Random Thoughts - June 21, 2011

• To continue my recent Tropicana kick, I present this: John Curtas visited Bacio recently, and he agrees that the gnocchi is gummy. Considering when he visited Bacio, Chef Carla Pellegrino was in the restaurant, it's a safe assumption that it is something with their preparation instead of a one-off occurence. It's also encouraging that the other dishes he sampled were up to his standards.


• While on the subject of Vegas, Vegas Inc. declared McCarran Airport as a highlight of Vegas. As somebody who travels through Terminal 2 of McCarran, I have to disagree. The benefit of flying into Terminal 2 is that you can get a cab almost immediately after landing, since it's a pretty quiet terminal. The downside is that the terminal really has nothing in it - a Pizza Hut or Burger King for food, a newsstand, but nothing too spectacular. If anything, it's the perfect compliment for your feelings when you are leaving Vegas - reserved to allow you to begin to revert to "real world" mode, and melancholy to reflect your sadness on leaving the city.


• In the coolest thing to be seen in a long while, 10 Sports Illustrated writers drafted teams and then simulated them via Strat-O-Matic. I actually disagreed with the first pick in the draft, but won't spoil it for you.


• Dr. Sanjay Gupta writes a fantastic article about Nick Charles' battle with terminal bladder cancer.


• This sounds odd: Deep Fried Kool-Aid.


• James McAvoy has limited any chance he has of ever working with James Cameron


• Getting Blanked brings the baseball related funny.