> A line of LINQ looks and works nothing like a line of C#

Maybe if you're using the query form, but if you're using the method form, I'd argue that they work together very nicely.

For me, at least, I've found embracing Lambda expressions to be very helpful in a number of cases, between Linq, or writing my own code for doing things like rendering tables (long story there).

Granted, I learned C# right after LINQ was released, but I'd still argue that LINQ is well worth having around.