Patrick Moulin
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Recent Articles
Norm Schilling
The voice of Desert Bloom talks about summer plant survival, the joys of dogweed and how gardening can help you pick up women
May 26th, 2011
When Norm Schilling was waiting to be fired from the city dump for selling salvaged goods on the side, he knew he was going to have to find another job. He observed trucks full of grass and plant materials making runs there and thought that landscaping was a job he could do. So he threw a mower, a blower and a weed whacker into the back of his truck and went into business for himself.
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Ron Lutz
Vegas Seven grills a butcher for the secret to righteous ribs
May 19th, 2011
Ron Lutz is exactly what would imagine your local butcher to look like: short, stocky build; thick hands toughened by years of cutting meat; and a mustache that perfectly embodies his East Coast upbringing. A second-generation butcher, Lutz moved to Las Vegas with his family in 1985 from Pittsburgh right before his senior year of high school. After finishing his education at the Southern Nevada Vocational Center, Lutz followed in his father’s footsteps and began a two-year apprenticeship at two supermarkets, J&J and Lucky (now Albertsons).
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Somewhere Over by Rainbow
Fly to the southwest for uncharted dishes
May 12th, 2011
The Rainbow Boulevard exit off of Interstate 215 is a mecca of big-box stores with such established restaurant chains as Chipotle and Panda Express from which to choose. But if you’re looking for a tastier, more personal experience, journey just a few blocks south on Rainbow to a strip mall harboring a plethora of restaurants, where, in fact, the eateries outnumber other establishments. This is undiscovered culinary country, just waiting for adventurous foodies to explore.
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The Yellow Bark Road
The Nevada SPCA donates a Toto to the Wizard of Oz, and a star is born
May 12th, 2011
While watching the rehearsals of the Las Vegas Shakespeare Company’s production of The Wizard of Oz, I was not sure how Cheeto, a 1-year-old Chihuahua-terrier mix on a temporary work loan from the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), would perform as the iconic dog Toto. That was until Miss Almira Gulch (a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West) ordered Dorothy’s Uncle Henry to take Toto away. As Uncle Henry reached in Cheeto growled and barked at him with the timing of a seasoned vet. Later on in the scene as Toto escaped and leaped back into Dorothy’s arms, it was clear that this little rescue puppy might just steal the spotlight in the company’s performance at Henderson Pavilion.
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Tapping into sustainability
May 12th, 2011
RM Seafood executive chef Rick Moonen, who has long been on the forefront of sustainability and reducing waste in his restaurant, has recently incorporated a new way to serve wine at his seafood eatery. It’s a system that delivers wine in a lightweight, recyclable keg composed of three parts: a cardboard outer shell that surrounds a CO2 bladder, which compresses an inner bag containing the wine. The CO2 never comes into contact with the wine, thus maintaining its integrity.
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Tool Man
Las Vegan Rick Dale brings the past back to life in his new TV show American Restoration
April 14th, 2011
Before his first appearance on the mega-popular History Channel reality show Pawn Stars, restoration specialist Rick Dale was ready to give up. His 27-year-old business, Rick’s Restorations, was struggling to stay afloat, and after years of restoring Coke machines and gas pumps, he was burnt out.
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Killer App
April 7th, 2011
Jet Set Games, a local video game studio, made a splash on the national gaming scene last summer with the release of Highborn, a gaming app available on the iPhone, iPad and Android. Now that they’ve released a new “chapter,” the turn-based strategy game is once again proving to be a hit. The game has been one of the top-selling apps for every platform it has been released on, even reaching the top three on Amazon.
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Burning Issues
April 7th, 2011
We have a budget crisis. We have high unemployment. We have school districts claiming the end is nigh. And now, thanks to Assemblyman Paul Aizley, D-Las Vegas, we have finally have legislation in the hopper that deals with another pressing issue: candles and incense.
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Jolene Mannina
The first lady of food trucks pulls over for Vegas Seven
April 7th, 2011
Inspired by Los Angeles’ thriving food truck scene, Jolene Mannina admits she at first had doubts her own concept would work on the Strip. But after observing the recent success of other food trucks throughout the Valley, Mannina decided, “I’m doing this! I’m getting the truck, and I’m not fucking around.” Sloppi Jo’s launched on Dec. 30. There was just one problem—Mannina knew people would expect a sloppy joe to be on the menu, but wasn’t sure how to make it work with her New Mexican-inspired cuisine.
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A Man, a Voice and a Handful of Felt
With two years under his belt and a new puppet, Terry Fator continues his run at The Mirage
March 31st, 2011
As the second anniversary celebration of Terry Fator: Ventriloquism in Concert reached its midway point on March 18, Terry Fator put down his puppets to sing his original song “Horses in Heaven,” about a young boy with cancer. It was a rare solemn moment in an evening dedicated to straightforward gags involving handheld people made of felt. The America’s Got Talent winner seemed to enjoy the solo spotlight, almost as if he was trying to prove that he was a legitimate singer who didn’t need to rely on plushy partners.
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