Comfortable classics at Bottles & Burgers

By Brock Radke (contact)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 | 6 a.m.

Maybe Vegas doesn’t need another burger boutique, but the Summerlin-area Tivoli Village retail district needs traffic, so burgers it is. Upon closer examination, Bottles & Burgers — actually a comfortable, modernized diner — is a sensible fit for Tivoli, which has Italian and Greek restaurants, pizza, ice cream and coffee spots, and a sushi joint on the way. It’s also a nice addition to the neighborhood. Corporate dining is still rampant in these suburbs, and interesting flavors are always welcome ... even if they’re served on buns.

This restaurant is well-designed (not too big) and well-positioned. It’s the first thing you see entering the circular drive-in off Alta. The bottles refer to wine, with many options available as half-bottles priced from $14 to $62. Sharing fun-sized pinot noir, sweet potato fries and the sweet bacon bleu burger (onion marmalade, bleu cheese, applewood bacon, roasted tomatoes and arugula, $9) at the square, roomy bar should become a pretty popular date night around here.

It’s clear the kitchen is focused on fitting together the right flavor combinations for each burger, slider, salad or boozed-up milkshake, but there are missteps. The Double Helix stuffed burger ($15) is heavy and overwhelming, an Angus patty with braised beef short ribs and fresh horseradish. The meatball marinara sliders ($8) are dry and bland. But redemption comes with that bacon bleu burger, the Block Sixteen ($9), with its sharp cheddar cheese and chipotle aioli, and spicy-sweet bbq pork sliders ($8) topped with a cute sweet-pickle chip. In the interesting experiments category, try the Pluck University chicken burger ($9), with mozzarella, red peppers and coleslaw on a blue taro bun.

If you’re looking for fun gutbombery, the Baltimore fries ($5) are covered in gravy and cheese sauce, and there’s a Hostess-cupcake themed vodka milkshake ($9). Yum? Overall, Bottles & Burgers is comfortable and tastes good, and the prices are more convenient than I expected. Once you admit you’re not tired of burgers, you’ll have a great time.