Part burger, part Filet-o-Fish, with a bagel and lox thrown in for good measure, the Captain Hook ($15.50) at Holsteins in Las Vegas is one hulking hybrid of a sandwich. Grilled Atlantic salmon (best ordered medium rare for ultimate buttery richness), dressed with crisp frisée, tangy pickled shallots, and a creamy caper-herb mayonnaise that's just this side of tartar sauce, in all the right ways. In Vegas, more is always better, so the salmon fillet is then topped with a really generous slab of house-cured gravlax. More

Sunday marked the first-annual All-Star Cochon 555. Perhaps inevitably, this over-the-top love letter to all things pork was held in Vegas, the capital of over-the-top decadence, at the new Cosmopolitan Hotel. Winners and fan-favorites of Cochon 555, the traveling snout-to-tail pig cook-off, converged to show off their best swine bites, both savory and sweet. Headcheese, sliders, and porky spins on summer sweets (think cotton candy and snow cones) were in full-effect, as were pig puns. More

Rameniac, one of the premier noodle blogs, has revealed its 2009 King of the Bowl ramen ratings, with lists for Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City. In Los Angeles, the noodle scene was largely static, "save for the opening of one or two sub-par shops." Seattle was all about tonkotsu (a specific type of ramen). "Had Kurt Cobain slurped down a few Samurai Armor Plates (from Seattle's Samurai Noodle) during his lifetime, grunge might have never happened." Vegas is more famous for "99¢ buffets and Lance Burton at the Monte Carlo," but there are three ramen spots worth noting. And then there's New York. Fresh off the Japanese airlines, the heaviest hitters go straight to this... More

Brand Steakhouse in Las Vegas will give you their 120-ounce (seven and a half pounds) steak for free if you eat the whole thing by yourself. Otherwise, you'll have to pony up $267. Whether the rules include a time limit or puke allowance is unknown. [via EatFeats]... More

New York Times In recent weeks, anchors on KVVU, the Fox affiliate in Las Vegas, sat with McDonald’s iced coffees as they broadcasted the "news-and-lifestyle" portion of the morning show. But as reported by the New York Times, they weren't from an early morning drive-thru trip. In fact, the anchors hardly touched the cups. It's part of a six-month product placement deal where the on-air cast will join their new iced coffee friends, but not during the "straight news portion," said KVVU news director Adam Bradshaw; just during the lightweight stuff between 7 and 9 a.m. Other stations owned by the Meredith Broadcasting Group may have logoed cups from the Golden Arches soon too. What if a report involves... More

Still in Vegas, last night's episode involved a bunch of crazy non-food elements. Showgirls, Spamalot cast members, poker tables, one contestant's vocal chords, oh, and a man dressed as Cher. Typical network coverage, no? The three remaining contestants (Lisa, Aaron, and Adam) were asked to create a Vegasian buffet for judges and past NFNS winner Guy Fiere. You know, the really successful one with peroxide hair all over T.G.I. Friday's commercials? The one they're all trying to be? Thanks to a big surprise at the end, they're all getting another chance next week.... More

Chicago, which is certainly a hotbed of great cuisine these days, has been tapped as the next locale to host Bravo's culinary cookoff. Unfortunately, the press release hit our inbox a couple days late to let you know about this past weekend's open casting at the Rock Bottom Brewery. Still, if you think what you've got to be a "cheftestant" and want to brave the Top Chef pressure cooker, you can still send in a tape or show up at the open casting calls in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Just remember, the weather in Chicago during taping is unlikely to resemble Miami's balmy temps. It's gonna be a whole lot chillier when you step out of the... More

According to Russ Parsons of the Los Angeles Times, Michelin has just announced that their little red books will be coming out in Southern California and Las Vegas editions this fall, marking Michelin's third and fourth additions to the North American market (after New York and San Francisco Bay Area) and only the fourth and fifth guides for non-European cities (after the Tokyo Guide announced two weeks ago). "Los Angeles has a full-time team of six inspectors and Las Vegas four, says Christian Delhaye, the Paris-based president of Michelin Maps & Guides. Each local inspector averages more than 300 restaurant meals per year, he says. Their reports are supplemented by visits from inspectors from outside the area — from... More