Recently, a great friend wanted to celebrate our birthdays together over brunch in midtown. I suggested NORMA’S at Le Parker Meridien and it turned out to be a great pick. Since I had never been to Norma’s before, I arrived a bit early to look around and to see what the other diners were enjoying. Based on the website images, I thought that the customers would be dressed up. In reality, it was a pleasant mix – some people were in jeans while others were in business clothing. Everyone was equally welcomed and waited upon which was nice.
While Norma’s is popular for its $1000 “Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata”, ($1,000 with 10oz Sevruga Caviar), that wasn’t one of my brunch options. I would NEVER spend $1,000 on a frittata and I don’t really like caviar. Rather, I listened to my fellow diners and watched what the waiters were bringing out to the various tables. The friendly gentleman who was sitting next to me was a Norma’s regular. He mentioned that the portions were huge, so I decided to ask my friend for us to get one sweet and one savory dish to share. He said that the breakfast quesadilla and blueberry pancakes were both great options.
When my friend came, we made a couple of different choices. For our sweet dish, we ordered the Crunchy French Toast. My friend was concerned that the warm caramel sauce would make the toast soggy, but it was served on the side so that you could put as much or as little on the toast as you liked. For the savory dish, we ordered the Breakfast Pizza (Bacon, Egg, Cheese and Caramelized Onions). Both dishers were large enough to share…and delicious. In fact, there was so much food with just those two dishes that we had leftovers.
As I looked around, I saw various other diners enjoying their meals too. It was a great experience. The only other thing (in addition to the $1,000 frittata) that I would not order is the $9 orange juice. While it is squeezed daily, I would rather save the calories and cash for the wonderful food options.
NORMA’S at Le Parker Meridien New York
119 W 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 708-746
www.normasnyc.com
