The Palm

4/26/2008
Midtown East: 837 Second Ave (btwn 44th and 45th) - (212) 255-8555
Price: High End
Rating (1- 10): 2

The quick and dirty:
The Palm is a silly use of your money and a restaurant I would never recommend. Be prepared to spend a lot on mediocre to standard food, accompanied by decent but ordinary service that is typical of a chain-restaurant. I walked out thinking about a number of steakhouses that I would have rather tried or how many non-steak meals I could have had that would have been as fulfilling. The food is so ordinary and uncreative that there's really no need to describe it in detail: steak, creamy spinach, baked clams, etc etc...I couldn't help but think, "this is bar food." The Palm is probably more "New York" feel than a Smith and Wollensky's, Capital Grill, Morton's, or other chain steakhouse, but it's as predictable and boring nonetheless.

This is a place that might have been good back in the day - and had some genuine charm about it - but it's now nothing but a nationwide chain that rests on its laurels like a crutch and absolutely juices every shred of whatever history it had. The decor, the food, and the service is all so self-aware and gimmicky; there's no soul here anymore. Leave it to the conservative old timers, the old boys clubs, and the tourists, and find a truly great steakhouse among the many that you have in NYC.


Full Review:
The Palm is a dining experience that is unsurprising, unoriginal, overpriced, and justified all of my apprehension going into the place. Put simply, there are way too many better steaks or meals of any kind to be had for your money. The Palm is a steakhouse that might have been good back in the day - and had some genuine charm about it - but it's now nothing but a nationwide chain that rests on its laurels like a crutch and absolutely juices every shred of whatever history it had. It's got cutesy drawings on the walls of famous past patrons with little quotes - as if to make you feel like you're steeped in tradition, a NY institution. But the sincerity is as thin as the paint. The decor, the food, and the service is all so self-aware and gimmicky; there's no soul here anymore.

My NY strip steak was decent - not bad - but not worth $43. Let me buy the same cut for $15 and cook it better at home. All the steaks at the table were cooked fine but nothing special was done with them - so it's actually work that any home cook could do. It's seared and cooked to a certain temp, and if you've been around as long as this restaurant, you damn well better be able to do a simple preparation like this. Our appetizers were akin to bar food - simple, overbattered fried onions; ordinary creamy spinach; baked clams heaped with (a tasty) bread crumb topping; seared tuna which was completely cooked thru and resembled imitation Asian fast-food; and a puzzling dish of sliced tomato and raw onion topped with salt, pepper and olive oil - literally a 6 year-old could have bought these veggies at Gristedes and prepared this. At the end of the meal you're left with a hefty steakhouse-esque bill that just isn't worth what you get, not even close.

The service is courteous and friendly enough but not particularly warm or hospitable; I got the feeling they were just trying to drive up the bill. The menu had a selection of four types of sauces that I could get with my steak but I wasn't ever asked which one I'd want. So when my steak came out with no flavor, I asked the waiter if I could get the classic bearnaise sauce. His reponse was that if I don't ask for the sauce when I order, I don't get it. This type of entitled service and "this is the way it's done in a steakhouse" attitude may be what they call tradition and it's something The Palm sticks to. I wasn't impressed.

I'm sure there are some who still consider this a great restaurant but I'm convinced it's the pomp and circumstance that they're into. They've made up their mind that its their Cheers of steakhouses, the place where they will return and feel at home, feel like a man. It's this feeling, not the food, that they like and that they pay a premium for. (I'd love to see a blind taste test of The Palm's food, because I'm certain that it would be indistinguishable at best.) I say: to each his own, but if you haven't made The Palm a personal tradition yet, then there's no reason to start now. Leave it to the conservative old timers, the old boys clubs, and the tourists, and find a truly great steakhouse among the many that you have in NYC.