Blue Ribbon to open June 8 at Cosmopolitan

Popular downtown chef Beni Velasquez is working on a second project at Neonopolis downtown. He’s consulting for Mediterranean restaurant Couscous, where he’s created a Mediterranean street food menu of small bites that add a touch of his signature Latin style to the cuisine. Among the items the restaurant is offering are lamb gyro tacos, falafel bites, sumac fries and both chicken and beef kebabs. As previously reported, the former Bar + Bistro chef helped design the food menu for the Nerd nightclub complex.

Peek at Blue Ribbon

Eric and Bruce Bromberg have taken down the walls around their new Blue Ribbon brasserie concept at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, although they’re not serving food quite yet. From what we could see, the space boasts tile floors and walls, plush leather banquettes, a chalkboard listing raw bar selections and what appears to be an exposed brick wall in the oyster bar area. Expect the space to open to the public June 8.

That fast-food kick

Local author Todd Wilbur has made a career out of cracking the secret recipes of fast food and other chains and sharing them with the public in his “Top Secret Recipes” cookbook series. After selling more than 5 million books, he’s pooled all of that knowledge to create a collection of packaged sauces that will help you make your home cooking taste a bit more like fast food – if for some reason you want to do that. Wilbur will debut a chicken sauce, burger sauce, sweet onion sauce and whiskey glaze that he believes will impress fans of Raising Cain’s, Subway, McDonald’s and TGI Fridays, respectively, on QVC on Tuesday.

Corn on the grill

Memphis Championship Barbecue owner Mike Mills and his daughter, Amy, were featured in a recent issue of People magazine, which published the recipe for Memphis’ grilled corn with garlic herb butter.

Sightings

Kendra Wilkinson, star of “Sex Tips for Straight Women From a Gay Man,” and co-star Jai Rodriguez at Hexx Kitchen + Bar at Paris Las Vegas. Rapper Ty Dolla $ign, hip-hop artist Tyga, rapper 2 Chainz, “Orange is the New Black” stars Beth Dover and Lea DeLaria and Wilkinson at Beauty & Essex at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Hip-hop recording artist Fabolous at Topgolf at MGM Grand. Ty Dolla $ign and Wiz Khalifa at Tao at The Venetian.

Have an item for Kitchen Confidante? Email hrinella@reviewjournal.com or amancini@reviewjournal.com.