Simon Says... Brunch.

If there was a single eating experience that summed up Vegas, it had to be brunch at Simon.

Every Sunday, Kerry Simon's eponymous restaurant at the Palms becomes the venue for a fun, frivolous, camp and witty party. There's no other word. It's brunch with an ironic wink, where the healthy rubs shoulders with the excessive and the celebs rub shoulders with the normal folk and it's all done in the best possible taste. In pyjamas. Customers are encouraged to wear whatever they sleep in (provided it's decent, one assumes), and staff do the same. Well, with the exception of the ladies running the Bloody Mary station who are dressed as nurses. Hey, it's Vegas, they do that sort of thing...

Best of all though, it's not just the novelty of the apparel that would keep you coming back to Simon. The food's damn good and, at $38 for all-you-can-eat, plus ten bucks apiece for unlimited Bellinis or Bloody Marys, it's excellent value.

The choice is breathtaking, from the various stations - fruit, baked goods, paninis, (excellent) sushi, cereals - to the hot menu which includes sections like White Trash (fried chicken and waffles, pigs in blankets, ribs, etc). When the French Toast turns out to be made with brioche and covered in Frosties, you know you're in the hands of a crowd-pleasing master. By the time you spot the Dessert section of the menu - puddings! for brunch! - the rock 'n' rolling Mr Simon can do little wrong. His thinking was to make the restaurant look and feel like a 1950s home, hence nostaligia-ridden desserts that include coconut snowballs, toffee popcorn candy floss and marshmallow-and-cereal cake combos. As a sucker for classic Americana and straightforward food, I was giggling and stuffing my face virtually simultaneously. And, as a result, occasionally apologising to the people sitting opposite.

If you've only got one day in Vegas, make it a Sunday and go to Simon. If you've got longer, make sure you stay over a Sunday and go to Simon. It's a waistline threatening no-brainer. I think the below tells the story better...
















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