Norma’s, an open space restaurant in Le Parker Meridien, houses a brunch that is out of this world. I didn’t even know Norma’s existed until Metrodad recommended the restaurant. I love trying new brunch spots in the West Village, but Chris and I finally trekked up to midtown to sample Norma’s offerings.

I made a reservation through OpenTable and received a confirmation with detailed instructions of what I should do before going to Norma’s:

• 24 hrs to go—print out the menu http://parkermeridien.com/eat.php
• 24-12 hrs to go—show off the menu and seek advice on what to order (yeah, they’re all jealous!)
• 18 hrs to go—aerobic exercise and strength training (preferably the Quickie) http://www.parkermeridien./gravity/
• Lunch the day before—remember, you’re in training, so have a protein shake
• Dinner the day before—no eating after 7pm—only bread and water allowed
• Night before—dream sweet dreams of beautiful food floating through your subconscious
• Morning of—do a full yoga session with Swami Ramdev Ji http://www.divyayoga.com/freePranayamTraning.htm
• Arrive on time and tell me that the “Swami sent you”
• You’ve made it, now time to eat!

What the heck - aerobic exercise to prepare for a brunch?! After an initial glance at the menu, I could kind of see why (lots of sweets and other fatty brunch foods) but seriously, a workout?! After seeing a couple of table’s food choices, I could see the reasoning behind a workout to prepare; Norma’s portions are HUGE and they do NOT mess with brunch.

Chris and I ordered two sweet brunch items - the Waz-Za and the Waffling Toast. The Waz-Za is a waffle with fruit on the inside and fruit on the outside with a crackly brulee top:

When we were ordering, we saw a waiter walk by with a huge waffle and a pile of fresh berries and whipped cream and immediately thought that was the Waz-Za. I think we were initially a little disappointed when the actual Waz-Za appeared, but I took a bite and it was seriously…pure bliss. Let’s start with the waffle - not too crunchy and not too soggy; especially impressive for a waffle that’s smothered with so much pink sauce. The fruit was mixed into the waffle mix and you could taste little bits of blueberries every once in a while. The pink sauce on top of the waffles was a puree of sour cream and berries (I think) that was topped with blueberries and bananas. All together, it was already perfect, but then Norma’s adds another kicker by adding a crunchy topping:

Every bite was better than the last and after scarfing down half of the Waz-Za, my turn was up - it was time to trade for the waffling French toast:

A great idea - it’s a piece of bread that’s dipped in an egg batter mixture that’s pressed in a waffle maker. The French toast was infused with lots of citrus (not in a bad way) but I simply couldn’t eat my one and a half pieces. By the time it was my turn to try to conquer the waffling French toast, my stomach had already called it quits and I couldn’t finish. The French toast tasted great and I feel like I didn’t give it enough of a chance since I was so in love with the Waz-Za. French toast: 1, Grace’s stomach: 0:

Norma’s is a little on the expensive side (around $17/plate) but it’s definitely worth the trip. It beats Clinton St. Bakery in terms of taste AND they accept reservations. My only regret - I didn’t wear elastic pants.

How to get to Norma’s:

Norma’s
118 W. 57th Street between 6th and 7th
New York, NY 10019
212-708-7460

I’ve been working in midtown Manhattan recently, meaning there are a ton of food carts that come out around lunchtime for me to go to. One place that I was really excited to visit - Daisy May’s BBQ, is known for their barbecue, so obviously, I had to check it out the first chance I had. I went there last Thursday, when there were torrential downpours and it was extremely windy and cold (the things I do for food). The cart is located on 49th and 6th, and comes around Monday - Friday:

The menu is pretty limited compared to the restaurant, but they had a pork sandwich, which I ordered:

Everything is pre-packaged, which is a lot less messy than if the sandwiches were prepared at the lunch cart. My friend, Ryan, ordered the “Texas Chili,” which is all meat, no beans:

The food is pretty expensive for what you get - my pork sandwich cost $8 and came with a small side and Ryan’s was $7.50 and didn’t come with any sides.

Ryan enjoying his Texas chili:

I sampled the Texas chili (I’m a huge fan of chili and used to eat it a lot) and this chili did NOT smell appetizing. At all. If I could describe it for you, I would have you imagine the smell of …. New York restaurant garbage after a hot summer night. No joke. I decided to put the chili in my mouth even though the smell was pretty foul, and the taste wasn’t bad, but there just wasn’t any layers of flavor. There was just no taste, really. I think they just put a lot of steak and hot sauce with some A-1 or something in the soup because that’s what it could’ve tasted like. I wasn’t a fan.

My pork sandwich:

My pork sandwich was on the sweet side and didn’t have enough vinegar in the sauce. I wasn’t a huge fan of it and probably won’t order it again from the cart. The bun, on the other hand, was really delicious and almost tasted like brioche bread (I’m not sure what kind of bun it was).

Overall, I don’t think I’ll be going to Daisy May’s BBQ anytime soon. Maybe it was built up too much by my friend, Ryan, but I was really disappointed with the food and the only way I’d go back is if I tried the food at the restaurant - I hear their ribs are pretty good.

How to get to Daisy May’s BBQ:

Daisy May’s BBQ
50th between 6th and 7th
New York, NY 10161
212-977-1500