Wolfgang Puck is opening yet another eatery in Vegas, his sixth. Cut will be the name of the new steakhouse at Palazzo. This is another Beverly Hills transplant, with all of the trappings of the ultra-swank original being brought over and hopefully its pedigree – it was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as a “Best New Restaurant” for 2006 and was picked by Esquire magazine as the “Restaurant of the Year.”

Mario Batali will open his second restaurant a couple of hundred yards away from his B&B Ristorante at The Venetian. Carnevino will be an Italian restaurant and will most likely be infused with his unique twists on traditional dishes that have made him such a staple on cooking programs.

Apparently you can never kick up by too many notches and to prove that, Emeril Lagasse will be opening another restaurant in Vegas. This one is called Table 10 and will feature Coastal Creole cuisine, specializing in seafood and other delicacies with his native New Orleans touches.

Chicago native Charlie Trotter is bringing his culinary skills to Las Vegas for the first time with a restaurant at Palazzo called, appropriately enough, Trotter. Perhaps most famous for his PBS series The Kitchen Sessions, Trotter has a couple of eateries in the Windy City that specialize in natural and organic foods, from naturally raised meat and game to line-caught seafood.

So with a celebrity chef heavy line-up like that, what else could you do to liven up the restaurant mix? Throw in a real celebrity, of course. Rap artist and music label executive Jay-Z will open an American sports bar/nightclub/restaurant called the 40/40 Club.

Palazzo is currently scheduled to open on December 20, 2007. For more information, visit the website at www.palazzolasvegas.com.

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Question: You seem to be a fan of dessert. Me too! What are your favorites in Las Vegas?

Answer: I don’t know how to answer that question, Justin. Not because I don’t know the answer but because I don’t want to get chocolate on my computer keyboard.

Anyway, almost every restaurant in town has a dessert worth skipping dinner for, but there are a couple of places that specialize in sweet and therefore win my heart and my stomach.

The Chocolate Swan at the Mandalay Place mall (between Luxor and Mandalay Bay) serves up the best chocolates that I have ever tasted, bar none – and I’ve tasted a lot of freaking chocolate my friend. Their milk chocolate caramels are perfection in a half-inch square and their Italian inspired gelatos, rich pastries, delicate yet substantial cakes, and everything else on the menu is just a delight from top to bottom. I almost always make a stop here on my way out of town to get some take home with me.

Another frequent stop for things to devour on the car ride home is The Cupcakery, a small storefront that dispenses pure cupcake heaven. Again, not to be a snob or anything, but I know cupcakes and I live in Los Angeles where the designer cupcake is the rage so for me to say that The Cupcakery’s treats are better than anything I’ve tasted here in LA it’s saying a lot. They have a ton of different choices and flavors and I’ve never had one that has disappointed but the Oh My Gosh, Ganache is a particular favorite. Oh, and I nearly drove 300 miles just to try their September special, which was in essence, a Rolo candy in cupcake form. Seriously. More information can be found on their website at www.thecupcakery.com.

Those are my choices – I hope you enjoy them.

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