Norma's

I recently ate at Norma's for the first time despite its close proximity to work. I enjoyed a three course lunch with a pot of French Press coffee. I didn't love the price of the bill, but I was very satisfied with the food and took home not one buy two doggie bags. My meal: The French Press (thankfully!) stayed hot through the entire meal. I liked having my own pot at my table. I started with the James Beard award winning potato pancakes (two). I was not wowed. I did enjoy the small apple smothered in I think a carrot puree and the cranberry apple sauce that accompanied the cakes. The puree and the sauce are quite sweet. Next was the Skirt Steak Fajita a la Gringo with guacamole (fabulous!), sour cream, pico de gallo & black beans. You wrap your own in fantastic hot tortillas. Delicious and I would definitely order this again. Finally came the Chocolate Decadence French Toast (with strawberries, pistachios a whole lot of Valrhona chocolate). Decadent is an understatement. 1 and 1/2 pieces of toast and I had dessert for three meals. I loved it but would NEVER order it as anything other than a shared dessert. The service: The restaurant was about 1/2 full when I was seated and about 2/3 full when I left. The full staff was on, yet I had difficulty placing my order, getting a refill on water and getting a bill. Don't expect genuine smiles from the servers - I tried and got not one. more

Well, I love foie gras, so when I heard that this place had Foie Gras Brioche French Toast, I had to make reservations for breakfast right away. The service is wonderful as they're very attentive and they even gave us a small double shot of a wonderful fruit smoothie along with our drinks, where I took everyone's advice and got the fresh squeezed OJ. My wife ordered the foie gras french toast in order to allow me to get the duck confit hash which I was also eyeing on the menu. The confit hash was only okay.. the eggs on top were cooked a perfect sunny side up, but the hash actually had too much duck (how is this possible?) and not enough balance of other ingredients. The duck actually overwhelmed the dish. As for the foie gras, there was 2 -3 large pieces which looked to be pan seared and mixed with a sauce containing mushrooms and asparagus. This was all on top of a 3 inch think slab of french toast. This should have been heaven right??? Well... let's see how many things were wrong... the toast was so thick, no real batter was absorbed into the bread, but rather it was coated with a layer of egg on the top and bottom rather than the whole piece being treated. A good french toast should be crispy on the outside and custard-like on the inside. This was just regular bread on the inside. Okay, so if is just bread, then the sauce should compensate right? Well... there's some sauce, but really not enough for the entire piece of bread. The foie gras will save the day right? How could it not, there are 3 large pieces? Well, I guess because they use such large pieces, the quality of the foie gras can't be that high. The foie just didn't have that fattiness and creaminess you'd expect from a high quality piece. It was good... not great like foie usually is. The only upside is that our tablemates had dishes which they loved. I guess I shouldn't have gone for the really fancy stuff here. I guess I'll have to come back and try their less ambitious fare... or maybe the $1000 frittata. more

Norma is famous for its brunch. Make sure you make a reservation before you go, or else expect long long waits. I had a decent experience at the restaurant but it wasn't particularly memorable. The food was good but nothing to die for in my opinion. But with all the hype, it deserves at least a try. more

I met a friend that was staying here for brunch and was pleasantly surprised. Not at the decor, which fits right in with the Le Parker Meridien hotel that it is housed in. But at the fact that they can upgrade the standard fare yet not ruin it. Case in point: the foie gras brioche french toast or the WazZa, a waffle/ fruit/brulee concoction. And if you REALLY want to impress a date, they have a caviar frittata that costs $1000. more

We were looking for a new brunch experience - Zagat's at the ready. We found a parking spot in mid-town and took a chance on Norma's - purely based on Zagat's high rating. We had to wait for a while in the lobby of the Parker Meridian hotel - a great place for people watching and cell phone conversation eaves dropping (shhh!). Once seated, we found the space to be NYC cool and beautiful. The energy was palpable - literally there was a buzz of excitement. We ordered French toast (me) and eggs (wife). Both came with wonderful, crispy apple wood bacon. We also ordered coffee and they delivered a fresh made French Press pot and real cream - coffee lover's heaven, Mmmmmm. Going for broke, we also ordered fresh OJ and it was fresh and really good. Did I mention, it came with free refills? A rare winter treat. Service was amazing. Our waiter was attentive and we never felt rushed, despite the crowd. The shock came with the check - nearly $70 for 2 - tax and tip included. The food was so good, I would go back, but it would have to be a rare treat, not a regular brunch experience. The only reason for 4 stars - cost. If I had Donald Trump's assets, I would give 5 stars. Maybe 6... more