Simon Restaurant

Simon Restaurant and Lounge Opens at Palms Place

On Thursday, May 15, celebrity chef Kerry Simon (Iron Chef America winner!) in partnership with casino developer George Maloof, hosted the grand opening of the long-awaited Simon Restaurant and Lounge at Palms Place for media and other invited guests. The 6,000 square foot, 180-seat restaurant, located on the sixth floor of Palms Place, is situated right next to the rooftop pool with a spectacular view of the Strip and farther in the distance but no less impressive, the Valley’s own Red Rock Mountains.

The $7.2 million restaurant caters to local residents as well as the upscale business and leisure clientele that bought into the condominium hotel on Flamingo Road. Dining here is casual, with an American cuisine tinged by an Asian flair. With sushi, seafood and steak entrees, the restaurant offers banquet and private rooms, bar dining, a lounge, patio and outdoor, poolside dining.

Aiming for sustainability, Chef Simon has incorporated bamboo, stone and slate into the elegant interior of his namesake eatery. High ceilings and retractable glass walls give an even greater sense of spaciousness to the large venue. There are plenty of cozy corners and just as many communal gathering places to suit those interested in intimate dinners as well as those for whom more is never enough. There are no tablecloths but plenty of rock music. Surfaces are sleek and lines are clean.
The renowned Rockwell Group designed the space, which features a sushi bar, two chef’s tables, and a spacious lounge. A sophisticated and inventive menu appeals to the sensibilities of a varied crowd, from the easily impressed to the easily bored; no easy feat, but Chef Simon pulls it off as smoothly as if it were one of his roasted vegetable gazpachos. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

ou get there by Sky Tube, a people mover that transports you through art-graced hallways, and elegant interiors incorporating plants, mood-inducing light fixtures and calm, reflective surfaces.

The grand opening featured passed appetizers as well as food stations along Simon’s interior and exterior spaces. The youthful, innovative chef’s creations show a nostalgia for old school favorites and comfort foods, like macaroni and cheese served in tiny, one-bite pastry shells, miniature chicken salad sandwiches on multigrain buns, Chinese takeout boxes full of fried shrimp or classic Caesar salad, grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, mini turkey reubens, and Margherita pizza. Decidedly trendier fare includes fresh tomato-based gazpacho with avocado salad, and a delectable baby beet salad incorporating arugula and goat cheese in a grape vinaigrette.

A seafood station was covered in jumbo shrimp, lobster tails, crab legs and oysters on the half shell, surrounded by an ice sculpture sporting the restaurant’s logo. A sushi station continually produced California rolls, Ahi tuna rolls, and red and pink salmon creations that leapt as high as their living counterparts off of plates and into mouths.

The whimsical dessert station included Chef Simon’s personal childhood favorites: brownies, Rice Krispie Treats(and some made with Froot Loops), candy necklaces, homemade versions of beloved Hostess Snowballs and cupcakes and a whole forest of caramel apples (sticks poking upward, inviting hands to grasp and jaws to clamp down).

Poolside dining, whether on the patio or in a cabana, complete with ceiling fan and flat screen television, allows for people-watching. Your humble correspondent spied former Fed-ex main squeeze Shar Jackson in mid-interview, owner George Maloof positively working the roof, and Chef Simon himself, enjoying the well-deserved celebration of his latest effort.

The ultra-professional wait staff sports a casual, friendly manner, clearing tables and obliging patrons with special requests for vegetarian fare or describing the various offerings being passed around the pool and cabana area. Upbeat, expedient bartenders happily accommodate even the oddest drink request (for example, spears of green olives to accompany a cranberry vodka concoction).

Future patrons can expect excellence in Simon’s daily menu as well. All of the eggs used in the breakfast entrees are organic. Also offered are smoothies, protein shakes, hot and cold cereals, waffles, pancakes, smoked salmon, pastries, assorted fruit, and bagels. A Sushi Sampler offered at lunch will treat your taste buds to a quartet of the rice-covered rolls (California, spicy tuna, eel and avocado, and spider). Another comfort food, mashed potatoes, can be ordered plain, truffle, wasabi, or garlic-infused. Dinner entree prices range from $22 for a Red Thai Chicken curry to the mysterious “market price” for a Surf and Turf (filet mignon and butter poached Maine lobster). The small investment, from what I sampled at the opening, is sure to be worth it.

Chef Simon manages the restaurant with Elizabeth Blau, his partner in several other restaurants, including Simon Kitchen & Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel. Blau relocated to Las Vegas 11 years ago to work for Steve Wynn, and is responsible for bringing chefs Jean Georges Vongerichten, Michael Mina and Todd English to The Bellagio.

With such an impeccable pedigree of business acumen and culinary skill, the newest Palms Place restaurant is sure to find its niche among The Strip’s most popular gastronomic destinations. In keeping with the childhood nostalgia evoked by the food, you may better understand the meaning of the classic game, “Simon Says.”

After one bite, you’ll be listening.
For further information and reservations:

Simon Restaurant and Lounge at Palms Place
4321 W. Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89103
(702) 944-3240
http://www.palmsplace.com

Hours of Operation:
Breakfast: Monday - Sunday: 7:00am - 11:30am
Lunch: Monday - Sunday: 11:30am - 2:30pm
Dinner: Monday - Sunday: 6:00pm - 11:00pm