The Palm in Downtown Chicago: Resting Uneasily on its Laurels (Chicago Area Restaurant Review No. 49)

The Palm is a steak restaurant chain that started in the early 1900s in New York. When a branch opened in Chicago about twenty years ago, Steve couldn't wait to go there because he had loved the one in New York so much. And at that time, the Chicago Palm was fantastic. However, the years have not been good to this place and when we went there recently, a once fine restaurant had turned.

The first thing we noticed was how cold it was inside the dining room even though, for the winter we've been having in Chicago, it was not that bad outside, and we weren't seated near the door. While the decor itself is still interesting -- including caricatures of many celebreties -- there is a tired feel to the place which is reflected in uninterested service and questionable food. An example of this was the wine. We ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and instead were given a half bottle (although at least they got the type right). The wine itself was a Ken Wright 2006 Pinot which was a little tart for Lisa, but which Steve really liked. However, there wasn't much of it.

Our first course was steak tartare, which we thought would be top notch. We were very disappointed. Lisa actually characterized it as gross, largely because of the overpowering mustard sauce. Steve was slightly less underwhelmed, but only slightly. Then we had salads. Lisa's mixed green was okay, though the lettuce was somewhat wilted. Steve had the same experience with his hearts of lettuce salad. The only good part was the blue cheese dressing. We pinned out hopes on the main course, and it' s a good thing we weren't gambling in Vegas that evening, because the steaks were no better than the previous courses. Steve convinced Lisa to try the bone-in New York, which is what he ordered as well. The waiter, in a feat of misdirection, claimed that medium rare at The Palm means a cold, red center (which is usually rare), so we ordered our steaks medium and, of course, they in effect came medium well. Lisa's had no pink at all, and Steve's had one small pink blotch. We're just grateful they weren't burnt. Ironically, Lisa, who is not a charcoal fan, thought this charcoal tasted good, but that was about all she liked. Steve's view was similar. The only part of the meal that lived up to expectations was the half and half, which is cottage fries and fried onions. Both of us actually ate a good amount of this because we could not finish our overcooked steaks.

Given the rest of the meal, we did not make the mistake of expecting our dessert to save things. Based on our lowered expectations, dessert was okay. Lisa had the molten chocolate lava cake, which she thought was good except that the chocolate was not dark enough. Steve had creme brulee, which was sort of tired, like the restaurant.

The bathrooms were hard to find. You had walk upstairs and out of the restaurant into the hotel. The bathrooms were both clean enough but cold, and there was not enough soap coming out of the automatic soap dispensers to allow for a good wash, which was disconcerting.

Our total bill for this lackluster experience was $320 with only a half a bottle of wine. It would have still been $250 with wine by the glass, which is outrageous in our minds for the quality we got.

Our ratings for The Palm, 323 East Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL

4.5 (being charitable) of 10 Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes