Vegas Chef Akira Back Plans a Restaurant with Karaoke Rooms in Toronto

TORONTO — Akira Back, the chef behind Yellowtail at the Bellagio and Kumi at Mandalay Bay, plans to open Dasha. Aside from his blend of Korean and Japanese cuisines, he’ll have five private karaoke rooms. Back has his namesake restaurants in Toronto, Bangkok, Vietnam, Singapore, New Delhi, and Jakarta, and is also a partner in Dosa in Seoul, and earned a Michelin Star for the past two years. [DailyHive]

NEW YORK CITY — The James Beard Foundation reconfigured its regional categories in its annual Restaurant & Chef Awards, giving California its own regional category; moving Nevada into the Southwest category with Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma; and creating a new Northwest & Pacific category with Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming become part of the Mountain category; Texas gets its own regional category; New York City and the five boroughs, which have been a standalone category, join the rest of New York State; while the Northeast category remains the same minus New York, with Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Other categories remain unchanged. [EaterWire]

ATLANTA — Bar Rescue host Jon Taffer plans to open five Taffer’s Tavern in Georgia, with plans to expand to Las Vegas in the near future. Taffer’s Tavern features a menu of sous vide items, a way to avoid using skilled back-of-the-house staff, kitchen prep, and vents. Taffer teamed up with Fransmart, the franchise consulting and development company behind Five Guys Burger & Fries and The Halal Guys. [Restaurant Business]

FASHION SHOW — Luke’s Lobster teams up chef José Andrés of Think Food Group for a new variation on the lobster roll, part of the 10th anniversary of the lobster shack. From Sept. 25 through Oct. 31, diners can order Andrés’ lobster roll with pimenton aioli and piparra peppers, with a dollar from every purchase donated to World Central Kitchen. On Oct. 1, the first 10 customers in line at every participating shack will receive a free 10th anniversary roll. [EaterWire]

NOMAD — The Make It Nice team worked with CraftHaus Brewery in Henderson to create ¡a ganar, a ganar!, a Belgian brown ale designed to pair with NoMad Restaurant’s roast chicken. The beer features notes of toffee and a fig aroma to complement the black truffle and herbs in the dish. The beer is available only at NoMad Bar and NoMad Restaurant. [EaterWire]

HOOTERS CASINO — Oyo, the Indian hospitality company, bought the casino and resort next to the Tropicana Las Vegas, and all signs point to Hooters Restaurant sticking around. “It is a popular restaurant and also one of the largest-grossing Hooters franchise restaurants. So we are excited to continue having this restaurant at the property,” CEO and founder Ritesh Agarwal tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Oyo plans to invest $20 million in renovations at the resort, which also hosts Steak n Shake. [LVRJ]

• All AM Intel [ELV]