BEST NEW CASUAL RESTAURANT

Kerry Simon's new restaurant is the most exciting thing to happen to the Downtown dining scene. It also offers

CHEFS TO THE MAX TO HOST ,SUNDAY SUPPER' AT KERRY SIMON'S CARSON KITCHEN

Chefs to the Max will host ,Sunday Supper' from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, at Carson Kitchen and is priced at $75 per person. The mini dine-around will feature a collaboration of neighborhood off-Strip chefs with 100 percent of proceeds going toward the recovery of Max Jacobson, a popular local food writer from Vegas Seven who was critically injured last December. "Max Jacobson is, and always will be, an iconic part of the Las Vegas dining family," said Cory Harwell, managing partner of Simon Hospitality Group. "Kerry and I are excited to host this benefit at our new Downtown restaurant and look forward to supporting Chefs to the Max." Jacobson suffered traumatic brain injuries when he was struck by a car on Dec. 23 of last year while walking home from the gym. Since April, he has been undergoing rehabilitation in Denver and Omaha, where he has seen tremendous improvements. Jacobson is currently walking and dining out once again and his speech continues to improve. ,Sunday Supper' is sponsored by Southern Wine & Spirits. Tickets and more information is available by calling (702) 473-9523 or by email at [email protected].

Las Vegas, Off the Eaten Path

The menu at Carson Kitchen consists of small plates and is antic and border-crossing in a way that could be awful or great.

Kerry Simon Photos With Culinary Memorabilia Case

Kerry Simon dubbed the "rock ,n' roll chef" by Rolling Stone magazine, was honored with the inaugural culinary memorabilia case at Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas.

Kerry Simon Memorabilia Case Dedication at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Friends and family flocked to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Thursday night to see the memorabilia case dedication of legendary chef Kerry Simon. Simon, dubbed the "rock ,n' roll chef" by Rolling Stone magazine, was honored with the inaugural culinary memorabilia case at the property.

Peer Inside the New Memoralbilia Case for Kerry Simon

Kerry Simon, dubbed the "rock 'n' roll chef" by Rolling Stone magazine, now has his very own culinary memorabilia case at the Hard Rock Hotel...

Simon Says Todd Rundgren, Sammy Hagar and Alice Cooper...

'Kerry' Simon's grandiose MSA charity event boosted by Bill's Murray-ment

There is that moment when you meet an idol face-to-face and you don't really know what to say other than your hope that it is not something memorably stupid.

This happened Thursday night, near a temporary bar at a glamorous charity event in downtown Las Vegas.

Simon Says: Carson Kitchen Ready To Serve In Downtown Vegas

As most of us at VegasChatter are fans of KGB Burger inside Harrah's (the Thanksgiving Turkey Burger with sweet potato tots is a favorite of this writer), we're excited to see... and taste... what kind of tricks Chef Simon and partner Cory Harwell have up their sleeves for quirkier downtown palates. Early pics we spied on Carson Kitchen's Facebook page had us hungry for Sprouts and Spuds Hash (with onions, bacon and balsamic, $10) and Broccoli Crunch (broccoli tossed with sunflower and pumpkin seeds in Green Goddess dressing, $8).
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Kerry Simon To Open First

What will we do with all these new dining choices? Once again, foodies will have a fresh downtown destination in the Fremont East. Carson Kitchen, not to be confused with the pest-y and now-defunct Carson Street Cafe, will open its doors for the first time today at 11 a.m.

Stripside diners are going to have a harder time resisting the call to downtown. Along with Eat, MTO Cafe, and Wild, another offbeat food joint is calling the extended Fremont area home. Bringing more of Chef Kerry Simon,s funky stylings to Las Vegas, Carson Kitchen promises a hipster vibe at "approachable prices," whatever that last part means. We gave you a sneak peek at the selections back in April, but you can now find the entire food menu online.
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CARSON KITCHEN is Kerry's Crowning, Crowd-Pleasing Achievement

Kerry Simon and I have had a rather prickly relationship over the years. We both like each other on a personal level, but he hasn't always liked what I've written and I haven't always liked what he has cooked.

That said, we have a certain wary respect for the other's craft - which usually leads us to warmly greet each other - even if, two minutes after hugs are exchanged, we start debating one of his recipes or one of my sentences.

By way of a little history, I first tasted Simon's cooking on August 30, 1988. It was a spectacular degustation at a restaurant called Lafayette in the Drake Swissotel it New York City. Jean-Georges Vongerichten was getting all the press as executive chef, but Kerry was his number one - executing a menu of French sensibilities tweaked with Indo-Chinese and Thai technique that was as delicious as it was dazzling. (The exact date is remembered because it was in then-celebration of my then-wife's birthday.)
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Kerry Simon Plants a Flag Downtown With Carson Kitchen

Celebrity Chef Kerry Simon is the first big name to cast his sights upon downtown with the debut of his newest concept, Carson Kitchen. After a year of waiting and quiet updates, the newest tenant of the revamped John E. Carson building (formerly a motel) is serving up some very cool cuisine to a packed house nightly.

There's a certain kind of atmosphere that Carson Kitchen emanates, a certain kind of aura (if that's a real thing and also something restaurants can have). It has a certain blend of that "neighborhood" communal feel, but still has plenty of creativity oozing out between the floorboards. It's the kind of place that, after a cocktail or two, makes you start to feel like you're on vacation in a much cooler city. Portland, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Denver... hell, it almost feels like some of the hip LA suburbs that have the bad names (LA suburbs with good-sounding names are almost always post-apocalyptic hellholes). Somehow that feel has been plucked from those cities, but without the humidity.
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A perfect lunch at Carson Kitchen after radio shows

So you may wonder how I decide where I'm going this week to eat and write my review.

Well this week the place I ended up at started with a simple picture at 8:30 a.m. I was sitting at my desk Wednesday morning putting the final touches on my notes for the First Preview Radio Show and I saw a tweet from one of my buddies on twitter.

There was a picture attached to this tweet. Since this was from Marc @MeltzVegas and included a picture there is a very good chance it's food. Once again my man didn't disappoint.

It was a picture of a burger and tator tots. Someone had posted the picture and he re-tweeted it. So there I am thinking that looks good and then learn it was from a place that just opened.
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Kerry Simon joins the Downtown dining scene

The area surrounding East Fremont has become ground zero for everything new and cool to eat Downtown-O Face Doughnuts, Container Park, EAT. Now Carson Kitchen (pictured), inside the revived John E. Carson building, joins the pack. Chef Kerry Simon's latest venture is a graceful shift from the sleek, ultra-chic Simon at Palms Place-hands down still one of the most fun brunches in town-to a more hipster, neighborhood-feel kind of a restaurant.
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