On entering the diner, my family and I stood awkwardly at the "Please Wait to be Seated" sign gazing into the sea of open tables. When a waitress finally came to seat us, she gave us about 3 different options where to sit. Lady, just sit us already!! We're hungry! The decor was All-American. I think if I would have let them know my shoes were made in China, I probably would have been strung up by my laces and been beaten until I was red, white and blue. Trust me, I am as conservative as they come, but it was hard to swallow the shelves lined with Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulter books. I'll just make sure I don't invite my liberal friends next time.
The menu offered a large selection of hamburgers and sandwiches. We had heard great things about the hamburgers, so my hubby decided to order Craig's Bacon and Egg Cheeseburger. I was lured by the sweet song of the Reuben. The call of crispy sauerkraut and succulent corned beef was just too overwhelming. I had to give into temptation. I did request ground mustard instead of the fatty 1000 Island dressing. They were happy to make the substitution. We both made ours a combo, which included fries and a drink (only one refill...lame-o.)
Food came quickly and was good and hot...a plus. My Reuben...well, the saurkraut was delicious and the rye bread was still soft , but beautifully toasted. The corned beef was way too thick and fatty and I could have used more mustard because the meat was so tough. Chad, my dear husband, was kind enough to let me sample a bite or four of his hamburger. The hamburger itself was dry and alsmost had the texture of gravel in my mouth. The egg was cooked well and the bacon was the burger's saving grace. Fries were...meh, ok. They did have a good "fry sauce" that came with the greasy lil' goodies.
The prices were anywhere from $9-$12 for the combos. Pretty out of control if you ask me, but we fortunately had a restaurant.com certificate with us, so it helped to alleviate some of the costs.
All in all, not impressed with Norma's. Food was sub par and I left with the overwhelming urge to go watch Fox news and get angry at something. To top it all off, I was completely taken back when I read on their menu that they will charge you $5 if your kids leave a messy table. This was probably the nail in the coffin for Norma's.
love this post and this idea... you are an excellent writer - I could taste the gravel in my mouth as you were describing it! xoxo keep it up yummy friend :)
ReplyDeleteI love this Beth and couldn't agree more. We were also surprised that for a place that had signs that said "We Support Our Troops," they didn't offer ANYthing (be it a total purchase discount-even 5% would have been SOMEthing or maybe a free fountain drink) for even the active duty service member, let alone his/her family members. After reading about the charge for messy kids ON THE MENU, we decided that the place was ridiculous (if either of my kids leave a mess anywhere I make sure that I leave a GOOD tip in appreciation for the extra effort it will take to clear/clean the area)...and WE won't be back. In fact, I turned down an invite just this Saturday to go have breakfast there. Thanks for the review...you're a great writer :)
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! Michelle, we'll have to find some good eats next time we are together ;)
ReplyDeleteWindy I was BLOWN away by how ridiculous that place was. They even had a split plate charge! I can understand an upscale restaurant doing that, but gimme break! Norma's... pppbbbttt! (that's my raspberry sound!)
"Messy" is very subjective. If they tried to charge me, could I just say, "Sir, if you think THAT'S messy, you should see MY kitchen table"? I've always wanted to try it. Now I don't think I will.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome, dude! You rock! And a charge for a messy table? Freeeeeak, that's ridiculous. And I agree with Michelle: you're a GREAT writer! Keep this up. I like reading about food.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Normas but have heard that they nickel and dime you.
ReplyDeleteThis is craziness!! I've never been to the newer one off the freeway but we've always really liked the stuff at the original location just down Martin Way by Tanglewild. Its super expensive agreed, but have never noticed the crazy antics of what you describe. The shakes are sooo good and we aren't as adventurous as you and usually don't venture outside of the normal burger too much :) This was fun to read Bethany, love it!
ReplyDeleteI think this is the place full of right wing stuff, and they might have even had burgers named for various right wingers.....wont set foot in that joint no matter how good the food. I dont need somebody's politics rammed down my throat while eating.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting and timely review. Reading it saved me the time of writing a letter and likely making a fool of myself! Yesterday my 81 year old mother and I went to the Martin Way "restaurant"; I had no idea there was any other location than this one. As for "waitress" and "tables" plural - well, there is no waiter or waitress, there is exactly one table with 4 chairs and maybe 10 chairs at a counter built around the inside walls of the "dining room". (Oh, and a few tables outside when the weather cooperates.) The kitchen staff have always been super-friendly, always checking with us on how we are doing while eating as well as upon leaving, in addition to always thanking us for coming in, something that we both really appreciate. That they are patriotic is obvious: there is a "Lest we never forget" 09/11 plaque on the outside of the building. Once you go inside, there is a sign stating they give a 10% discount to all active duty military, which I happen to think is pretty cool. There's also a stack of Ft Lewis/McChord military newspapers on the counter. No problem, you can find those in any number of places and I usually read one. Then there's some John Wayne memorabilia on the walls and burgers named after Wayne and a few other celebrities, but nothing that made this I-guess-I'll have-to-settle-for-a-Democrat-as-they're-nowhere-near-as-bad-as-Republicans want to get up and walk out. And heck, the cheeseburgers are great, as are the fries. Price for two cheeseburgers, 2 medium soft drinks and a generous serving of fries with their excellent "secret" sauce ran us just a little over $19, which I think is pretty much par for non-fast food burgers. While they are not enormous burgers, they are not small, either, and I was stuffed after eating half the fries and all the burger. So far, so good. As we were finishing up our food, we were also finishing up our conversation about - ahem - politics. While my mother and I don't agree on everything, we both share the feeling that this year's Republican offerings are beyond pathetic. As we are discussing this, a 40-something guy came in, spoke to someone working in the kitchen, after which he went back to doing something at the counter and then the pop machine; I got the impression he either worked for, or was in some way associated with, the restaurant. As my mother and I were talking, he interrupted us and asked me if I knew how much the deficit was when Obama took office! I told him I did not. He then proceeded to tell me, as well as how much the deficit had increased while he was in office, and what he thought it would be if Obama were elected again! (Uh, MYOB, private conversation, guy!) But after arguing with my mother other health care, I didn't want to get into an argument again, especially with a complete stranger in a restaurant over politics, so simply told him that while I was no fan of Obama, it would be a cold day in hell before I ever voted for a Republican, and we walked out. We were not loud, we were not rude, we were not using obscene language; however, the terms "clown" and "clown car" were tossed around a number of times :-). The whole incident has really bugged me ever since yesterday, that anyone associated with any restaurant would ever risk alienating a customer by butting into a private conversation to express an opinion counter to that held by one or more of those engaged in the conversation, and I was going to write Norma to that effect. But knowing what I know now, I can only imagine the response I would have gotten! LOL Still, we will go back: my mother likes the burgers, she is 81 and I love her :-).
ReplyDeleteOMG. John Wayne? Conservative propaganda books? People interrupting private conversations to rant against OUR president? Seriously? In a couple days, I'm on way to visit my grandgirlie, a student in Olympia, and I've been looking at urbanspoon for restaurant options while there. Wouldn't go to this place even if the food was spectacular, which it sounds like it isn't. Thx!
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