3355 Las Vegas Blvd S
at The Venetian
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-414-2220
website
Happy Meal and I were on our second day of our 2014 Spring Break Burger tour. We selected B&B Burger & Beer at The Venetian as our second burger du jour. I had read all sorts of mixed reviews on this place, and I felt that this sort of passion and confusion warranted a closer look. B&B Burger & Beer took over the short-lived Rattlecan space, and it had been open for about 6 months at the time of this review. Here's an excerpt from the B&B Burger & Beer website: "...B&B Burger & Beer
is a bright, casual restaurant in the Venetian Hotel Casino. The space
boasts a 2,000 square-foot, 75-seat outdoor patio facing Las Vegas
Boulevard. In true Batali & Bastianich form, the atmosphere is
trumped only by consistently delicious food. To that end, the menu at B&B Burger features local ingredients including dry-aged American beef for
burgers, served on a perfectly charred bun, plus signature sides, robust
salads, and standout shakes. The beer-driven beverage menu spotlights
beers from Las Vegas and other local craft breweries..."
Happy Meal and I spoke with the Chef (Jon Littleton) who walked us through the ingredients, sourcing, and prep. Chef Littleton was warm, engaging, and highly informative. He clearly liked to work clean, since his chef's jacket was spotless--this spoke well of the kitchen in general. Our server, Daniel, treated our burger experience like fine dining, and his knowledge of the menu was stellar. All too often, I run across surly servers that show obvious annoyance when I try to get the details required to write a thorough review. Daniel was a cut above.

We ordered The Drive-Thru ($9) for Happy Meal, and I requested The Bar Burger - Your Way ($12 with cheese). I know this is skipping ahead, but we didn't raise an eyebrow at the prices. The ingredients were of such high quality and the preparation so meticulous, that the cost seemed low. Our burgers were ready in about 12 minutes. As we waited, we sampled the Pickles and the Unfried Mozzarella.
The Pickles were deep fried, house-made, bread and butter pickles. These can be hit or miss, but at B&B Burger & Beer, the batter was made with vodka. When cooking, the alcohol evaporated, and this took away just enough liquid to keep the chips from becoming soggy with pickle brine. The chips were dusted with a savory seasoning to complement the sweet and sour within. The pickles were served with a very subtle, house-made, garlic aioli. This was a great starter. Happy Meal and I both loved this.
The Unfried Mozzarella was B&B Burger & Beer's take on fried cheese sticks. This was
Stracciatella on a bed of spicy tomato sauce. The dish was ridiculously good. The cheese (think Burrata) was buttery, delicate, warm, and soft. This coupled with the freshly toasted crostinis and the spicy sauce, and we had an appetizer worthy of fighting over (and we did). Happy Meal was quoted as saying, "You can't have enough of this." He was right.
The Burger Breakdown...
The Beef: B&B Burger & Beer was a Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich venture. They had other jointly owned establishments in town, so this provided B&B with enhanced access to world-class ingredients. The beef was a prime example. The beef blend (50% Brisket and 50% Chuck) was ground and blended fresh daily onsite from hand-selected sides of beef from Niman Ranch. The beef was broken down, ground, and blended by the on-site butcher. Yes, these guys had a guy whose job was to select the sides of beef for the restaurants. Niman Ranch beef is 100% Angus, vegetarian diet, and no hormone/antibiotic free. The burgers came out at 6 ounces each. The Drive Thru was two 3-ounce patties, and my burger was a single 6-ounce patty. The beef was splendid. The flavor hit us in a rush of sear, beef, salt and pepper, complex mineral notes, and a little blood. The texture was firm and then creamy. The burger patty was perfectly juicy with no trace of oiliness. The beef resembled the Stracciatella in its complexity and delicate texture, but the beef brought a sledgehammer of flavor to the palate. This was one of those bites that made me smile and slow down as I savored eat bite. The Drive-Thru Burger was very similar to my Bar Burger, except that burger had twice the sear and twice the cheese...twice the sear and twice the cheese in one bite was the culinary equivalent of a menage a trios. I will be getting that burger on my next visit. The beef was perfect.

The Seasoning: Salt and pepper and lots of it. The kitchen nailed the burgers with a good dose of seasoning...just the right amount. This was perfect. The seasoning unlocked the flavors of the high-quality beef and made it sparkle.
The Sear: Get out your crying towels...the sear was perfection. The sear wrapped the Med Rare interior in a thin and uniform shell of crisp, dark, chewy, savory Maillard Reaction magnificence. The sear was perfect. This was where I envied Happy Meal's choice of the Drive-Thru burger. His double patty burger had 4 layers of sear, and my burger had only 2. I wanted to do a lap through the kitchen and high five everyone.
The Preparation: The kitchen staff at B&B Burger & Beer took magnificent ingredients and prepared them with competence and near reverence. This great care came through in every bite. Our burgers were seared on a remarkably hot, gas-fired flat-top. The burger patties came to us a perfect Med-Rare.

