Downtown for an appointment that finished at 5 o'clock and not wanting to sit in traffic for my cross-town trip home, I decided to come to the Palm for a happy hour drink to wait it out and glad I did. When I walk in, I was the only the person in the restaurant, so I took a seat at the bar and was greeted by the friendliest bartender named Frajana. She gave me the happy hour menu which has some really great prices and game me some recommendations for appetizers. So, I start with a margarita on the rocks and order the steakhouse bacon blt as an appetizer. The margarita she made was excellent and it didn't last long so I decided to try the Moscow mule next. Since I was the only customer, Frajana indulged me with some pleasant conversation on local cuisine options and travel destinations from her home state. When the blt came out I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not served on toast but in two separate bao buns with a special tomato jam and pickled veggies on the side. This is not what I expected but I love bao buns and this blt was awesome. The bacon had a smokiness and a sweet glaze to it that was just made for a great flavor profile. The contrast of the pickled veggies with the sweetness of the bacon and the tomato jam made for a delicious bite that I will not soon forget. Washing it down with perfectly made Moscow mule just made it that much better. Thanks again to Frajana for the recommendation. At this point a second customer walks in and she sits at the end of the bar by herself, so we invite her to join us since she was from out of town. Frajana takes her to go order and while we're all there we all strike up a conversation that went on for a good 30 minutes just us three. Finally, I order an Old Fashioned with Frajana's special recipe and of course it is delicious as advertised. So, overall, what I expected to be a 30-minute stop off turned out to be a very pleasant 2-hour adventure where I had some great food, drinks and made two new friends. I have to say it was a good day. Thanks to Frajana and the staff at The Palm and our friend from Houston for their kindness. I will be back in two weeks for dinner before the show at the Majestic. read more