Carson Kitchen
124 S 6th St., Ste. 100,
Las Vegas, NV
Ph: (702) 473-9523

A Las Vegas visitor looking for a casual dining spot in the downtown area would likely pass by the logo-free store front of Carson Kitchen with no idea that inside fresh, wholesome food was being served up.

We were lucky to meet up with a fellow conference attendee who lives in Las  Vegas while watching World Food Championship competitors cooking in an early event. She suggested we walk a few blocks to have lunch together at Carson Kitchen, and we almost walked right by before we found the entrance. But lucky for us we did not miss it because we had an excellent lunch there and bonded happily over the food.

The three of us decided to share a few tasting plates. We picked the rainbow cauliflower, the wild mushroom flatbread, the tempura green beans, the chicken thighs and the gyro tacos. Probably just a little more than we could manage but as foodies, we wanted a variety of dishes to taste.

From my boarding school days when all flavour was boiled out of vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts I have avoided these healthy foods like the plague. With the recent fad for crisp baking Brussels sprouts, often with parmesan or garlic, I've recently learned to enjoy Brussels sprouts. Now the rainbow cauliflower flavoured with garlic and lemon juice has convinced me that cauliflower should be added back into my culinary repertoire.

I love the imaginative toppings served on flatbreads and the flatbread with wild mushroom and caramelized onions with blue cheese is one of my favorites.

We also ordered the chicken thighs with citrus chimichurri. The citrus cut the heat of the chimichurri sauce and we all liked the chicken dish. Actually we liked all the dishes we ordered - a lot.

The tempura on the green beans, though light, added a nice crunch. The beans served with with pepper jelly and cream cheese vanished very quickly from the serving dish. The last dish we ordered was the gyro tacos. The filling was lamb with tzatziki, cucumber and tomato. Again an exellent choice, and it conveniently came in a serving of three.

The service was great, the ambience informal and relaxed and the food excellent. It's definitely on my list of restaurants I would come back to.