I might come from a steak-and-potatoes kind of family, but I never expected to feel quite so at home at The Palm, even if it is a classic American steakhouse.
As soon as you walk in, you're literally surrounded by familiar faces. That's because of the hundreds of caricatures and cartoons that cover the walls.
According to Palm history, two Italian immigrants, whose grandsons now own the restaurant chain, opened the original Palm restaurant in New York City near a large newspaper syndicate. Several aspiring cartoonists would frequent The Palm and draw caricatures on the walls, which had not yet been decorated, as payment for their meals.
The tradition stuck and carried over to other Palm establishments across the country. Their walls are full of cartoons such as Beetle Bailey and Hagar the Horrible, and caricatures of famous Palm patrons such as Larry King and George H.W. Bush.
| The Palm 200 S. Broad Street (215) 546-7256 Fare: Steakhouse Over $20 One of the best steakhouses in the city featuring lobster, steak, lamb and veal chops. |
But as much fun as it is to sit and look at the walls all evening, they won't hold your attention very long once you see what else The Palm has to offer.
The Palm is a traditional American steakhouse with a selection of home-style Italian entrees and seafood. According to assistant general manager Goran Perovic, The Palm proudly serves oversized portions, including Nova Scotia lobsters that can weigh up to 10 pounds.
Not long after he said that, a young man at another table was served a large red lobster. I could tell from across the room that Perovic wasn't kidding.
And after setting the lobster down, the server stepped behind the customer and gracefully tied a bib around his neck. Now that's service.
Since I wasn't planning on ordering lobster as an entree, I ordered the lobster bisque ($7.50) for my appetizer. Darker in color than I expected, the soup was thick and creamy.
My guest opted for the arugula and endive salad ($7.50), a crisp assortment of bitter greens topped with a creamy slab of goat cheese.
For my entree, I ordered The Palm's specialty, the New York strip steak. What came back from the kitchen was 18 ounces (and $31 worth) of prime-aged perfection.
Ordered medium, my steak was pink with a little red in the center, just the way it should be. The cut of meat was tender and lean, truly an excellent steak all around.
My guest ordered one of the specials for the evening, a horseradish-encrusted filet of halibut served with wasabi mashed potatoes. The pungent flavors of the wasabi and horseradish gave body to the halibut's mild flesh, and enabled my guest to "discover nasal passages [she] didn't know [she] had." The fish was served flaky, moist and warm, and the seasonings were bold but not overpowering.
Entree specials like this add to The Palm's robust menu, and its seafood comes from all over the Eastern Seaboard.
For dessert, I had the honor of experiencing the marble brownie cheesecake, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Served hot, the brownie-cheesecake combination was as soft as it was rich.
My guest indulged in The Palm's chocolate banana mousse pie, a classic after-dinner combination taken to its fudgiest extreme. Marvelously dense, four bites of this rich confection were all that she could manage to consume after all the halibut she had eaten, but I could tell she would be dreaming about the rest of it all night.
Let's be honest here. If you've indulged my culinary odyssey this long, you're a steak lover as well. Do yourself a favor and head to The Palm.
