Palm Restaurant   

Thick steaks and caricatures of Charlotte's movers and shakers are the twin hallmarks of the Palm, a swank yet accessible steakhouse in uber-upscale Phillips Place. The walls here are covered with cheerfully cartoony takes on the Queen City's most famous citizens -- the Cato retailing family appears on their polo ponies alongside caricatures of an assortment of Panthers, Sue Myrick and H.A. 'Humpy' Wheeler. The menu isn't quite so flippant, but rather a generous combination of casual and sybaritic, specializing in steak: prime aged NY strip, filet mignon, killer no-filler Maryland crab cakes and Maine lobsters weighing in at over three pounds. While the Palm is famous as a spot for celebrity-watching, it's not a snobby venue, but rather a tony-yet-casual upscale steakhouse known for wooing the rich and famous (and for raising money for local charities) by hosting swank formal benefit events. But even those with no plans for fame or fortune can find a spot at the bar.