L.A. Market

If Rock ‘n Roll has a food voice its Kerry Simon, darling of the Gibson guitar mongers and the latest star chef to place his signature on the dining palate of LA Live.

Simon, who has an eponymous location in Los Angeles as well as restaurants in Las Vegas at Palms Place and Luxor’s Cathouse, has added some local cool to the sheen of LA Live with a 200-seat comfort food emporium in the lobby of the new Los Angeles Marriott, called LA Market.

It’s easy to get lost in the venue’s cavernous glass interiors, which blend seamlessly with the rest of the hotel lobby that is more in the scale of an airport terminal in its sharp-edged, minimalist design.

But the food here is anything but minimalist or straight-edged. Consider this guy the guru of retrofare, with a twist of Peter Max-style creativity.

The menu is an eclectic blend of global favorites, from Mezze Plate musts to crisp and light fried calamari with ponzu dipping sauce to Mozzarella Margherita Pizza, Lamb Tagine with couscous and laban, and his classic all-out signature meatloaf and mash. Chef Simon's French Dip and Provolone Sliders is a fave with the pool crowd in Vegas as are his mac ‘n cheese concoctions and his burgers (which earned him the prestigious Iron Chef award in 2005). Oh, you can skew healthy if you want.

A raw salad with a medley or radish slices and pomegranate seeds, or the LA Market Green Salad with crispy shallots, shaved asparagus and poached organic egg and organic chicken for an entrée. Ingredients are sourced locally and changed seasonally.

But all good eaters deserve to be bad for dessert and that means the $18 Junk Food Platter. This is a one dish fits all format with fruit loops and marshmallow squares, brownies, Snowballs, Hostess Cupcakes, brownies, Rice Krispy Treats, vanilla milkshakes with cookies and even a hefty wad of cotton candy to pick. None of it comes out of a wrapper. Even the Snowballs and Hostess Cupcakes come handmade from the kitchen.

HelloLosAngeles Tip: Prices here are moderate by L.A. standards; all entrees are under $30. Reservations are suggested as the restaurant fills up during heavy convention periods. 

- by Lark Ellen Gould, Los Angeles Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Lark Ellen Gould

Lark Ellen Gould has penned seven books on Las Vegas and Los Angeles as a veteran news and travel writer. Her work appears in the L.A. Times, Elite Traveler, Travel Agent Magazine and other national forums. She lived in Boston for many years, earning her masters degree and then traveling the globe for stories. Today she lives in LA and still travels the world on assignment while filling the pages of her travel site: www.wheredaily.com, along the way.