Rainbow cauliflower,
from Carson Kitchen's
farm-fresh menu.
Small but mighty
CARSON TCHEN, THE YEAR-OLD RESTAURANT FROM "ROCK 'N' ROLL CHEF" KERRY SIMON,
ANCHORS AN EXPLODING DOWNTOWN DINING SCENE.
BY JOHN CURTAS pHOTOgRApHY BY SABiN ORR
If someone had told me a year ago that Kerry Simon's Carson
K itchen would be bot h a rag ing success a nd t he spa rk of a
restaurant renaissance, I would have looked at them with the
same bemusement I usually reserve for conspiracy theorists
and Chicago Cubs fans. A year ago (or three, 10, or 20 years
ago), Downtown Las Vegas was a restaurant wasteland. The
idea t hat you ng couples, subu rba n ites, professiona ls, a nd
entire families would come here to eat seemed as far-fetched
as having a mob law yer for a mayor.
But here they come now, not only to Carson K itchen but to
a dozen upscale bars and restaurants that have followed in its
wake. Every month, Downtown (yes, we capitalize it now) Las
Vegas seems to celebrate the opening of a chef-driven restaurant
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