Mirage confirms details of new Italian restaurant

The Mirage has confirmed some details of the new Italian restaurant coming to the resort early next year. It will be called Osteria Costa and will feature the cuisine of Italy’s Amalfi Coast in the form of Neapolitan pizzas, handmade pastas, seafood and house-baked bread. Corporate executive chef Anthony Amoroso is serving as executive chef, leaving unanswered the question of what chef Michael LaPlaca will be doing after the closing of Mirage’s Portofino this year.

It’s news to Santos

It’s not surprising that many of Las Vegas’ top chefs were in attendance Saturday night/Sunday morning when John Courtney defeated Nicole Brisson in the latest Back of the House Brawl cooking competition, in the parking lot of the Sand Dollar Lounge. But Beauty & Essex’s Chris Santos, no stranger to chef battles, ended up at the event accidentally. Santos, who runs his own heavy metal record label, showed up at the bar with Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel and singer Lizzy Borden. He said they were just there for drinks and music. In fact, the frequent “Chopped” judge had never even heard of the underground cooking competition before that night.

Tran cancels ‘Takeover’

Due to “unforeseen circumstances,” The Black Sheep chef Jamie Tran has canceled her planned Snackwagon Takeover dinner this Friday at Harvest at Bellagio. Her appearance likely to be rescheduled for next year. The final takeover of 2017 will be Dec. 8, when Harvest chef Roy Ellamar hosts Michael and Bryan Voltaggio.

Vegas-Seoul connection

Las Vegas local Akira Back, who runs Yellowtail at Bellagio and Kumi at Mandalay Bay, has been awarded a Michelin star for his Seoul restaurant Dosa. Located in the Cheongdam-dong neighborhood of the city’s Gangnam district, Dosa specializes in modern Korean cuisine.

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