Brawl series has its 2nd winner
Sean Farney of Aria’s Five50 Pizza was the winner of Saturday’s Back of the House Brawl foodtruck cooking competition in the parking lot of Urban Seed. Farney defeated Naked City Pizza’s Chris Palmeri and Urban Seed’s Emily Brubaker .This month’s mystery basket of ingredients contained sturgeon, whole grain nuggets, serrano chilies, oranges and eggplant. The next Brawl will be Nov. 11 in the parking lot of the Sand Dollar Lounge, 3355 Spring Mountain Road.
Evel Pie GM moves on
Founding general manager and head pizzaiolo Vincent Rotolo has left Evel Pie in what is said to be an amicable split. Rotolo reports that he’s currently consulting on gluten-free pizzas for some clients, and recently shot a TV pilot in New York. In the meantime, Joey D’amore, a fourth-generation pizza maker whose family runs California’s D’amore Pizza chain (which used to have an outpost in the Miracle Mile Shops), has taken the reins at Evel Pie.
Giada eyes Caesars spot
Giada De Laurentiis will expand her local presence into Caesars Palace early next year with the opening of Pronto by Giada, in the space that currently houses Payard Patisserie & Bistro. It will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, offering house-made pastries, breakfast sandwiches, paninis, salads, sandwiches, antipasti, charcuterie, gelato and desserts, as well as a full-service bar, wine on tap and artisanal coffee. Pronto will offer limited seating, primarily serving as a grab-and-go venue offering convenient quick bites for customers headed into and out of the nearby convention space.
Le Cirque chef exits
Wilfried Bergerhausen has left the executive chef position at Le Cirque. There’s no word yet on where he’s heading or who is replacing him.
‘Master Chef’ casting call
Think you have what it takes to be the next Master Chef?thetvshowis holding an open casting call from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at the W Hotel.
Bring one dish to serve the judges that can be plated, without cooking or heating, in three minutes. Register at Masterchefcasting.com.
Hawaii Herringbone reopens
Up to 45 people became sick after eating at Hawaii’s Herringbone Waikiki last week, with six cases of norovirus confirmed. The restaurant voluntarily closed Thursday, reopening Friday after being cleared by food safety inspectors. The incident was confined to the Hawaii location; Southern California-based Herringbone has an outpost at Aria.
Openings
Medley Buffet has opened at The Orleans. A second Pollo Campero has opened in the valley, at 4521 E. Charleston Blvd.
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