Thanks for your help, everyone. We'll try The Del and Ford's next time, plus some of the other ideas. We have the next three years to feed students at LMU, after all.

We had a very nice meal at The Palm. It was the perfect menu for us-- veal, beef, fish, good side dishes and desserts. We ended up with just six people dining-- two sets of parents and one student each. So we fit into a large booth and it was easy to talk to everyone at the table (except it was pretty loud in the restaurant).

Food and service were great. Unfortunately, the wine list is great, too, so we racked up a bill by splurging on a Trilogy red wine, oysters appetizer, lobster. . .. Oh, well, that's what money is for, having a good time with friends, non?

I will print this thread so I have all your suggestions for next time. Thanks, all.
:)>-