Norm!

Norman Van Aken’s Name Is Already Synonymous With New World Cuisine, but the Renowned Chef Is Still Spicing Things Up

 

By Mark Goldberg

 

Three little words: New World Cuisine. It’s a fusion of Latin, Caribbean, Asian, African and American flavors. Three little words: The Mango Gang. That’s the group of four South Florida chefs who created New World cuisine, back in the ’80s. Three little words: Norman Van Aken. He’s the chef who started it all, combining fruits and chilies, herbs and spices with local fish and meats. And who, 12 years ago, brought one little word to the forefront of Coral Gables dining: Norman’s.

Norman’s has a traditional look and feel, with rich greens and dark woods, columns and brick. There is a pair of wood burning ovens in the back of the room, along with a private party room off to the side and a second level for diners who prefer a bit more privacy.

Norman’s menu changes nightly, so there are no specials, but there were more than enough selections to sort through, including a grouping of tapas. In fact, the Barbecue Kurobuta Pork Empanadas ($9) were a delicious tapas choice, the pork braised for hours until soft enough to pull away from the bone and moist enough to keep its crisp covering tasty. Another of the tapas, the Key West Pink Shrimp Ceviche ($12), would have been perfect, with its tender shellfish, red onions and lime, but Van Aken’s addition of corn nuts to the mix was disconcerting. Contrasting textures are one thing, but corn nuts were too vastly divergent from the taste and texture of the dish. Perhaps some fresh kernels of actual corn would have done the trick. The My Down Island French Toast ($18) was an excellent treatment of foie gras. A buttery griddled brioche rested on a caramel reduction and was topped with foie gras that had been seasoned with Curaçao and then seared in the wood-burning oven. This was topped with second layers of the brioche and foie and dressed with a tropical fruit salsa of pineapple, papaya and mango. Even better was the Maine Lobster Risotto ($21). No Arborio rice here. Van Aken uses carnaroli — a rice that plumps to three times its size and absorbs a staggering amount of liquid — for a delicious base topped with two lobster claws poached in butter. Quite possibly it was the creamy pecorino cheese that completed the dish so admirably.

The new Dinner With Norman series allows guests to dine on a three-course meal with wines, with the chef, for $75 per person.

Norman’s offers a tantalizing tasting menu featuring many of Van Aken’s noteworthy creations, but it’s available for the entire table only. We chose to choose instead. There is also the new Dinner With Norman series once a month that allows guests to sit down and dine on a three-course meal with wines, with the chef, for $75 per person.

Long after our waiter had opened our second bottle of wine, our appetizer plates had still not been cleared. However, the pace picked up with the entrées. Our Fillet of Key West Yellowtail ($32) was quite nice, lightly seared and finished in the wood-burning oven. The snapper was paired with garlic mashed potatoes that had been flavored with a little truffle oil and grilled asparagus in a citrus butter reduction. The Wild Black Bass Pad Thai ($35) was more impressive, as the pad thai jus permeated the Shanghai noodles, Asian vegetables and the light white fillet. The Chilean Sea Bass Zarzuela ($36) blended calypso spices in a light saffron broth perfect for both the moist fillet and the accompanying lobster mash. We could have used a soup spoon to finish this one off. Spice Rubbed and Roasted Pork Tenderloin ($33) was handsomely displayed, cut on the bias, the two halves upright on the plate in a mole sauce. The meat was seasoned with escabeche and roasted in the wood oven, then artistically held in place by a pickled red onion ring and flanked by a black bean salsa and a high-and-dry tower of Haitian grits.

Desserts included natural tasting Sorbets ($7) such as blood orange and pineapple as well as a chocolate that was so creamy it tasted more like ice cream. Key Lime Pie ($7) came together with passion fruit sorbet; a charming Granny Smith Apple and Cherry Crepe ($9) was sweet and delicate contrasting with a bit of pecan brittle and cinnamon ice cream. The favorite dessert was the New World Banana Nut Cake ($10), prepared with caramelized bananas and a rum, chili pepper and brown sugar Havana banana sauce and macadamia nut ice cream.

New World cuisine grew out of one man’s creative use of our local ingredients — our tropical fruits and vegetables — and turned into a concept for the entire restaurant industry. And we have it all here, at Norman’s.

Norman’s ADDRESS: 21 Almeria Ave., Coral Gables PHONE: 305-446-6767 HOURS: Monday 6 to 9:30 p.m.; Tuesday – Saturday 6 to 10:30 p.m. FOOD: New World cuisine SERVICE: Professional but a tad slow PRICES: Appetizers $9 to $21, entrées $29 to $49 WINES: Broad spectrum of domestic and international labels ATMOSPHERE: Active yet steeped in tradition RESERVATIONS: Suggested CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MasterCard, American Express