The Cheese: There were numerous cheese choices: America, Swiss, Fontina, Goat, Gorgonzola, Pepper Jack, Provolone, and Robiola--I suppose that one could even request Stracciatella. I went with the usual American. The cheese was perfectly melted, and in sufficient quantity to make itself known throughout the bite. Savory, gooey, and just plain satisfying. This was more the case in the Drive-Thru burger, which had thinner patties.
The Bun: B&B Burger & Beer sourced their buns from one of my Las Vegas favorites, Bon Breads Bakery. I opted for the potato bun, which was......perfect. This was a standard, non-seeded, moderately toasted bun. It was savory, soft, and moist. The burger bun was just chewy enough at the beginning and then finished with a creaminess to mirror the texture of the beef. There was a bit of crispness around the edges to complement the epic sear. The sesame seeded bun on the Drive-Thru burger was equally good. It provided a bit more sweetness, and this worked with the double doses of sear and seasoning.
The Meat To Bun Ratio: PERFECT
The Toppings: Chef Littleton was a stickler for fresh produce and freshness in general. He spoke to me of the evils of oxidation, and I firmly agreed. This passion came though in the veg that accompanied the burgers. The tomato slice was bold, ripe, and full-flavored. The Bibb lettuce was fresh, crisp, sweet, and unblemished.

The Rings: Wow! This was the same batter that worked so well in the fried pickle dish. The batter worked equally well on the perfectly cooked onion rings. The tower of rings came with a tomato aioli (also house-made), and this was a rich and welcome alternative to ketchup. The brightness of ketchup can serve to mute other flavors. The rings were perfectly crisp and beautifully seasoned.
The Shake: The Nutella shake was made with vanilla gelato, Nutella, and candied hazelnuts. The shake was obscenely good. Happy Meal declared that if this shake was thrown over the side of a building, he would jump over to save it or at least enjoy it on the way down.
The Value: The prices were low in contrast to the amazing quality of ingredients and preparation. There was absolutely nothing to take issue with throughout the entire meal. I found myself wondering if they were charging enough.

At the time of this posting, B&B Burger & Beer was on my list of top burgers in the country. It edged out the burgers at BurGR on the merit of the sear. This burger was on par with the spectacular cheeseburger at The Brindle Room in NYC. I found myself already missing the burger as I took my last few bites. I am fortunate to live close enough to Las Vegas to repeat this experience.
Burger Review : This was the best burger in Las Vegas. One the best cheeseburgers in the US. This burger made my short list, and it should make every critic's top 10 list. Fine dining on a bun...perfection.
Rating....5 Glorious Bites
at The Venetian
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-414-2220
website

Happy Meal and I spoke with the Chef (Jon Littleton) who walked us through the ingredients, sourcing, and prep. Chef Littleton was warm, engaging, and highly informative. He clearly liked to work clean, since his chef's jacket was spotless--this spoke well of the kitchen in general. Our server, Daniel, treated our burger experience like fine dining, and his knowledge of the menu was stellar. All too often, I run across surly servers that show obvious annoyance when I try to get the details required to write a thorough review. Daniel was a cut above.

We ordered The Drive-Thru ($9) for Happy Meal, and I requested The Bar Burger - Your Way ($12 with cheese). I know this is skipping ahead, but we didn't raise an eyebrow at the prices. The ingredients were of such high quality and the preparation so meticulous, that the cost seemed low. Our burgers were ready in about 12 minutes. As we waited, we sampled the Pickles and the Unfried Mozzarella.
The Pickles were deep fried, house-made, bread and butter pickles. These can be hit or miss, but at B&B Burger & Beer, the batter was made with vodka. When cooking, the alcohol evaporated, and this took away just enough liquid to keep the chips from becoming soggy with pickle brine. The chips were dusted with a savory seasoning to complement the sweet and sour within. The pickles were served with a very subtle, house-made, garlic aioli. This was a great starter. Happy Meal and I both loved this.
The Unfried Mozzarella was B&B Burger & Beer's take on fried cheese sticks. This was

