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The Palm at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace

By: The Lady of The Night Out

Why should you eat at the Palm?

As locals, we know LVNV is No. 1. There are more hotel rooms on the corner of Trop and the Boulevard then there are in all of San Francisco. Quizno’s No. 1 store is at the Excalibur and No. 2 is at McCarren. So it’s not surprising that the Las Vegas Palm is the No. 1 producer in its firmament, cooking up annual revenues of $11 million. Each chair in the 230-seat eatery produces a delicious $50,000 a year.

All those people couldn’t be wrong.

Who should eat at the Palm?

Carnivores. The Palm serves only corn-fed Midwestern beef wet aged 12 weeks. The original restaurant only served Italian food to its main clientele, New York newsmen. When one asked for a steak, one of the owners would run to a nearby butcher shop to purchase one.
Lobster lovers. The Palm pioneered serving large lobsters. Every lobster on a Palm plate weighs between three and six pounds. 100 percent of the lobsters come from Nova Scotia. This kitchen knows how to grill a crustacean: the shell takes the heat to produce snowy meat that is as juicy as the steaks. Clean up is classy: the staff appears with lemon-scented water and a hot towel to dust off your digits.
People watchers. The patio at the Palm offers the best perch for people watching in LVNV. Pay particular attention after the conclusion of the statue show – you will not believe what walks by!
Pasta proponents. The original founders came from Parma, a town in North Italy. They opened the restaurant to serve their native cuisine. When they went to get a business license, their heavy Italian accents made “Parma” sound like “Palm.” The Palm serves authentic Italian cuisine – don’t be too intimidated to order a plate of pasta. The chef makes nine gallons of marinara sauce during the week and 18 gallons on week-ends. Mange. Mange.
The Lunch Bunch. Yes, Virginia, the Palm is pricey. But not if you eat lunch! The Palm has an unbeatable business lunch special for just $16. That mind-blowing price includes a full size filet, soup or salad, home-made potato chips, crudités, and tea or coffee. That makes paying $5 for a piece of shoe leather at the casinos a big waste of money. The trick: You have to place your order before 3 p.m.
Art lovers. If you love cartoons, the food is secondary at the Palm. When the original owners opened their doors, they didn’t have any cash to decorate. In a twist on the practice of “singing for your supper,” starving cartoonists drew on the wall for a plate of spaghetti. Creators of cartoons like Batman, Popeye, and Beetle Bailey were some of the Palm’s original artists. Today, the walls proclaim “who’s who” in LVNV. And why aren’t I there?
Businesspeople. Even though it’s not on the menu, you can taste the testosterone. The back rooms at the Palm are perfect for planning those corporate take-overs in private. If you’re just chalking up some face time, the Palm has thought of everything. A notes tablet sits on every table at lunch.
Discount divas. The Palm has specials so folks not on the A-list can still afford a Palm repast. The current deal is dinner for two for $75. The main course is a five pound lobster. Two Caesar salads, two side dishes and two cups of coffee are included. GM Larry Close told me this “mother of all lobster promotions” is so successful nationwide the Palm has depleted the entire five pound lobster supply – guests have consumed over 100,000 pounds of this lobster since the promotion started in June. But we locals don’t have to worry. Our Palm signed a long-term contract so there are still plenty of five-pounders left.
Bread winners. The Palm is known for its lovely chocolate brown pumpernickel rye bread with walnuts and raisins, an original family recipe for the 1920s. The nutty seediness of the rye contrasts with the surge of sweetness from the raisins. The bread is rich and dense, the perfect home base for sweet butter. The exterior of the cheese bread is so tangy it virtually shouts “I’m made of asiago!” There’s also a crusty sourdough for the traditionalists.
Club members. The Palm has its own affinity award: the 837 Club. It costs $20 to join and it’s worth every penny.
Wine participants. The Wine Spectator, the Bible of wine lovers, uncorks awards every year to restaurants with the best wine lists. The LVNV Palm has won an award for years. The extensive wine list ranges from a $24 bottle of J. Lohr cabernet to a $1,250 bottle of 1989 Lafitte Rothschild. The LVNV Palm is going back to its roots and has just added a whole page of affordable Italian bottles.
Locals. Tell the front desk you’re a local and you’ll get in, even though the restaurant is sold out. You will have to wait but you won’t be turned away.

Who shouldn’t eat at the Palm?

Folks on a budget. Power doesn’t come cheap. Neither does the food at the Palm.
Dry aged beef proponents. The Palm only serves wet aged beef.
The dress code police. Since tourists comprise a large percent of the diners, many show up in shorts.

Ok, so what’s the food like? The Big O award goes to the lobster fra diablo soup. This is a creamy tomato soup with a spicy undertow. The satiny soup belies the jolt of heat; it’s the culinary version of pleasure and pain. I loved it! More!! Chunks of fresh tomatoes and lots of sweet lobster float in the soup. The kitchen is not stingy with this expensive ingredient.

