VegasChatter

Tags: Top Chef / Charlie Palmer / Springs Preserve / Mandalay Bay / Aureole / → All Tags

Praise The Lard on Top Chef

Last week, we kvetched about how the product placement has gotten waaay out of control on Top Chef. Well, this week, we decided to pay extra special attention and keep a tally. The results are in and the greedy marketing minds at Bravo TV stake claim to NINE not-so-subtle products strategically placed throughout this week’s one hour “Pig and Pinot” episode. (That doesn’t include the pay-to-text your Top Chef opinion opportunities peppered throughout the hour episode. For a fee, natch.)

In case you were curious, the showcased products were M Resort, Natural Alexia’s Crunchy Snacks, Pig and Pinot event, Aureole at Mandalay Bay, Whole Foods, Toyota Venza, GE Monogram Collection, Swanson Stock and Glad Cling Wrap.

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Tags: Fourth of July / Fireworks / Springs Preserve / M Resort / El Cortez Station Casinos / New York-New York / → All Tags

What to Do in Vegas For the Fourth of July?

Wondering where the best place to watch the fireworks on the Strip is going to be this Fourth of July? Ha! Trick question! There are no Strip fireworks on July 4th—those are reserved for New Year’s Eve. By and large, people pretty much do the regular Vegas thing on the big patriotic holiday. That'd be pool frolicking, adult beverage imbibing, gambling, clubbing, etc.

There are some July 4th events going on, though, and you can actually find fireworks if you’re willing to head off-Strip. Here’s a roundup of some of the Independence Day bashes that sound fun to us:

At the El Cortez , the new downtown nouveau-hipster hangout, is having a "Rock the Block" party with Hoobastank (?!?), Hed Pe, Living Things and Otherwise. Tickets are $20

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Tags: Top Chef / Springs Preserve / CineVegas / Twitter / → All Tags

Stalking 'Top Chef Las Vegas': Springs Preserve

Twitter keeps on giving us useful clues about Top Chef's sixth season, currently being filmed in Las Vegas. This time, CineVegas let Twitter know that they were one of the lucky few who attended a Top Chef tasting at Springs Preserve. CineVegas even managed to sneak a peek at Padma!

The Springs Preserve is a fairly new recreational and educational facility (it opened in 2006) dedicated to raising awareness of sustainable living. It's actually built around the site of the original Las Vegas Springs so that should make for an interesting tasting challenge.

However, as VegasChatter contributor Erika Pope wrote earlier this year, the overall point of the Preserve is: "to illustrate just how unlikely it is that a metropolis of more than 2 million people should exist here at all. You must respect the desert. And at all costs, revere its water." So we're guessing sustainability and conservation while cooking and serving will be a big part of the challenge here.

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