carson kitchen / las vegas

During Food Fight Write, we got standard convention breakfast (re: trays of mostly warm eggs, bacon, and such, though one day there was also a Bloody Mary Bar…) and our lunches fared much better (BBQ!). Usually we were on our own for dinner and one evening I ventured out to Carson Kitchen with a couple of other bloggers. I had heard people talking about Carson Kitchen and got recommendations for it from other bloggers so I figured it be a good spot, despite me not liking their website…

Carson Kitchen was just outside of Fremont Street so it was within walking distance of the hotel. It felt like a bit of a hike at the end of the day though!

[iced tea / $3]

I got an iced tea and was quite pleased to see they gave me a little carafe of simple syrup for my iced tea instead of just a little tray of sugars. Little details like this always put a smile on my face!

[bacon jam with brie and toasted baguette / $12]

All items were shared. We might have over ordered a little, but who cares. It’s not like you’re in Vegas every day, right? The first item to come to the table was this cast iron tray of sizzling hot bacon jam with creamy melted brie in the middle.

The bacon jam was amazing. It was bubbly and hot and was in chunky pieces so you could still tell you were eating bacon. You’d get chunks of salty, fatty bacon. Paired with the sweet, creamy brie made this an intense dish but it also had the salty and sweet flavors playing off of different areas of your tongue. The baguette provided a vessel for getting this into your mouth and giving another crunchy texture to add to the overall experience. So good!

[crispy chicken skins with smoked honey / $6]

Chicken skins. The ultimate “I shouldn’t have this but it’s so GOOD” appetizer. We were given a little basket of perfectly fried and seasoned chicken skins. They didn’t taste overwhelming or too fatty but they had this perfect crunch, like when you bite into your first potato chip – but with a meatier flavor. The smoked honey on the side put this one over the top for me as it added another element of flavor. The sweetness with the crunchy skin was perfect to me. It reminded me of that flavor profile you get when eating chicken and waffles – the savory with the sweet.

[baked mac n cheese / $12]

You usually can’t go wrong with ordering macaroni and cheese. It looks like a tiny dish but it was actually perfect since we ordered so much to share. The macaroni and cheese had a really nice blend of cheeses. The sauce was thick, smooth and creamy. THey used panko bread crumbs on top that got that nice bit of crispiness on top. It was uber cheesy – I wish I knew what blend of cheeses they use for this!

[wellington empanada / $10]

Wellington Empandas sounded interesting to me – like mini beef wellingtons, but fried instead of baked.

But… they were just okay. I felt it was a little underseasoned and was imagining flavorful steak pieces inside. Instead it was more like a ground meat mixture. More practical, that’s for sure, but not what I was expecting. Beef Wellington is a whole steak covered in puff pastry and baked and this was more like a fried meat dumpling. Not bad, but also… not… super great. The empanada shell was also a tad on the greasy side.

[wild mushroom flatbread / $10]

Our last shared item to come out was the mushroom flatbread. We were all starting to get full at this point but I had a piece to try it. The flatbread was a freeform crust that reminded me a little of a flat pita bread. It was a bit crunchy with nice crispy edges. Our flatbread had a nice layer of melted mozzarella on the top with the addition of lots of earthy, fresh mushrooms and a sprinkle of blue cheese. The blue cheese gave the flatbread a layer of creamy bite and the sprinkle of herbs enhanced the flatbread’s flavor. I enjoyed the crunchy flatbread with the layers of various cheeses. Mushrooms always make me happy so I’m always thrilled to dine with people who like mushrooms as much as I do!

[bourbon fudge brownie with brown butter bacon ice cream / $8]

I’m pretty certain I have a dessert stomach because no matter how much I eat, I always want to end the meal with a little something sweet! The desserts sounded really good (they had a glazed doughnut bread pudding using day old donuts from the donut shop next door and a “not your father’s twinkie”) and we ended up getting the Bourbon Fudge Brownie with Brown Butter Bacon Ice Cream (plus candied bacon on top). The ice cream was my favorite part – it had a rich, nuttiness to it with little bits of bacon creaming a smooth, smoky, nutty ice cream unlike any other ice cream I’ve tried. The brownie on the other hand was the sad part of the dish. It was served cold (a mistake, if you ask me) and was kind of crumbly and not quite like brownies that I’m used to. I didn’t really enjoy eating the brownie after awhile and abandoned it to focus solely on the delicious ice cream.

All in all though I enjoyed the experience I had at Carson Kitchen. Sharing a bunch of plates is definitely the way to go here so you can try more things (which is how I like to do it in general). It’s a place I’d love to bring Jake to, if just to eat those chicken skins with honey again!

Carson Kitchen
124 South Sixth St., Suite 100
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 473 9523