Simon Says: Eat Junk Food

In the last few years, schools around the world have cracked down on unhealthy food being served in their cafeterias. IT is all about healthy eating, especially for the grade-school set. Still, you can have too much even of a good thing (despite what Mae West says), so we were happy to discover the antithesis to this nutritionally-minded trend in a burgeoning restaurant-biz phenomenon: high end junk food.

IT was recently intrigued by some items on the dessert menu at Sofitel Los Angeles’s new restaurant Simon L.A. Sprinkled between the usual swanky subjects (sour cream cheesecake, crème brulée), we found grilled donuts, milk and cookies, "a mountain of pink cotton candy," and, guiltiest pleasure of all, the Simon Junk Food Sampler. For $25, your table can indulge in an assortment of Rice Krispie Treats (chocolate and vanilla), cotton candy, caramel popcorn, chocolate-chip cookies, a milkshake, two single-scoop cups of ice cream, and chef Kerry Simon‘s interpretations of Hostess Sno Balls and cupcakes.

We have yet to make it to the City of Angels to try out this upscale lowbrow extravaganza, but are pleased to bring you a firsthand report about one fluffy portion of the platter. Emily’s anti-candy father was persuaded to sample the fancy cotton candy at Simon’s Las Vegas eatery in the Hard Rock Hotel: "They present it in a big popcorn bowl that’s heaping over the top. You pass it around the table and everyone pulls off a piece. It’s really fun!"