Las Vegas, long known as a city of excess, might be getting a little less flush.

According to a Zagat survey released earlier this month, even though Vegas is still the nation's most expensive dining city - the average bill is approximately $47.53 - Las Vegas diners are eating out less. The average number of meals eaten out dropped from 3.8 per week in 2005 to 3.3 in 2010.

Combine those figures with a few notable restaurant closings, and it makes you wonder – are the city’s restaurateurs starting to hedge their bets?
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Posting calories on menus has little effect on what customers buy, according to a recent study.

Customers at TacoTime (a western Washington chain)  who read how many calories are in their chimichangas, burritos and tacos on the restaurant's menu were just as likely to order them as people who don’t have that information.

For 13 months, researchers recorded food purchases at seven suburban TacoTimes and seven inside Seattle, Washington. Seattle passed a law requiring that all fast food chains post their calories, fat and sodium content to the menus in 2009.

Once the law went into effect, public health researchers in Seattle  and researchers from Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School compared what people were buying at TacoTimes inside and outside the city.

Contrary to their hypothesis, “We found no difference,” said lead author Eric Finkelstein.  “We looked at the variables – the transactions, total calories per transaction, food, dessert, entrees. We weren’t able to find any effect whatsoever.”

Read the rest of "Customers pay little heed to calories on menus" on CNN Health.

From Lunchtime poll – does authenticity matter to you?

It's nice to know what the "authentic" food does or should taste like. The great thing about cooking is that everyone makes what they make based on availability, freshness, and locale. My grandmothers both made great chocolate chip cookies but they tasted different. One was from the South and one was from the North.

Also, we are too used to eating everything anytime we want. There are true peak seasons and you shouldn't expect to eat a good oyster in January. One cook may use a lime while another uses an orange or lemon. One may use Basil and another Thai Basil. This may happen in the same country for God's sake.

I'm also tired of someone trying to "Patrick" someone else. Patrick is a friend of mine from college who always had a better experience that everyone else. He would say things like "this is good, but it's not as good as the salsa I had in Spain." Also, if you're in Spain, doesn't everything taste a little better anyway? - wasabiguy

You probably knew this, but fortune cookies didn't come from China. Neither did chop suey or General Tso's chicken. That surely doesn't stop them from popping up on Chinese restaurant menus from coast-to-coast or tasting truly fabulous with a cold Tsingtao.

Does authenticity matter?
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• You know that whole "eating a big breakfast makes you eat less during the day" theory? Yeah, it's poppywash.– KTSM

• Mimi Sheraton reflects on her Brooklyn restaurant bashing and gives props to our boy, Seymour Britchky. - Eater

• Marion Nestle comments on the new USDA school nutrition standards and the flavored milk conundrum. - The Atlantic

• Citrus, savory orange vegetables and gluten-free: a year in sweet treat trends.   - Specialty Food Magazine

• Eat a bug, save the world. - BBC

• It's a charcutepalooza! Next up, homemade duck prosciutto. - eat. live. travel. write

All eyes are on Washington as Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives a day before a high-profile meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss trade, currency and a host of other issues, including North Korea. Our eyes, more specifically, are on our plates.

This week, we'll be speaking with chefs and experts on Chinese food, exploring a Philadelphia suburb that boasts the "best" spring rolls in the United States and delving into how cook some of this at home.

In the meantime, reacquaint yourself with this November interview with Chef Eddie Huang of New York City's Baohaus restaurant and the now-shuttered Xiao Ye. In it, Huang and his muse/mentor/mother discuss what it means to cook "authentic" Chinese and Taiwanese food, his role as a cultural ambassador, and the particular challenges Asian-American kids face growing up in the United States - even when it's coming from their own mothers.

Read more on President Hu Jintao's visit

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday and the most delicious finds on TV.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be delicious - January 18 is Peking Duck Day, just in time for President Hu Jintao's trip to Washington.

In order to prepare the dish the classic Beijing way, an Imperial Peking duck must be force-fed and kept in a small cage to promote tender meat. At about six weeks old, the bird is killed, dressed and emptied of entrails. Air is pumped between the ducks’ skin and flesh and it is seasoned and hung up to dry before being roasted in a cylindrical clay oven.

If you’re actually lucky enough to find yourself in Beijing, head over to Da Dong’s or Peking Duck, Private Kitchen for a taste of the city's most famous dish.

What's on TV?
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Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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