Bootlegger Bistro

Thursday, August 14, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Eat: Recommended Restaurants

Guys love pies

By James P. Reza

As any Maxim-reading guy will attest (particularly if the guy is "The Howard Stern Show's" Artie Lang), pizza is the perfect food. A warm, crispy carb bottom, a salty, sloppy tomato sauce to foil the vegetable and meat toppings. Then, it's all plastered together with cheese--a food guys eat like gals eat chocolate, by the mouthful--on something that can be eaten with your beer-free hand. What more, other than a threesome with Angelina Jolie and Anna Kournikova, could a guy want?

Battista's Hole In The Wall

4041 Audrie St.; 732-1424

$-$$; Casual/Smart Casual

A locally-owned eatery from back in the day (the 1960s), Battista's has grown larger and serves a great many tourists thanks to its location, but old-school locals still enjoy it for its authentic Vegas flavor. Family friendly and noisy, this could be the archetype for the Buca di Beppo chain.

Bootlegger Bistro

7700 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 736-4939

$-$$; Casual/Smart Casual

This 24-hour Vegas institution serves some of the best Southern Italian food in town. The pizza, particularly the Basilico (sliced tomatoes and basil) features fresh ingredients spread just heavily enough on what may be the tastiest crust (medium thickness) in town. Typically, this bistro bustles with cooing couples and smartly dressed families, but on the weekends, when '50s-era Strip entertainers sing and dance, it's a Who's Who of Old Vegas.

Broadway Pizzeria

850 S. Rancho Rd.; 259-9002

$; Casual

An unassuming storefront, just the way a good Nu Yawk pizzeria should be. Centrally located, Broadway Pizzeria has become the favorite Italian takeout joint for the Navigator moms from the nearby pricey 'hoods, as well as a hopping spot for the downtown lunch bunch. The deep dish is good, but we prefer the thin crust.

California Pizza Kitchen

3200 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 893-1370

$-$$; Casual/Smart Casual

The Fashion Show Mall location is the perfect place to enjoy the pizza of this California Cuisine chain. Who else but Californians would have thought to shovel barbecue sauce, smoked Gouda and mozzarella cheeses, barbecue chicken, sliced red onions and cilantro on a wood fired crust? Not us, but we enjoy the cafe-style people watching anyway.

Capozzolli's

3333 Maryland Parkway; 731-5311

$-$$; Casual

Though serving a full menu of standard southern Italian food, the pizza (as well as the late night entertainment, which sometimes includes post-show Strip entertainers) is the main reason to visit Capozzolli's. Everyone has their favorite pizza, and many consider this to be the place that serves it.

Grape Street Café

7501 W. Lake Mead Blvd.; 228-9463

$$; Smart Casual

Grape Street is always slammed. Sure, the bistro-inspired Italian menu (pasta, panini sandwiches, wood-fired pizza) is delicious, the wine list deep and wide, and the atmosphere comfortably upscale. But others do all this as well, so it has to be location, location, location, for the well-heeled Summerlinites can't stay away.

Metro Pizza

1395 E. Tropicana Ave.; 736-1955

4001 S. Decatur Blvd.; 362-7896

$; Casual

A local pizza joint that capitalized on its success and expanded, Metro remains a populist favorite--the one non-chain place where everyone knows you can get a good pizza or calzone. Crusts of varying thickness are available, but we prefer the extra thin, crispy crust of the basil-heavy Olde New York.

Montesano's Italian Deli

3441 W. Sahara Ave.; 876-0348

4835 W. Craig Rd.; 656-3708

$; Casual

One visit illustrates why Montesano's has grown from a small storefront deli to a bustling diner. The menu is a mishmash of tasty New York Italian dishes. The pizzas are mostly delicious, but some can be rich, so choose carefully. If you are the type who likes to dip your warm crust in ranch dressing, this is the place to do it.

Nora's Cuisine

6020 W. Flamingo Rd.; 365-6713

$; Casual

First a pizzeria, then a small, full-menu, full-service restaurant. Sound familiar? Serving great food for better prices, Nora's has built a solid following thanks to the family's delicious pizza and traditional Italian recipes.

Northside Nathan's

7531 W. Lake Mead Blvd.; 255-8822

$; Casual

Summerlin was starved for a very good, very casual pizzeria until Nathan's arrived from Detroit several years back. Typical of east coast pizzerias--order at the window, drink at the bar, play the arcade, watch the big screen--Nathan's is dark and comfy and family friendly. The deep dish square is the way to go here.

Olives

3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 693-7223

$$; Smart Casual/Trendy

Todd English's Bellagio eatery is not the place you go to "have a pizza," but we'll be damned if the pizz...--err, flatbreads--here aren't delicious and light and delightfully flavorful. A wafer-thin, crispy crust holds portobello, fig and proscuitto, mozzarella basil, or chicken sausage and ricotta. High maintenance but delish.