The crudités included a dill pickle the size of a banana, a whole green tomato, and oversized radishes. The pickle was infused with dill and a hint of brine. The green tomato was a super star: no wonder Hollywood made a movie about it. It was so sour and crunchy it cried out for a vodka martini.

Even though lobster is ubiquitous on most buffets, few restaurants in LVNV know how to prepare it properly. I can count the establishments on one hand. The Palm makes the cut. The grilled lobster is perfect: succulent, sweet, sensuous. The drawn butter adds a layer of lush.

The meat is remarkably rich and unforgettably tender. My filet was a six inch tall silo of steak. It was perfect in its simplicity: a thin layer of char encasing the medium rare pink. Perfectly sautéed mushrooms sprinkled on top added a layer of musk.

Don’t miss the homemade chips. These crisp, paper thin rounds just snapped in two. Add some ketchup or ranch dressing and suddenly you discover you’ve inhaled the whole plate.

Dessert in the desert: We baby boomers still had grandmothers who baked. If you long for Grandma’s fruit pies or were cheated out of that experience, order the apple or cherry pie. Grandma May, who is 76, bakes these pies daily. Everyone gets their own. They look like pot pies because they have a dough cap. The hot apple pie is loaded with cinnamon.

Chocolate lovers can satisfy their primal craving with the chocolate mousse pie. It’s dense with deep dark flavor. On top are various edible decorations – all chocolate.

History: Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the restaurant at 837 Second Avenue in New York City in1926. The Palm was so successful, the owners opened a second restaurant across the street, which they dubbed Palm Too. The Ambassador to the United Nations, a guy named George Bush (Pere), suggested they open a restaurant in Washington, D.C. He felt the nation's Capitol, a hotbed of fancy French restaurants, needed an all-American eatery. The land grab was on; today there are 26 restaurants. The Palm remains the oldest family-owned restaurant chain in America to still be owned by its founding fathers.

As for the famous cartoons, the owners insure the walls at the original restaurant for half a million dollars.

Favorite waiter: Kelly or Frankie from Philly.

The last word: Who would have thought a chain restaurant run by family would become the nation’s premier power dining room? The Palm’s delicious 77 year past predicts its future: gastronomy mixed with celebrity is a great recipe for success. Although the prices reflect the socio-economic status of its designer diners, you don’t need to tap your credit line to enjoy a meal at the Palm. It offers the best value in town: $16 for a hefty lunch.

The Palm will be tripling its size when it moves into its new digs in the addition to the Forum Shops. The 14,000 square foot restaurant will have 664 seats.

Where is it? At the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. The restaurant is spittin’ distance from the casino entrance and Celine’s showroom. The address is 3500 Las Vegas Boulevard South. Phone: 702.732.7256.

Web site: http://www.thepalm.com

By: The Culinary Curmudgeon Lady of the Night Out

It’s been a year since we last reviewed the Las Vegas Palm. On my return visit, I noticed my caricature is still not on the wall. What’s up with that? I am certainly a force in the LVNV restaurant scene. I hope my Clark Kent-like anonymity is not the hold up. Are you listening, Larry?

I love the patio seating at the Palm. How can a dish called clams casino not taste great amidst a forest of slot machines? Binoculars are not required at this perfect people-watching perch. You don’t need to read the federal deficit numbers to know the economy is bad. The tourists are dressed much worse this year! Don’t they have mirrors in LVNV hotel rooms?

The kitchen at the Palm pays attention to even the smallest detail. So why does the best bread in LVNV arrive COLD? How much effort would it take to heat up the goodies in the bread basket? I can’t imagine the pleasures possible if that tangy cheese bread had arrived with cheese steaming.

And just because there is a Starbucks on every corner doesn’t mean those shops sell good coffee. Why do you think people order mocha frappacinos? To cover up the bitter, burnt taste of that awful coffee. Anyone who reveres coffee like I do knows you don’t grind fresh coffee beans in advance -- sitting around releases those disagreeable oils. Buy a good freeze dried blend or grind the beans on demand. Serving Starbucks coffee is grounds for divorce; a restaurant of your caliber needs to brew a better cup of java.

I know the Palm has plenty of steak knives. So why weren’t there any sharp instruments when the crudités plate arrived? I worried that carving that tasty dill pickle with a butter knife would transform it into a flying projectile. Ditto for the green tomato. I waited until I got my lobster bib to ensure the juicy insides didn’t end up on tie.

The one thing that didn’t go flying was lobster shells. A staff member adroitly carved my crustacean so it was simple for me to go spelunking for the sweet meat. What a beautiful performance! I think I’ll skip Celine and order another lobster.

Aired 18 July 2003

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