Moon 'N' Doggie

Moon 'N' Doggie at RM Seafood

rmseafood.com

B+

You can't eat this. The Moon 'N' Doggie was created by celebrity chef Rick Moonen during his competitive appearance on Top Chef Masters and has made appearances at several different venues as a one-time menu special, including at tennis' US Open a few years back. We finally got to devour one when it popped up on Moonen's limited time 10-year anniversary menu at RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, and it's pretty damn addictive. The roll is a toasty, buttery bun that you'd normally find embracing a lobster roll. The sausage is made chiefly with shrimp, with some herbs and seasonings mixed in to create mild, delicious flavors. It's topped off with a crisp Asian slaw and some crunch togarashi chips, making it feel much more like a familiar hot dog than a sublime seafood creation. It satisfies in all the right ways, but there's no guilt associated with eating this dog. It's just too bad you can't find it on the permanent menu.

The All-Natural Burger

The All-Natural Burger at Carl's Jr.

carlsjr.com

C

Really, how do we know? Carl's calls it fast food's first all-natural burger, but the fact is you could slap a standard, frozen, fast-food patty on an upgraded bakery bun, take care to pick out the best looking, most crisp, somewhat-close-to-fresh vegetables, and sub in cheddar for standard processed American cheese and no one would tell the difference. Hmm, this is a better fast-food burger, you'd think to yourself, never really knowing if this cow disc is, in fact, a grass-fed, free range burger. I have yet to meet the person who can tell the difference between grass and grain fed cow meat when it's in burger form. Steak, yes. Ground beef? Doubt it. So really what we've got is a Carl's Jr. burger that tastes better  than the other Carl's Jr. burgers, which really ain't saying much.

The S.O.B.

The S.O.B. at Lulu's Bread & Breakfast

lulusonthemove.com

A

At this point, I really don't know why I'd eat a breakfast sandwich anywhere other than Lulu's. The S.O.B. is a fried egg sandwich on a puffy, beautiful brioche bun with a southwestern slant—diced green chilies, pepper jack and cotija cheeses, avocado and spicy chicken chorizo offer an amazing contrast of textures and flavors. There's richness and sharp heat, satisfying unctuousness and plenty of bright freshness. And the damn egg is just cooked perfectly. Who does it better than these guys?

Slaw Be Jo

Slaw Be Joe at Capriotti's

capriottis.com

C

It's a little weird to eat a Cap's sandwich on an actual plate. We're all just used to munching through these suckers on top of the paper they were wrapped in, probably over our coffee tables while we watch basketball on TV at home. But I guess that's what happens when Capriotti's lands at the fancy new Downtown Summerlin shopping complex. Anyway, a plate does nothing for the appearance or taste of this bland sandwich, chunks of dry, house-roasted beef, provolone, coleslaw and Russian dressing slathered all over a submarine roll. Cap's sandwiches are consistently mediocre, and at this point, the only reason we eat them is when other people want to meet there. Let's do better.