Palm Restaurant   

837 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10017
212-687-7698
www.thepalm.com

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When entering this venerable New York institution, the first thing diners note are the hundreds of signature caricatures hanging on the walls: Yogi Berra, J. Edgar Hoover, Francis Ford Coppola. The second thing is how the giant meat and fish offerings hang right off the plate. This Palm -- the name is derived from the original owners' mispronunciation of 'Parma,' their native region -- is the famous flagship of a countrywide chain of Italian eateries. Busy and better than ever, especially at the bar, beef and lobster are the showstoppers: the 36 oz. New York strip sizzles, and the up-to-eight-pounds Nova Scotia lobster dares you to keep eating. Cottage fries, veal parm and a porterhouse also pack punches, as do the resident writers, powerbrokers and Orson Welles-wannabes, who all relish the bygone era of steak, suspenders and savvy. -- Yon Motskin