Norman's Restaurant, Coral Gables
Norman's Restaurant in Coral Gables melds Latin American, Caribbean, a hint of Asian and southern US ingredients into New World Cuisine.
Apr 24, 2006
It was my last night before leaving the sunny shores of South Florida and the time had come to visit the hallowed halls of Norman's Restaurant in Coral Gables.
I had assembled an intrepid culinary crew for the occasion: Chef Tim, his wife and my long time friend Anne Maree and my trusty fellow taster, Mario.
It had been six years since I first dined at the famed eatery, and where I ate my way to gastronomic bliss. I'd been extolling its virtues to Mario for weeks prior to our trip- now the proof was literally about to sampled in the pudding.
Chef Norman Van Aken is perhaps best known for being a culinary maverick of sorts, melding Latin American, Caribbean, a hint of Asian and southern US ingredients and traditions into what he calls New World Cuisine. Long before the term "fusion cooking" got a foothold in kitchens, Chef Van Aken not only employed the word in his culinary style, he started a phenomenon. You can read Chef Norman's "Fusion" speech given in Santa Fe in the late eighties on his website: Norman's.
Appealing Appetizers
On one quiet, tropical night, we made our way to the Spanish colonial/Mediterranean restaurant that looks like an elegant hacienda inside. Eddy, our personable and knowledgeable waiter greeted us with a glass of bubbly and offered some terrific recommendations. The crab stuffed sui mei dumplings with ginger butter, fermented black beans and garlic chives were melt-in-your-mouth wonderful. John Riccardo, the restaurant's managing director informed us that the Thai sous chef hand makes the dumplings- wrappers and all. The vinegary, ginger tinged dipping sauce reminded me of Northern Chinese dumplings- perfect parcels bursting with flavour. The other must-have appetizer was the Maine lobster and purple potato hash with caramelized bananas and a mojo crema. The garlic of the mojo combined with the sweet fruit and tender lobster was a flavour pairing that pleasantly lingered.
For the Main Feature
Now that our taste-buds were primed, we opted for a juicy "Mongolian" barbeque marinated and grilled veal chop served alongside a grilled Chinese eggplant and Thai fried rice. Meaty, rich and velvety- I can see why this wonderfully satisfying main is our server Eddy's favourite. In contrast to this carnivore's delight, the pan-roasted Florida pompano on egg noodle pad Thai with oyster mushrooms and a coconut sabayon was light and airy. Flaky, white fish with tender noodles and just a hint of the tropics in the sabayon- it beckoned like a shimmering ocean.
Then Came the Cheeses
Tim and Mario chose numerous cheeses from the lovely tray, settling on a Maytag Blue, a semi-firm Bayley Hazen cow's milk cheese from Vermont and a firm, sheep's milk Dante from Wisconsin. Wafer- thin water biscuits and the most tremendous, sweet balsamic and tomato jelly accompanied our cheese course- thoughtful touches that make a meal more than memorable.
Sweet Endings
When it came time for dessert, we chose the Chocolate Goddess "Five Ways" as it came highly recommended by the restaurant's pastry chefs. Prior to dessert, John Riccardo gave myself and Mario a behind-the-scenes tour of Norman's- the impeccable, white kitchen always a good sign. With something sweet and tempting wafting to us from the pastry chefs' area, I wandered over and asked a few questions about what they were doing and what they recommended on the menu. Hands down, the Chocolate Goddess won out. If you ever have a yearning for chocolate- you'll be more than happily satiated with this treasure trove of cocoa. Chocolate torte with a layer of crisp feuilletine, chocolate ganache, and a medley of other chocolate pleasures over-loaded the senses. If that wasn't enough, an elegant tray of house-made truffles followed. Too full to savour every delicate offering, we nibbled at the confections, wishing we weren't so incredibly full.
Wistful Goodbyes
Norman's is the kind of place you want to take your time dining in- the ambience, the food, the flawless service all provide the perfect backdrop to a special evening. We savoured every minute of our Norman's experience, knowing that the next day, we'd have to endure the mad 6:00 am scramble to the airport and a less than tropical return to the north. It snowed when we arrived in Buffalo in early April, and as we chomped on some flavourless salad at a non-descript restaurant, Mario and I thought of our special time in South Florida and wished we could press the rewind button to do it all over again.
