Carson Kitchen
Crispy Chicken Skins – Smoked Honey
Bacon Jam – Baked Brie, Toasted Baguette
“Devil’s Eggs” – Crispy Pancetta, Caviar
Wellington Empanada – Beef Tenderloin, Duxelle
Gyro Tacos – Lamb, Tzatziki, Cucumber, Tomato
Rabbit Ragu – Spaghetti Squash, Parmesan
Sprouts & Spuds Hash – Onions, Bacon, Balsamic
Wild Mushroom Flatbread – Caramelized Onions, Cabrales Bleu Cheese
Bourbon Fudge Brownie – Brown Butter Bacon Ice Cream
Glazed Donut Bread Pudding – Three Rum Caramel, Vanilla Crème Anglaise
Not Your Father’s “Twinkies” – Organic Wheat Beer, Mandarin Orange Coulis
Located in the slowly revitalizing Carson Building and steered by Chef Kerry Simon to nearly universal praise since opening the doors it was still with modest expectations that I met two friends at Carson Kitchen on Saturday and although largely ignoring Simon since a visit to his namesake restaurant during its residence at The Hard Rock Hotel I’m happy to say that lunch in the new space at 124 South 6th Street proved quite pleasant, a blaring Police-heavy soundtrack and service prone to trigger several ‘pet peeves’ aside. Small in size but chock-full of character with exposed beams and cinder-block styling surrounding the central kitchen it was just moments after 11:30 when our trio sat down and after an idiot-proof explanation of a menu “designed for foodies” with “everything is delicious” idioms aplenty it was on a meal of eleven items that we settled, the majority of the selections coming from those designed to share and each proving well priced given the quality and quantity of ingredients involved. Clearly leaning on Simon’s penchant for comfort food whimsy and benefitted by the skills of Executive Chef Matt Andrews it was specifically at our request that items rolled out of the kitchen with deliberate individual pacing and beginning first with creamy deviled eggs crowned in briny bubbles of roe the hits came quickly, a back-to-back pairing of chicken skins and bacon marmalade each justifying their early ‘signature’ status while a follow-up of nutty rabbit cooked tender in bright tomatoes over shredded squash showed equally well. Generally underwhelmed by the meaty lamb ‘tacos’ wrapped in lightly charred pita and finding the empanada overwhelmed by the onion-heavy sauce it was back on good footing that the kitchen found itself with a deep bowl of crispy sprouts balanced by pork plus balsamic and culminating in a flatbread teaming with mushrooms beneath an especially heady blue it was onward to dessert that we progressed, a trio of options served simultaneously with both the subtly sweet bread pudding and decadent brownie arriving boozed up and bound to impress.
THREE AND A HALF STARS: Still new and as yet finding its footing with some of the more clever riffs on ethnic eats suffice it to say that Carson Kitchen is one of those ‘hip’ restaurants poised to make noise in the slow renovation of downtown Las Vegas. Still an imperfect vision trying a bit too hard to be everything to everyone with servers that are seem a tad overzealous to push drinks and more expensive items while tossing about buzz-words in an environment that trends just a touch too loud I look forward to seeing how the menu evolves with time, a return visit likely to occur far sooner than the seven years it took me to revisit a Kerry Simon restaurant the first time around.
RECOMMENDED: Chicken Skins, Bacon Jam, Donut Bread Pudding, Sprouts and Spuds Hash.
AVOID: Beef Wellington Empanadas, Gyro Tacos, “Twinkies”
TIP: Happy to pay for good food and fortunately unaffected by small upcharges suffice it to say that few things annoy me more than when a server offers “more bread” to go with an item – in this case the bacon jam – and then applies an upcharge without making it known. Sure, $1.50 is not a big deal, but at least have the common courtesy to inform the diner of the policy, otherwise don’t be surprised if I recoup that cost from your tip.
http://carsonkitchen.com/index.php
