While driving home from Phoenix, we planned to stop for dinner at one of the Palm Springs area’s highly-regarded Italian restaurants. Naively, we didn’t equate “Italian” and “Easter” with “Closed.” Each phone call triggered a “Closed for Easter” voicemail. Thankfully, we had a “fallback” plan that included big plates of Prime beef, cooked in sizzling butter, the always-open-for-dinner LG’s Prime Steakhouse.

The Coachella Valley steakhouse has been open since 1991 – young by steakhouse standards – but Leon and Gail Greenberg (the L and G) have already garnered plenty of national acclaim. The Palm Desert original has proven so popular, the couple opened additional locations in Palm Springs, La Quinta and San Diego. Locally, Leon has become such a prominent local figure that in 2004, he was awarded a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, in front of the Palm Springs branch of LG’s.

We arrived in the middle of a sandstorm, seeking shelter behind the restaurant’s towering double-doors, which are made from Saguaro cactus. A living Saguaro stands sentry to the left of the entrance. Indoors, the adobe-walled steakhouse is high-class, with white tablecloths and a nattily attired waitstaff.

LG’s meats are dry-aged on premises for about four weeks, amplifying the steak’s taste and texture. We were tempted by the tableside Caesar salad preparation, but never wavered from our focus on the Prime meats. LG’s temperature chart runs from Black & Blue to Medium Well. The menu features a disclaimer avoiding responsibility for steaks ordered well done. Their 19-ounce T-Bone ($36.95) contains a New York strip steak on one side of the T and filet mignon on the other. With keywords like “Prime” and “sizzling butter,” I had no doubt I’d tangle with a serious steak, and I was right. The strip steak was really juicy and rosy inside, with a nice outer char, and there wasn’t much fat to contend with. On the flip side, the filet was velvety, with nearly as much flavor.

I ordered my T-Bone medium rare +, somewhere between red and pink in the center.

Allison ordered the meat of her youth, thick-cut Prime rib ($29.95). The fattier, slow-roasted, even-juicier beef was served with a small pitcher of jus and a dish of creamy horseradish. Not that the meat needed any boosts.

No great steakhouse experience would be complete without primo a la carte sides. LG’s offers standard but well-executed options like pan-fried potatoes and onions (small $5.95), featuring taut skins and luscious interiors. There were also some unconventional sides, like assorted sautéed mushrooms (small $7.95) – Cremini, Oyster and Shiitake – cooked with plenty of butter, yet firm and earthy. Parmesan garlic mashed potatoes (small 5.95), which were dusted with too much cheese and too refined, were less thrilling.

Our drive began with disappointment, but thanks to LG’s Prime Steakhouse, it ended with meat-fueled bliss. The next time I drive anywhere near Palm Springs, Easter or not, I guarantee that LG’s won’t be a fallback plan.