Ever find yourself at a Hole in the Wall?
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
When traveling – especially while traveling internationally – I always try to stay away from the trendy restaurants…with the exception of McDonald’s and Starbucks, which are always good for a clean and free bathroom. I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas, and, though I say this everytime, next time I really am flying. We were stuck in 2.5 hours of traffic in Ontario on our way to Vegas because of an accident!
On our first night there, we decided to stay away from the high end restaurants and go for something the “locals” would eat. We ate at a restuarant just off the strip called Battista’s Hole in the Wall. Out in front is a huge gaudy neon sign letting us know it serves Italian Food. The restaurant was large, but broken up into small rooms with half walls. We were seated within five minutes, which is great for a Vegas restaurant on a Friday night with no reservations. We all laughed once we saw the menu. All meals come with the following: salad (garden salad with italian dressing) or soup (minestoni only), bread sticks, side pasta, cappuccino, and all you can drink wine! We read it a couple of times to be sure. The waiter arrived and put down a carafe of white and a carafe of red wine on the table. The white was a chablis and the red was a cabernet. If I weren’t pregnant, I really would have enjoyed the wine! Both tasted great for a FREE table wine. The cappuccino was a complete surprise. I was told it tasted like sweet hot chocolate, but there wasn’t a single hint of espresso. On our way out we picked up a card with the ingrediets to their famous espresso. What’s in it? Mostly, coffee, chocolate, cream and…a shot of brandy. The waiter never even mentioned it was alcoholic. Good thing I opted out because I didn’t want the espresso.
If you ever find yourself at the Hole in the Wall located just behind the Flamingo, I recommend the chicken rio.
