OOOH, NORMAN

Four of us went to Norman’s Steak and Burger on Monday night. It was a typically cold Jerusalem winter night, but not so cold that we couldn’t sit in the heated outdoor diningroom.

We opened up with a tasting platter: fries, onion rings (a Norman legend!), meatballs, chicken wings and chicken fingers. Along with the platter came four dipping sauces, all of them excellent. As we said, onion rings at Norman’s are legendary for their crispy, oniony taste. Additonally, one of our group had the pumpkin soup. By the way he mopped up every single drop and left behind a dry bowl, we sort of guessed that he liked the soup!

Two of us had Jeff’s Slam Dunk- a huge burger (a half pound of meat) smothered with mushrooms and onions and covered with strips of entrecote. Two of us had the Terry Burger which weighs in at a hefty 10.5 ounces.

While we ate, all conversation stopped while we tried to figure out how to fit our respective burgers in our mouths. Not an easy task, but a most enjoyable conundrum to face.

As always, owner Robin stopped by to say hello and spend some time with us. Robin is always quite the host, always checking on her guests.

The trouble with eating at Norman’s is that sooner or later, you will have to eat again! You know, like maybe in a day or two! Every meal we have ever had there has been a joyful celebration of food, friends and a very full stomach!

The meat they serve there is very good meat- always prepared exactly the way you like it. One of our group likes his meat extremely rare. The waiter said, “Very good sir, I shall have the cow run past a flaming match.” Great food and it is served by English speaking waiters who are used to Americans and our strange speech patterns, behavior, etc. Behind us sat a large group of American kids here for the year. They were chowing down and arguing over the previous day’s super bowl. The staff generally seemed to indulge them even though they were fairly loud and demanding. The point is that they, too, were treated as honored guests.

As we have said in the past and we reaffirm now: great place to congregate, great place to conversate and great place to satiate!

Norman is on Emek Refaim. The food is glatt. The service is excellent. We love Norman’s. We eat there often (in fact, this was our second time there in less than one week! Different people each time, but the same results).

Your mother says that when you are in Israel, you should eat at Norman’s! Check them out on the Net and go to their web site: http://www.normans.co.il/