The Burger Breakdown...
The Beef: B&B Burger & Beer was a Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich venture. They had other jointly owned establishments in town, so this provided B&B with enhanced access to world-class ingredients. The beef was a prime example. The beef blend (50% Brisket and 50% Chuck) was ground and blended fresh daily onsite from hand-selected sides of beef from Niman Ranch. The beef was broken down, ground, and blended by the on-site butcher. Yes, these guys had a guy whose job was to select the sides of beef for the restaurants. Niman Ranch beef is 100% Angus, vegetarian diet, and no hormone/antibiotic free. The burgers came out at 6 ounces each. The Drive Thru was two 3-ounce patties, and my burger was a single 6-ounce patty. The beef was splendid. The flavor hit us in a rush of sear, beef, salt and pepper, complex mineral notes, and a little blood. The texture was firm and then creamy. The burger patty was perfectly juicy with no trace of oiliness. The beef resembled the Stracciatella in its complexity and delicate texture, but the beef brought a sledgehammer of flavor to the palate. This was one of those bites that made me smile and slow down as I savored eat bite. The Drive-Thru Burger was very similar to my Bar Burger, except that burger had twice the sear and twice the cheese...twice the sear and twice the cheese in one bite was the culinary equivalent of a menage a trios. I will be getting that burger on my next visit. The beef was perfect.

The Seasoning: Salt and pepper and lots of it. The kitchen nailed the burgers with a good dose of seasoning...just the right amount. This was perfect. The seasoning unlocked the flavors of the high-quality beef and made it sparkle.
The Sear: Get out your crying towels...the sear was perfection. The sear wrapped the Med Rare interior in a thin and uniform shell of crisp, dark, chewy, savory Maillard Reaction magnificence. The sear was perfect. This was where I envied Happy Meal's choice of the Drive-Thru burger. His double patty burger had 4 layers of sear, and my burger had only 2. I wanted to do a lap through the kitchen and high five everyone.
The Preparation: The kitchen staff at B&B Burger & Beer took magnificent ingredients and prepared them with competence and near reverence. This great care came through in every bite. Our burgers were seared on a remarkably hot, gas-fired flat-top. The burger patties came to us a perfect Med-Rare.

The Cheese: There were numerous cheese choices: America, Swiss, Fontina, Goat, Gorgonzola, Pepper Jack, Provolone, and Robiola--I suppose that one could even request Stracciatella. I went with the usual American. The cheese was perfectly melted, and in sufficient quantity to make itself known throughout the bite. Savory, gooey, and just plain satisfying. This was more the case in the Drive-Thru burger, which had thinner patties.
The Bun: B&B Burger & Beer sourced their buns from one of my Las Vegas favorites, Bon Breads Bakery. I opted for the potato bun, which was......perfect. This was a standard, non-seeded, moderately toasted bun. It was savory, soft, and moist. The burger bun was just chewy enough at the beginning and then finished with a creaminess to mirror the texture of the beef. There was a bit of crispness around the edges to complement the epic sear. The sesame seeded bun on the Drive-Thru burger was equally good. It provided a bit more sweetness, and this worked with the double doses of sear and seasoning.
![]() |
The Drive-Thru Burger |
The Meat To Bun Ratio: PERFECT
The Toppings: Chef Littleton was a stickler for fresh produce and freshness in general. He spoke to me of the evils of oxidation, and I firmly agreed. This passion came though in the veg that accompanied the burgers. The tomato slice was bold, ripe, and full-flavored. The Bibb lettuce was fresh, crisp, sweet, and unblemished.

The Rings: Wow! This was the same batter that worked so well in the fried pickle dish. The batter worked equally well on the perfectly cooked onion rings. The tower of rings came with a tomato aioli (also house-made), and this was a rich and welcome alternative to ketchup. The brightness of ketchup can serve to mute other flavors. The rings were perfectly crisp and beautifully seasoned.
The Shake: The Nutella shake was made with vanilla gelato, Nutella, and candied hazelnuts. The shake was obscenely good. Happy Meal declared that if this shake was thrown over the side of a building, he would jump over to save it or at least enjoy it on the way down.
The Value: The prices were low in contrast to the amazing quality of ingredients and preparation. There was absolutely nothing to take issue with throughout the entire meal. I found myself wondering if they were charging enough.

At the time of this posting, B&B Burger & Beer was on my list of top burgers in the country. It edged out the burgers at BurGR on the merit of the sear. This burger was on par with the spectacular cheeseburger at The Brindle Room in NYC. I found myself already missing the burger as I took my last few bites. I am fortunate to live close enough to Las Vegas to repeat this experience.
Burger Review : This was the best burger in Las Vegas. One the best cheeseburgers in the US. This burger made my short list, and it should make every critic's top 10 list. Fine dining on a bun...perfection.
Rating....5 Glorious Bites
Joe Bastianich
Joe Bastianich
Joe Bastianich
Holy hell you drop off the grid then barge back in like some burger reviewing Mozart.
ReplyDeleteI was saving up calories.....two burgers a day in Las Vegas is an onslaught,my friend. You NEED to try this burger.
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