The pricey afternoon delight

So I’m all decked out, wearing my black Burberry pencil skirt, a sunshine yellow sleeveless silk shirt, a bluish gray fitted cardigan and my Charles Jourdan vintage crocodile shoes. I’m probably a tad overdressed for work, but this attire wasn’t for my colleagues, it’s for my afternoon delight.

I leave work around noon to take the F train uptown to Le Parker Meridien located right off West 57th, for my lunch date. I’ve been looking forward to this day. Even before the plan was made concrete. I guess that explains why I was dressed to the nines. The train ride felt longer than it really was. I just want to get to my date at Le Parker. And after few subway stops later, my date and I were attended to, so we can proceed to have our fun.

No, it is not the afternoon delight that you had in mind, despite the fact that it was a lunch date at a fancy New York City hotel. Sorry to disappoint some of you, but this is about brunch at Norma’s. This is a famous establishment, usually filled with suits during the week and tourists on weekends. We get there and I looked for the restaurant sign, which is none, you just pretty much have to figure out that its there in the lobby of the Le Parker Meridien Hotel. This place is infamous for its foie gras French toast and lobster omelet, which the names alone, one can expect richness and decadence. But we ordered something different. As soon as we ordered, our waiter brought us two strawberry smoothies in adorable shot glasses. I had the you-can-never-go-wrong French Pressed Coffee, and my date ordered the Freshly-Squeezed-Orange Juice for beverages.

As we wait for our courses, we got busy... No, not the kind that you hand in mind (geez). We got busy looking at other tables and their orders, their meals (which all looked so delicious) and just people watching (Norma’s is known to be visited by the rich and famous, celebrities, not just yours truly, a foodie-extraordinaire ;-)

We ordered: (The One That Didn’t Get Away)
Flat-As-A Pancake Crabcake, spiced with Habanero Peppers served with Dill Yogurt Mustard Sauce

(Afternoon Delight)
Chunks of Lobster Swimming in Cheesy Macaroni

(Crepes with Style)
Chocolate Blintz – with mascarpone Cheese and Valrhona Chocolate

The chocolate blintz was delicious. You can’t go wrong with mascarpone cheese and Valrhona chocolate, topped with berries, more chocolate sauce and whipped cream. When the waiter brought the dish to our table, our neighboring table was salivating in envy.

The crabcake was good, with big pieces of crab; you can definitely taste the habanero peppers, but not so overpowering. The dish came with a side salad and the Dill Yogurt Mustard Sauce that tasted pretty fresh. The portion was generous, but with a whooping price of $24.00, we should be getting a Harold Deli-sized crabcake.

I had to order Mac and Cheese. I needed to try it, to see how this $28.00 Lobster Macaroni and Cheese is in comparison to the other macs that I’ve had. It was definitely cheesy, but the lobster chunks were tiny. Definitely not the big lobster chunks that I’m used to from Capital Grille. It was okay. It was different. But, I’ve had bigger. I definitely had better….. Oh stop it... I’m still talking about food here. (Geez)

Overall, this was an experience, but it’s not something that I’d run back to when I want some…. Mac and cheese, that is... But I can definitely write on my book...
“Norma’s? Been there, done that.”


xoxoxo