Ashish Shah with large whole lobster
A night to remember, it was, as not sure when I’ve eaten this much good food and though my fork felt like a magnet attached to each morsel, I really didn’t want it to end. I must say that when we were invited to attend the grand re-opening party of the Palm Restaurant (a long time fave of mine back from my days in NYC) we were filled with anticipation of having a spectacular meal. What we were not prepared for was the culinary feast we were about to experience. The food that was served to us in full servings and a total of multiple courses, too many to count, was delish to the palette and beautifully served. We also had the opportunity to visit personally with the Bozzi and Ganzi family and share their enthusiasm for the remodeling, expansion (they took over the Cigar Store next door) and re-branding here in H-Town, just in time for Houston’s 35th Anniversary here.
Alan & I with signature bibs, ready to dig into lobster
About the Palm: Having been a patron for years and appreciating its unique style in décor and dining, I learned many things that night that I felt worthy of mention. Founded in NYC by the Bozzi and Ganzi families, and run today by third generations of these families, it celebrated last year its 85th anniversary in business. They hold the title as the oldest restaurant in New York City owned by the same family in the same location. Its original location located near headquarters of King Features Syndicate, attracted many cartoonists, who would often leave drawings on the wall in exchange for their meals…..hence all of the fun caricatures of many famous Houstonians that grace our Houston restaurant walls, a signature they have carried to all of their 28 restaurants in U.S., Mexico and London that always make for fun viewing. Another trivia point, for a restaurant that did not even originally serve steak on their menus, and would purchase them at a near-by butcher shop for requesting customers, by 2010, the group had sold over 300,000 steaks.
About the Palm, Houston: After temporarily closing their doors for remodel, they purchased the Cigar Shop next door, taking the total square footage of the restaurant to 8800 sq. ft. with a more grand bar entrance and creation of V.I.P. rooms for private dinners and meetings. Houston is the first of their many existing restaurants to boast the newly refreshed prototype that will be rolled out to many of their upcoming re-branding locations.
The doors are now open, since July 8th, the restaurant was hopping the night we were there and many new menu selections, as well as old favorites, have been added. Also, they are revving up with a new Lunch Menu and expanded Happy Hour featuring half-off lite bites and premium spirits, Sunday thru Friday. All in all, the Palm is back and it’s better than ever as these small photos of some of my favorites of the evening, shown below, will entice you. For more details on “everything Palm”, visit their site at www.thepalm.com.
