If you’re in the know in Washington, D.C., then you certainly know of Tommy Jacomo. The infectiously gregarious, salty-mouthed maitre d’ is as legendary a Washington institution as his beloved Palm Restaurant (1225 19th St., NW; 202/293-9091; www.thepalm.com), the steakhouse/power den he’s overseen for more than three decades. Here, the famously connected Jacomo dishes on power in the nation’s capital, from Carville to Carlson and All The President’s Men to Dancing with the Stars.

Your name is notorious in D.C. What first brought you to Washington?

My brother, Ray, was going to run the restaurant down here in D.C. I was up in Vermont. He asked me to come down and give him a hand and help him out for a couple of weeks. We started in November of ’72, and it was nothing. I actually built the place, hammer and nail. Plywood and stain, that’s all we had in those days. We made the booths ourselves. We did everything…Thirty-five years later, here I am. I’m still here.

What’s kept you here this long?

Well, you got to realize this restaurant is very unique. I’ve been here for 35 years, so I see kids that grow up and have their kids and their grandparents [come too], so it’s three generations that I’m dealing with now. They’re like family, some of the customers.

How would you describe The Palm to someone who’s never been here?

Very simple: Where the elite meet to eat. [People like] Tommy Boggs, the lobbyist, who’s the biggest lobbyist in the world. Vernon Jordan, Bob Strauss. Then we have a lot of celebrities—James Carville, Tucker Carlson, Greta Van Susteren, Chris Matthews.

So nobody with an ego, in other words?

Ha! Not in this restaurant. If they do, I take it away from them right away. You know their little idiosyncrasies: Some want to sit in the back; some want to be seen in the front. So I kind of move them around a little bit so they don’t all get together and gang up on me.

What’s the best table in the place?

It depends on the customer. Woodward and Bernstein actually wrote All The President’s Men in the booth in the back there. James Carville still likes his booth in the back. Vernon Jordan likes his booth in the back. Then there are other people who want to sit in the main room in the middle. Tucker [Carlson] likes to sit in the main room so that he can see people interact.

Or is it that he wants to be seen?

No, but I’ll tell you, I got a funny story about that. Tucker was in here having some spaghetti. A bowl of spaghetti. And the waiter put a bib on him. And he looks at the guy and says to the guy, ‘What are you trying to do, embarrass me?’ And the guy says, ‘I can’t embarrass you. I saw you on Dancing with the Stars!’”

Caricatures of the Palm’s famous patrons hang all over its walls. What’s the secret to being immortalized up there?

We lobby some people, and a lot of people lobby us. I’d like to put Carville up, but he refuses to go up. Mary’s up, his dogs are up, but he won’t go up. [Mimicking Carville] ‘I don’t need that stuff, Tommy. You know me, I don’t need that stuff.’ You know, there are some people that look at some pictures on the wall and they just physically cannot even sit there. It’s amazing. There’s one customer, he just starts shaking if I sit him at the wrong table because of the politician on the wall.

What does power mean to you?

Power is getting across to people. You know, if you call somebody, they answer the phone or they call you right back. It’s amazing how many people I know. I mean, I can’t walk up the street without people yelling at me, saying, ‘Tommy, put me down next Saturday for two at 8 o’clock.’ I don’t even know who the hell they are half they time; they’re yelling across the street.

You’re renowned for treating everyone equally, whether they’re a senator or a tourist. Isn’t it your job to make the powerful feel more powerful?

No, I keep them [all] at a level plane. But I like to make the little people feel powerful. I’ve made so many good customers by just buying them a piece of cheesecake because I just liked them. Then as they got bigger, they never forgot it; they just come back and spend [time] here and bring their family here. That’s the thing that I love about it. I love people. That’s my strength.

Are you in the perfect job for you, then?

It’s either this or construction.