It’s a pleasant experience from the minute you walk in. It even starts when you read the 4.7/5 google rating and discover the Michelin guide recognition on the restaurant door. I was welcomed like a king into a lively space with positive vibes and handled by a smiley waitress who helped me with the order. People were smiling, guests enjoying the moment, professional management and the sounds of food being prepared a-la-minute. Norma is one of New York’s best Italian restaurants worth trying.
The restaurant is simple, made of wood and hundreds of wine bottles; a bar and an open kitchen where the pizzas are prepared. On a Tuesday night, at 6 pm, the restaurant was already full!
Oh so delightful! The pizza is like none, a dream come true, food orgasm! A thin crust, a chewy finish, a load of fresh ingredients, burning endnotes and a beautifully chewy border. Norma serves one of New York’s best pizzas for sure, it feels Italian, tastes Italian and makes one smile like a kid. Thinly sliced eggplant on top, shredded cheese and homemade tomato with strong acidic touches are marvelous.
The burrata: A super duper molten heart, intensely milky and richly flavorful. That’s what an Italian burrata is all about.
Marilena, our waitress tonight deserves an award: she should have the google rating. Smiley, fun and professional at the same time, she made my night. Why buy a bottle of wine before tasting it she said, so we tasted it. Don’t eat garlic, so she ran to the kitchen; Great initiatives.
Tonight and for the first time, I discover a Sicilian specialty called “Cabbuci”; it is like a calzone but more of a giant sandwich made of crunchy thick pizza crust stuffed with endless ingredients. Porchetta pork meat with arugula, provolone cheese, and spicy mayo. So yummy! A gourmet sandwich the Italian way like you never had before. It’s much more than food, a journey.
Let’s talk about the crust, the bread of the pizza and Cabbuci. It has something unique to it, the smell, the fluffiness, and crunch as well as the baking time giving it a touch of burning flavor which is enjoyable. Bravo chef!
Pasta con le sarde is a Sicilian dish of pasta with sardines and anchovies. It is recognized as a traditional Italian food product in the Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale scheme of the Italian government. It is most associated with Sicily's capital Palermo, but it can be found all over the island. Served in a bizarre manner embraced with a crunchy envelope of bread crumbs, the spaghetti offer addictive flavors. I would have cooked them less but liked them as they are.
Fettuccini with mushrooms and truffle oil cooked al dente; I liked it, but I was full after finishing all the previous plates.
Details I liked: the colorful traditional plates used and the other soup one for Pasta. The Laguiole knives. The dimmed yet clear lighting good for my pictures.
10/10, a perfect Italian dinner!
