Palm

Here's a tip on one of the best deals in town: the crab cakes at the Palm.

Yes, the Palm. Yes, at The Forum Shops at Caesars, which isn't exactly known for its bargain prices.

There's just one catch: You have to go weekdays between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., or after 9:30 p.m. That's when it's Prime Time at the Palm -- happy hour to you and me -- when everything on the Prime Bites menu is $3.50.

The menu lists the regular prices, which run $7 to $12. So that means if you time your visit right and sit in the bar, you can eat pretty well for not a lot of money.

But are these dishes really the same as when they're $7 to $12? I don't have a side-by-side comparison, but in the case of the crab cakes, I'd be willing to pay $12, so $3.50 is quite a deal.

That's because these were excellent crab cakes, broiled instead of fried, with no breaded coating -- not much of anything, really, except seasoning and crab meat. And the crab meat was in huge chunks, sweet and meaty.

We were less enamored of the Kobe beef sliders. They were OK, with lettuce and tomato, but anyone who gets their only idea of what Kobe beef tastes like from these sliders would be right to wonder what all the fuss is about. The beef was cooked to about well-done (and if it's truly the highly regulated Kobe, that's not necessary), which meant that it ended up with pretty much no taste.

On the other end of the flavor spectrum were the filet mignon capri sandwiches, which were, again, sliders (I guess the propensity of the minisandwiches on this menu is due not only to their popularity overall but also to the fact that the Palm is, at its heart, a steakhouse, and sliders seem to fit well with that mission). This time, the beef was medium-rare, with the tenderness characteristic of the cut. What made them even better, though, was the presence of a large leaf of basil on each sandwich, and a light herbed mayonnaise. These rocked.

As did the veal Parmigiana sliders, which had delicate fillets of veal and a marinara with a decent depth of flavor. And the thick, crisp, homemade waffle-cut potato chips that accompanied all dishes.

There were two other things we liked about Prime Time at the Palm. One was that the company, which does the promotion on a national basis, clearly advertises it on its website, and when we walked in and said we were interested in appetizers and drinks, the maitre d' said "Prime Time? Right this way" and escorted us with a flourish to a booth in the bar area, which is all civilized dark woods and great service -- even though we were obviously there for the bargain grub.

And here's the other: We weren't given a drink menu with prices (which is something we don't like), and when we ordered two glasses of wine, we had no idea how much they would be (ditto), figuring, since it was the Strip and we were already partaking of a loss leader, that they'd run about $15 or so. So we loved it when the bill arrived and the wine was priced at a reasonable $8 a glass.

The Palm's lounge was busy during Prime Time, which means word is spreading. And here's how I think things will shake out, once the economy improves: With food this good and such a positive attitude toward even the most frugal of its customers, the Palm is buying itself lots of good will -- which will no doubt translate to repeat business.

Done right, this happy-hour thing can work.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or e-mail her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.