Their address will tell you Carson Kitchen is located on 6th street, but you’ll have to turn the corner onto Carson to find the entrance right next door to O Face Doughnuts. The lack of signage makes it difficult to find, but it’s totally worth the search. I’ve tried two other Kerry Simon restaurants and wasn’t wowed. This place, however, lives up to the hype.
The menu is full of small and large plates of Simon’s re-imagining of comfort food. Deviled eggs ($8) are refreshingly light on mayo, topped with crispy, meaty chunks of pancetta and caviar that adds a bit of salinity to the dish. The crispy chicken skins ($8) became more addictive with each bite and the bacon jam’s ($12) smokey, sweet, and savory profile was hard to resist. A sizable portion for our party of three, we had to request more toasted baguettes to finish it up.
The rabbit ragu ($12) was a slight let down. The thin ragu had a slight kick to it, but the course texture of the squash had me wishing it was cooked longer. Another dish that failed to excite was the gyro tacos ($10). Familiar flavors weren’t enough to make this dish stand out among all the others.
A slightly better dish, the Wellington empanada ($10) was filled with lightly seasoned beef tenderloin wrapped in a thick, flakey pastry shell. The sprouts and spuds hash ($10) was excellent and a great size for sharing. I was thrilled to see the sprouts and potatoes cooked to an almost burnt level with plenty of char and crispy edges. The last savory dish was the wild mushroom flatbread ($10). Showcasing a blistered crust topped with mushrooms, onions and cabrales bleu cheese, it was a solid dish with somewhat understated flavors complimenting each other.
With just enough room for dessert we started with the Not Your Father’s Twinkies ($8). It was an underwhelming fried sponge cake with piped in filling and an orange coulis that added a little brightness and acidity, with a touch of basil that seemed like a mistake. The Glazed donut bread pudding ($8), on the other hand, was an excellent showcase in restrained sweetness. Ending the meal was the bourbon fudge brownie ($8) with brown butter bacon ice cream. Dense and rich, there’s nothing fancy about this dish, just one that was well executed and sweet enough for any chocolate lover.
Heading back to his roots, chef Simon and team have created a restaurant that can already be considered one of the best Downtown and a spot that both tourists and locals should check out.
4 Stars
124 S 6th St
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 850-3193
