This week I had the chance to get out of Las Vegas for the afternoon and took the short drive to Boulder City. There are quite a few burger joints here in Vegas as it seems they are the happening places for dining these days.
After all, who doesn’t enjoy a good burger? And, at some of the more swanky places that have popped up around town you can spend $20. Well, I had heard about a bar in Boulder City that serves gourmet burgers so I decided to check it out. Living in Henderson, Boulder City is only about a 20 minute drive for me.
It was refreshing to get that small town feel of BC after the daily hustle and bustle of the Vegas Strip. As you drive through Boulder City there are a lot of little shops and diners along the main street. The bar I was looking for was The Dillinger (1224 Arizona Street). Walking in it reminded me of your typical neighborhood bar from back home where I would go to hang out with friends, grab a bite to eat and just chill with a few cold ones.
Since moving here in 2008 one of the things I miss most from back home is not having that neighborhood bar to hang out. I sat down at a table and was greeted by the waitress right away to get my drink order. I was here on Wednesday and, if you’re a fan of Pabst Blue Ribbon, you can get a PBR draft beer for a $1 all day.
I ordered the fire roasted artichoke as an appetizer. I’m a big fan of artichokes and enjoyed this appetizer that came with a tasty smoked tomato chipotle dipping sauce. This was a great appetizer and big enough to share.
I came for the burgers and there were many choices. I settled in on the Capone, which was a 1/2-pound patty of fresh ground beef topped with cheddar and jack cheese, grilled onions, applewood smoked bacon, special sauce and a fried egg. Be sure to ask for an extra napkin or two because this burger is messy – but well worth it.
For a small up-charge you can have sweet potato fries or onion rings. All burgers do come with fries and I stayed with the regular ones, which were quite good. They were thin and crispy, which is what I like not being a fan of the bigger steak fries. The burger was quite good and worth the trip to Boulder City. The $10.75 price was half what a burger would cost on the Strip.
Dillinger was a nice find and I’ll be back when just wanting to escape the bright lights of Vegas and get the small town feel in Boulder City. If you have friends or family visiting and decide to drive out to Hoover Dam, put The Dillinger on your list of places to stop during your trip. It’s a nice place to hang out and chill awhile. The Dillinger has an outdoor seating area as well.
As we head into summer I will be trying more burger joints around Las Vegas. If you have a favorite burger place you think I should try, feel free to hit me up with a suggestion or two. As for The Dillinger, I give it 3.50 Forks.
Marco D’Angelo is the senior handicapper at Pregame.com. He co-hosts FIRST PREVIEW every Thursday at 10 a.m. on ESPN 1100 AM/98.9 FM. Follow him on twitter: @MarcoInVegas. Contact him at [email protected].