Simon:LA isn’t your typical celebrity restaurant. Even though the chef is best known for the rockin’ Vegas joint and his appearance on Iron Chef America, the food isn’t pretentious or overly fancy. Chef Simon takes comfort food—my kind of comfort food, homey American cuisine, some Cal-Asian goodies, and junk food—to a dressier level.
Popcorn shrimp? How about baby Gulf shrimp, deep-fried in a tangy Cajun batter, with a kicky remoulade for dipping? Yes, please. The Dark Knight practically inhaled this entire appetizer, leaving me just a few pieces of shrimp. What can I say? He’s a hungry man.
I was in no danger of going hungry, though. The grilled vegetable gazpacho was all mine, since the Dark Knight isn’t much for cold soups, even one as chunky and flavorful as this. It tasted a lot like a slightly pureed salsa made with fire-roasted veggies, accented with a cannelle of jalapeno-accented guacamole and drizzled with cilantro oil. Perfect for dipping the garlic crostini that accompanied this summery soup.
As much as I love things with the word “dynamite” in them (Napoleon, anyone?), I was not incredibly impressed with the tuna dynamite that reviews usually speak so highly of. Sandwiched between inch-thick slabs of sushi rice sat coarsely chopped ahi, a tuna cube instead of a tuna roll. The cube sat atop lightly sweet “eel” sauce (this was closer to teriayaki), and was topped with chunks of sweet lump crab that had been dressed with red chili aioli to mimic the spicy mayonnaise used in spicy tuna rolls. There was a whole lot of rice here. Too much. Too, too much.
But the reputation of this famous chef was saved by the surprisingly aromatic carpaccio pizza: super thin oval-shaped pizza crust baked off with bleu cheese and fresh tomato chunks, then topped with lightly seasoned arugula. Delicate, barely seared, paper-thin slices of beef tenderloin rested atop the greens. Granted, this isn’t traditional carpaccio, but this isn’t a traditional pizza. While I would have loved a bit more acid in this dish (a squeeze of lemon never hurt anyone), I adored the salty cheese against the peppery greens.
Thankfully, proportion is key in masterful preparation of dishes such as these, and we weren’t full yet. After dining on appetizers all night, we were ready for the pièce de résistance: the Simon Junk Food Sampler. The Dark Knight and I sighed happily when the waiter brought this work of art to the table. A cone of house-made cotton candy sat in a bowl full of fresh caramel corn. A small paper bag of warm cookies shared platter space with a tiny peanut butter and chocolate sundae (peanut butter gelato topped with hot fudge and whipped cream), a scoop of mango sorbet, two mini-sized chocolate cupcakes and pink sno-balls (both a la Hostess), three rice krispie squares, three cocoa krispie squares, and a small vanilla bean milkshake.
Damn.
The Dark Knight and I polished off the cotton candy first. Sugar high. I attacked the mango sorbet while the Dark Knight spooned in the peanut butter sundae. We each grabbed a handful of caramel corn as we drank down the silky, smooth milkshake…and then stopped. We may be sugar-holics, but we have our limits.
All packed up—half of the pizza and most of the sweets tucked neatly into plastic containers and nestled securely in a big Simon:LA shopping bag—the Dark Knight and I downed the last of our espressos and headed home. I still want to try the beef tartare and carpaccio duo, the short rib entrée, and a couple specialty cocktails. After all, who could possibly resist the lure of updated comfort food?
Simon:LA
Sofitel Hotel
8555 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310.278.5444
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