Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Junk Food

This Valentine’s Day, Think About Indulging In (Kerry Simon’s) Junk Food

I love it when a chef knows how to brand himself.  In the case of “Rock and Roll Chef” Kerry Simon, he owns “Junk Food.”  I definitely feel a bond with him since our brands kind of push the same thing: foods that taste incredible.  So, when I was invited to try his Valentine’s Day Junk Food, Game On.

I first came to know him from my visit to Vegas a few years ago when I had the chance to try his PJ-wearing Sunday brunch at Simon.  It was there that we had his signature Junk Food platter which easily surpassed both the impressive “White Trash” Station and the Create Your Own Bloody Mary bar.

In my interview with Chef Kerry, he said that the platter began with his making his own house-made Hostess Cupcakes and grew from there.  Now he’s taking a holiday approach to it, creating versions for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day.  The Valentine’s Day version is being served now through the holiday at Chef Simon’s LA Market Restaurant located in the lobby of the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE.

So, what’s in this Junk Food Platter? First off, Chef Kerry’s signature house-made cotton candy.  Before he started Simon, he was visiting San Diego where he saw some cotton candy and began wondering why restaurants don’t serve it.  As he researched equipment for his upcoming store, he discovered that cotton candy machines weren’t prohibitively expensive so he decided to start making house-made cotton candy in his new restaurant. It reminds me of how Thomas Keller, after having an ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins, become inspired with the idea of creating a cone for the first course served at The French Laundry.  From fine-dining to junk food, the creativity of chefs these days astounds me!

In any case, I’m thinking of giving Chef Kerry my Inaugural DeathbedFood Impact Award for leading the way on the important Restaurant Cotton Candy Initiative.

In addition to the cotton candy, his platter includes:

• A strawberry milkshake;
• Chocolate chip cookies;
• Brownies with chocolate heart candies;
• Heart-shaped Rice crispy treats;
• Heart-shaped Fruit Loop treats (bet Momofuku Milk Bar would approve based on their Cereal Milk concoctions);
• Chocolate covered strawberries;
• Snowballs;
• Caramel corn; and
• House-made hostess cupcakes.

And what’s the cost of Dessert extravagance like this?  Just $15!  I almost coughed up one of the (chocolate chip) cookies when I heard that.

Chef Kerry believes that Junk Food can be DeathbedFood because it’s usually stuff you loved as a kid.  His Junk Food is designed to connect you with childhood yet also satisfy adult, more sophisticated tastes.

Now that we’ve covered off on Dessert, we can move on to Dinner, don’t you think?  LA Market will also be having a Valentine’s Day Dinner for $52 per person which sounds lovely …

• Course 1: Passion Fruit Crème;
• Course 2: Candy Stripe Baby Beet and Hearts of Palm Salad or Pan Roasted Diver Scallops;
• Course 3: Sable Fish, Veal Osso Bucco or Porter House Steak for Two; and
• Dessert: The Valentine’s Day Junk Food Platter for Two.

All told, I say “Here! Here!” to Junk Food advocate, Kerry Simon, for giving us creative and inspiring ways to enjoy the treats of childhood well into adulthood – especially on Valentine’s Day.