Local Corner – Battista’s Hole in the Wall

The gimmick here is all-inclusive dinners that come with minestrone soup or salad, garlic bread, a pasta side, homemade cappuccino, and unlimited house wine (red or white). Choose your entrée off the selections listed on the wall. Spaghetti dishes are $22.95; ravioli, lasagna, and eggplant are $25.95; chicken dishes, clams, and steak Pizzaiola are $30.95; veal is $33.95; seafood is $35.95; and prime steaks and cioppino are $40.95. It’s all there for any taste or price point and the wine alone is enough to justify the tab on the low end. Portions are big. We’ve done the chicken parm and the linguini with clams and can recommend both. Both the salad and the soup are excellent, but if you’re a minestrone fan, this is one of the better versions in town (and the cappuccino will surprise you).

On top of everything, the restaurant has character, with a strolling accordion player, awesome photos on the walls, even a moose head named Moooosolini. Located on Flamingo Ave. across from Bally’s, there’s usually plenty of parking in the dedicated lot in front. It’s open (dinner only) every day from 5 to 10:30 pm, and if you get there early, you can grab a $1 PBR or a $5 shot of Patron Silver at the famous Stage Door Casino, located right next door.