Pragmatic restaurateurs do smart things to engage their clientele and insure current and future business. Sundance Steakhouse on El Camino in Palo Alto is no exception.

"We're seeing more shared appetizers and entrees, courses passed family-style, and more half-bottles and wine by the glass than in the past," said Galen Fletcher, who, with brother Aron, owns the restaurant. "But, we're good with it."

In other words, it isn't the best of worlds these days, but it's one that still works for an establishment that has been around since 1974.

Opened as the Sundance Mine Co. by father Robert, the business has segued from claim jumper theme to California cuisine to its current incarnation as an all-American steakhouse.

The ambiance of the restaurant is decidedly masculine, with warm wood tones, hunting prizes on the walls and racks of wine lining each of the four dining rooms. It's a warm, clubby feeling without pretension. The lighting is subdued, and the linens, tableware and glassware have a crispness about them.

On my visits, the uniformed wait staff was prompt, friendly and efficient. If I had any complaint it would be that the food courses followed too swiftly. At the end of the meal, we had half a bottle of wine left. While we weren't rushed out the door, it would have been preferable to sip that wine while still eating.

For starters, the filet mignon spring rolls ($11) were crunchy, flaky wrappers stuffed with mouthwatering slivers of tender meat nestled atop a lively Asian-style salad. The soy sesame dipping sauce was too salty and overwhelmed the meat, but the ginger dipping sauce enhanced the subtle but sturdy beef flavor.

The seared ahi ($13.50) was delicate sashimi-grade tuna. The exterior of the fish had been barely pan-singed, leaving the meat firm-fleshed with a delicate rose color, silky in the mouth, almost sweet, without a suggestion of brininess.

The Dungeness crab cakes ($12.50) were mostly crab, not filler. Lightly fried to a golden glow, the large cakes were delicate and crumbly inside, and feathery enough to just whet the appetite. The sherry cayenne aioli added punch.

The soup du jour one evening was a buttery New England clam chowder ($5 cup, $7 bowl). The soup was loaded with clams that were tender, not at all rubbery, with the requisite potato, carrot and oodles of slightly thickened cream.

For entrees, there was steak — surprise, surprise. The New York strip ($37) was a perfectly prepared 13 oz. hunk of beef, tender but not buttery from marbling. (Marbling, of course, is fat, which equals flavor.) There was enough to satisfy on the taste-o-meter without needing heart medication after dinner.

East Coasters might scoff at this lean version of New York strip but it was plenty satisfying without the attendant guilt, unless you're not a carnivore. Sundance uses certified Angus beef, aged 28 days, that is butchered in-house. All steaks are charbroiled over a high heat open flame that seals in juices. The result is an excellent steak. Top sirloin, bone-in rib eye and filet mignon were other choices.

Slow roasted prime rib came in four cut options ($24-$33). Prime rib needs to be well marbled, and this was, with sumptuous flavors. Most of the fat was easily trimmed away leaving an ambrosial slab of beef.

All entrees came with fresh baked bread, steamed vegetables and choice of potato or rice. Every plate — fish, fowl or beef — was large-portioned, vibrant and piping hot from the grill or stove top.

The salmon ($23) was pink and fleshy with a just hint of brininess. It tasted sea-fresh. The fish had been basted with butter while grilling which added a silkiness to the finished product. A sour cream, dill and caper sauce accompanied.

The shellfish combo saute ($22) featured scallops and jumbo prawns awash in a very rich sauce of white wine, garlic and butter. While delicious, the cholesterol count of this dish likely topped the thickest slice of prime rib.

I loved the chicken with marsala ($18.95). The chicken had been flattened, floured and sauteed, then topped with a rich thick creamy sauce of mushrooms flavored with dry marsala wine which imbued hints of perfumed alcohol, walnuts and forest floor — very autumnal.

The wine list was significant and impressive. Sundance takes wine seriously and its cellar is temperature-controlled at the optimum 57 degrees. Emphasis is on reds as it should be. Prices run the gamut, with many three-figure price tags and several over $2,000, but with excellent wines well under $100.