Restaurant News

Flair bartenders will be spinning their stuff during the Seventh Annual Best in the West Flair Bartending Showdown, which begins at 9 p.m. Monday at the Roadrunner Saloon Cowboy Bar at 2430 E. Pebble Road in Henderson. The competition continues on Jan. 14 and 21, with a last-chance qualifier on Jan. 27. Spectators are welcome and admission is free; proceeds will be donated to Opportunity Village. For more information, call 242-8468 or visit www. bartendershowdown.com. …

An offshoot of New York’s RUB BBQ has opened at the Rio, 3700 W. Flamingo Road, serving barbecued ribs St. Louis-style, plus barbecued sausage and pastrami, slow-cooked over wood for 14 hours. Specialty items include Burnt Ends, which are smoked twice until they’re crispy. Hours are from 4 to 11 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Live bands will be featured on weekends. …

CatHouse Restaurant and Loungerie has opened at Luxor, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. South, with a European-Asian-American menu by Kerry Simon, late of the now-closed Simon Kitchen at the Hard Rock. Hours are from 5 to 11 p.m. daily. …

Shane’s Rib Shack has opened at 6584 N. Decatur Blvd. With roots in Georgia, Shane’s specializes in baby back ribs, shredded pork sandwiches and made-from-scratch sides, plus — of course — a secret sauce. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Call 258-7427.

Send information to Heidi Knapp Rinella, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070. You also can send faxes to 383-4676 or e-mail her at hrinella@reviewjournal.com.