Battista's Hole In The Wall
 Las Vegas, Nevada       Date of Visit  12/17/12       http://www.battistaslasvegas.com/ 

Jennifer (Jegunda/Fluff/Kind of A Big Deal) picked a place for dinner and she did exceptionally well, even if the restaurant didn’t quite measure up. What was great about the place was that it taps into the history of an ever disappearing Las Vegas in ways all of the flashy new “superchefs” will never hope to achieve. Where they don’t make the grade was on the plate.
 

Just To Get You Started. It's Included
 

What I loved about the place is the stupid amount of history on display. Signed pictures of diners past ranged from Michael Landon to Elvis to anyone under the sun with a known name in that era. A highlight, and I need to apologize for my honesty here, was our visit from Gordy. In all honesty, Gordy is approximately 2.4 months from serving as understudy to Gollum from Lord of the Rings fame.

He sidled over to our table, asked where we were from and gave us an accordion backed rendition of Across the Field…the Buckeye’s Fight Song. I don’t know how old Gordy is. I can only hazard a guess. I do know he has serenaded a 42 year history of Vegas Celebs…and us night after night. If I am capable of that at whatever age he might be…I will consider myself blessed.

The menu is also unique in a positive way. You order an entrée and everything else is included. This included two carafes of wine (one red; one white) a choice of Minestrone soup or salad, a pile of garlic bread, a pasta side if you order other than pasta and Cappuccino…plus whatever you actually order. Jen ordered spaghetti with meat sauce; Steph, Ziti with meatballs; I, Chicken Parm; and Mother Dear Fettuccine with Seafood Sauce.
 

The sauce which is the base for nearly every dish at Battista’s did absolutely nothing for me, disappointing at best. The meatballs were fairly good. The salad was overdressed but the dressing was light enough for forgiveness, the garlic bread consisted of large square of pretty goodness, the soup was ehhhh. Oh yeah, the sauce infected everything in it’s boring, sad sort of way. The chicken was passable but was slayed by the sauce. The side of pasta was murdered by the sauce. The only redeeming factor was the addition of the seafood helped the sauce to some degree making it mildly edible. If the food lived up to the history, Battista’s Hole in the Wall would be an instant 42 year hit. Unfortunately, Gordy and the walls far outpace the food.

Everything finishes with a unique cup of "Cappuccino" which lands somewhere between a lightly sweet hot chocolate and familiar cracker. More desserty than your typical coffee concoction.