Dining trends might get all the attention, but sometimes what you really want is a filling, well-executed meal without frills, all accompanied by the best service and prepared with the finest ingredients available, of course. Strangely, it’s not that easy to find such a spot these days, which is why the Palm Restaurant (with locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and many more cities across the United States) is such a gem. Going strong for 80 years, the Palm is the country’s oldest classic American steakhouse, and its success has propelled the family-owned business across the country, with locations in 30 cities.

You wouldn’t know it from eating the Palm’s expertly prepared dishes, but steaks and seafood weren’t part of the restaurant’s original plan. When it opened in 1926, the Palm’s original proprietors Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi intended to feature the food of Parma, Italy, their home region. But when the regulars started requesting steaks, the duo improvised. They ran up the block to the local butcher shop, bought a cut, and cooked it up exactly as desired. The demand for these succulent steaks has grown to such an extent over the years that the Palm now has its own wholesale meat company supplying the best-quality beef to its restaurants.

Seafood - more specifically, huge lobsters - came to the Palm in the 1970s, and today, the restaurant sells 25,000 pounds of the shellfish weekly. But these notable noshes share the spotlight with the original Italian dishes such as veal marsala and linguine marinara that launched the restaurant.

As if the food weren’t enough to keep you coming back, the Palm has atmosphere and ambience to spare. Celebrities are a common sight at several Palm locations, and the walls bear their likeness too, in the form of amusing cartoons and caricatures. Now a trademark of the Palm, the tradition began when John and Pio found themselves without funds to decorate. Thus, they opened up their restaurant to artists, who drew pictures and swapped it for a plate of spaghetti.

The original artists used charcoals, pastels, and magic markers for their images, but the colors naturally faded as the years piled on. In 1995, the Palm had the caricatures professionally restored, thus preserving these testaments to the restaurant’s history. The restaurant took the extra step of insuring each wall for half a million dollars.

The Las Vegas Palm is located in the glamorous Forum shops at Caesar’s Palace, while Angelenos can enjoy the Palm’s brand of fine dining at two different locations: downtown and on the Westside. These three locations and other Palm outposts have gained a reputation as celebrity hangouts, as well as places to see and be seen, but it’s the “regular” customers who keep the Palm going.

And why wouldn’t they want to come back to this restaurant? After all, the Palm’s mission is to “exceed the customer’s expectations, and treat everyone who walks through our door as if they are family.” Guests can expect personable, entertaining service, which when coupled with the savory delights, add up to a legendary dining experience.

www.ThePalm.com