Had to be bit more frugal this year at GTS, so we only outright splurged on Monday night. It was basically a GR dinner, but with special guest star Jeff Mackintosh of Guardians of Order. Jeff had heard us rave about Picasso last year, so he wanted in this time around. We couldn’t get reservations for Picasso, so we tried Aqua instead. Let me just say that there are no two words I like to hear more than “tasting menu” at a fine restaurant, except perhaps “it’s free.” All four of us got the seven course tasting menu and it was excellent. Only one of the dishes (the tuna tartar) was average, the rest were superb. The langoustine ravioli in a creamy tomato sauce was a treat, and the scallop topped with foie gras was so good it practically felt like I was cheating on my wife. The entrée was a butter-poached filet mignon with lobster claw on top, served with pureed potatoes and mushrooms. I was well and truly full after this, and then they brought out a dessert course with three different items. I hadn’t had that much sugar since going on the diet but with what we were paying I was going to eat everything they put in front of me. This was definitely not every day dining, but totally worth doing once in a while.

Our other meals didn’t, of course, compare to that one, but we did all right. Hal and I grabbed lunch at Stage Deli one day, and the matzoh ball soup and hot pastrami brought back fond NYC memories. Tuesday we hit the Bellagio buffet with Jeff again, plus the always-delightful John Kovalic, one name wonder Stan!, the superheroic Steve Kenson, and Steve’s better half, Christopher. That was pretty good, but they had no smoked sturgeon this year. Boo! I made time for two lunches with friends I don’t see all that often, Jim Crocker of Modern Myths (a game and comic store in MA) and David and Mandy of New Breed (the company behind the Dark Continent RPG, though they are also now opening a retail store too). Thursday night I didn’t get dinner until 3 am due to the Dropkick Murphys show, but the $1.99 steak and eggs did me right. The week ended with a whimper when I got home. That’s right, it was frozen waffles for dinner Friday night!

This time next year I think we’ll have even more reason to celebrate and there are always more places to explore in Vegas. As Nik and I like to say, to decadence!