Luke Palladino to open steakhouse at Valley Forge Casino

Luke Palladino is moving farther inland with each new restaurant.

The chef, who had restaurants in Atlantic City (at various times at the Borgata, at Revel, and later at Harrah's), opened Luke Palladino Seasonal Italian Cooking on the mainland in 2011, trading casino flash for a tiny BYOB in a strip mall in Northfield.

Too much of a good thing. Traffic and parking issues forced him to move to Central Square in Linwood in 2013. Palladino briefly turned the Northfield location into LP Steak, a decidedly non-Italian steakhouse - also a BYOB - that he regarded as a pop-up. It closed at the end of the lease, around the time his operation in Harrah's closed.

Last year, Palladino ventured up the Atlantic City Expressway to enter the Philadelphia market with Palladino's on Passyunk, which like the Italian restaurant won three bells from Craig LaBan.

Palladino is making another move. This October, if all goes to plan, Palladino will revive the LP Steak concept at Valley Forge Casino Resort.

Replacing the casino's Pacific Prime, LP Steak will serve beef, chops, veal, and seafood beside a bar serving cocktails and a dozen beers on tap. With more than 200 seats, it will have more than six times the capacity of the original LP Steak.

Palladino is working on another restaurant at the casino, though its concept and location have not been disclosed.

Work for LP Steak will start Sept. 1, and Gruber Design Associates (Amis, Alla Spina, Mercato, Valanni) will add modern touches to a rustic base.

The casino's other bars and restaurants include Viviano, Valley Tavern, American Grill, Asian Noodle, Nosh Deli, Italian Market, Center Bar, Deuces Wild, and the new Valley Beach Poolside Club.

The transition's timing seems tidy enough. Tony Clark, the casino's executive chef, with restaurateur Kevin Meeker is opening a restaurant this fall on the former site of the Lobster Trap in Pennsauken's Cooper River Park.