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Reprinted with permission from Seven Weekly Las Vegas. Check out Seven Magazine by picking a copy up at Unicahome and other fine venues in our fair Village of Las Vegas. Find out what is new and notable in Las Vegas online here.

[caption id=”attachment_11138” align=”aligncenter” width=”300” caption=”The Block 16 Burger with Baltimore Fries”]

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It’s too early to call Ray Nisi an empire builder, but he seems to be making a success of Bottles & Burgers in Tivoli Village, the most recently opened member of his Double Helix wine bar family. And lord knows this mall can use him.

The concept is simple: wines by the glass or half-bottle, imaginative and well-crafted burgers, shareable plates and both a soda fountain for kids and a bar for adults. Anyone fancy a Hostess with the Mostess—Three Olives Cake vodka, vanilla ice cream and a pulverized chocolate cupcake? I thought as much.

Of course, Nisi has an ace in the hole with the talented chef Doug Vega, a man who is, perhaps, working under speed here. Like his counterpart Anthony Meidenbauer of Block 16 Hospitality (the Barrymore, Public House, etc.), Vega has free rein to create an upscale menu with considerable variety and international flair.

Max’s Menu Picks

Appetizers

Arancini, $8.

Irish sliders, $8.

Garden of Eden Salad, $9.

Burgers & Fries

Block Sixteen burger ($9) with Baltimore fries, $5.

One can just as easily get plates of hummus orarancini here as half-pound Angus beef burgers. And don’t for one minute expect anything as pedestrian as lettuce and tomato. The Block Sixteen—named after a portion of the original city grid, but still paying unwitting homage to the competition at Holsteins—is topped with caramelized onions, sharp cheddar and chipotle aioli on a tender brioche bun baked by a small, local Vietnamese bakery. As burgers go, this one is a must.

This is a large space, more than 6,000 square feet including the outdoor patio. The best seats may be at the soda fountain, where soda jerks create those adult milkshakes like the aforementioned cupcake affair.

Since the place has been designed for families as well, there are gooey milkshakes with add-ins such as Oreos and sprinkles in addition to the grown-up stuff. If you’re in the mood to be cozy, booths are spacious and comfortable, leather lined and plush.

When I first visited, the signature Double Helix burger was a baseball-size gob of chopped beef stuffed with pork belly, short rib, horseradish and tomato compote. Now it has morphed into the Double Helix BBQ, which subs in bacon, cheddar and charred onions for a more conventional, more appealing take.

You don’t have to go beef, but spicy turkey and an oddball vegetarian option—a quinoa mushroom patty that a kid could turn into pure mush before a parent could turn his head—make unusual burger bedfellows.

I’m a total mark for Irish sliders, which the menu says is grilled beef brisket, but is really corned beef with sauerkraut, a Thousand Island dressing thick enough to stand a spoon up in, and Jarlsberg cheese. I wonder why they don’t simply call the damned thing a Reuben. I’d eat them anyway.

Fries are done five ways: Baltimore, with brown gravy and pepperjack cheese sauce, is the closest thing to poutine you can get in northwest Las Vegas. (For that dish, visit Meidenbauer’s Public House.) The Double Helix fries get shallots, sherry aioli and fines herbes. These are my two faves, anyway.

The extensive wine and beer list includes seven boutique drafts, such as the terrific Canadian dark ale, Trois Pistoles, and endless wines in half bottles, full bottles and glasses. Two killer bargains include a Curran grenache blanc ’09 ($45) and the ’06 Costa de Oro pinot noir ($27) both from Central California.

In Tivoli Village, 450 S. Rampart Blvd., 735-9463. Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun-Thu, 11 a.m.-midnight Fri-Sat. Dinner for two, $35-$55.

May 08

Vegas Uncorked 2012 Preview: May 10-13 2012

Vegas Uncorked 2012, the cityâs premier food event, kicks off this coming Thursday with the famed Saber-Off event, by invitation only, where chefs line up to knock champagne corks off with a saber.

Twenty six separate events follow, each sponsored by Bon Appetit Magazine. Â Itâs the cityâs premier food festival, open to the public, for a price, naturally.

What makes it unique is the presence of our celebrity chefs, from Charlie Palmer and Wolfgang Puck, to Alain Ducasse, Michel Richard and dozens of others. It all comes to a head Friday evening, at a Grand Tasting at the Caesars Palace pool, beginning at 7:30. Tickets are still available at the Website, www.vegasuncorked.com, along with further details with regard to events still available.

Many of the Masters Dinners and Lunches are already sold out. Iâll be attending Michel Richardâs Thursday evening dinner at Central, and the 11 a.m. Sunday Steak and Eggs with Charlie Palmer, one of the festival events I look forward to every year.

In addition, Iâll be at Charlieâs poolside Clambake Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, and the noon Saturday fish market with Milos owner Costas Spiliadis. It all looks to be a great time, and Iâm loosening my belt already. See you there.