine boasts rich curries, exotic tapas and deep-fried everything Japanese food in Las Vegas has been about much more than sushi for some time now.

On January 1, I’ll have been out of a Nevada business euphemistically called “the gaming industry” for five years. I am not retired, mind you.

Is it us, or is there a little bit of cultural renaissance going on up in here? The Smith Center is hitting its stride, the downtown arts scene is sizzling with fresh energy, UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute continues to serve up big brains and thinky discussions, and it seems there’s now a nosh festival for every food group. But for us, the strongest evidence is in the pages ahead, where we packed more than 75 must-go events this season, from concerts and plays to festivals and discussions.

Smith Center The Smith Center’s fall season glitters with a surplus of Broadway divas. Full productions include the nun-tastic Sister Act and the showstopper-packed Evita.

With its bars, boutiques and galleries, Springdale is a cozy and cosmopolitan gateway to Zion Nestled below the towering cliffs at the entrance to Zion National Park, Springdale is probably the most cosmopolitan small town in America — but most tourists seem blissfully unaware of that fact. Most of Zion’s 3 million annual visitors see the town as just a place to park to catch the shuttle in to Zion, and Springdale is fine with that.

Is it us, or is there a little bit of cultural renaissance going on up in here? The Smith Center is hitting its stride, the downtown arts scene is sizzling with fresh energy, UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute continues to serve up big brains and thinky discussions, and it seems there’s now a nosh festival for every food group. But for us, the strongest evidence is in the pages ahead, where we packed more than 75 must-go events this season, from concerts and plays to festivals and discussions.

It’s typical for kids to sing songs in kindergarten classrooms to help the learning process along. You already know this well — can you recite the alphabet without getting the “ABC” song in your head? Kim Glover knows this particularly well.