Allow me, if you will, some brief autobiography. Back in the day, an eager new publicist at the Eldorado Resort Casino, now part of the Row, offered to share the secret recipe for the property's famous mushroom ravioli. Scoop!

A few minutes later, the late Don Carano, the casino patriarch, called to genially rescind the offer. Typically, the big kahuna would not handle such matters, but the ravioli were special. They had formed part of the Eldorado ethos since debuting in the early days of La Strada, the flagship restaurant, which opened in 1982