Las Vegas Mixtape v44: Where To Go Now: Classic and Modern Vegas

Track #1 (of 5): Battista’s Hole In The Wall @The Strip

Satisfying old school food (Image: Vegas 411)

Bouncing around Vegas—it’s my favorite thing to do, soaking in the city’s vintage and modern places. Easily in the top five of old-school spots is the long-running (since 1970) Italian restaurant Battista’s Hole In The Wall. It’s where I go for chicken cacciatore, one of my favorite Italian dishes—it’s gloriously tender chicken stewed with tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers, and various herbs. Glad to say the kitchen here does this classic especially well.

You’d be wise to arrive hungry at this sprawling multi-room gem which can serve 290 guests. I ordered the full-on dinner for $39.95, which included “a choice of minestrone soup or Italian salad, garlic bread, a pasta side, ‘Battista’s-style’ cappuccino, and complimentary house wine,” as noted on the website. If you’re into instant gratification, this is your place—the wait staff brought my salad, garlic bread, and wine in under two minutes. This was truly impressive since the place was absolutely packed on the Friday night I was there. If you have impatient friends, just send them here.

 A wonderful “hole in the wall” (Image: Vegas 411) 

Located just off The Strip at the corner of Flamingo and Linq Lane, Battista’s reopened a few weeks ago after a nearly six-month closure to accommodate major upgrades to the 60-year-old building. The place is a real old-school charmer with tufted red leather booths and soft lighting; it’s decorated with celeb photos, police force sewn badges, and “one of the world’s largest collections of miniature liquor bottles.”  Big bonus point: free parking in their lot right in front.