Island Hopping
NORMAN'S CAY | 74 Orchard St. | 646.481.1229 | normanscaynyc.com | 
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MANHATTAN IS A CITY MADE up of many different culturally unique cities. And it is an island that proudly serves the delicious indigenous foods of other islands from all over the globe.
A new(-ish) restaurant is serving up fine examples of Caribbean fare down on the increasingly eclectic LOWER EAST SIDE. It is called Norman's Cay and is brought to us by the same team that gave the same neighborhood the already popular GREY LADY.
Named after an island chain section of the Bahamas, Norman's Cay successfully delivers the charms and wild, layered flavors of Caribbean cuisine—greatly respecting the highly revered and seafood from that area—and using them to great effect on their interpretations of traditional dishes, as well is inspiration for dishes beyond Bahamian convention.
The look of the place and space support a welcoming lively island vibe, and within its deep but narrow space easily transports its clientele to parts closer to blue water and near-white sand.
As I was joined by my dear friend Cindy, we decided to take a tour around the menu, choosing to start of with appetizers of yellow tail tuna tataki, and a more traditionally realized jerk chicken salad.
Right off the bat both starters excited our palates. The tuna was expertly seared, brightened by yuzu, boosted by the aromatics of saffron, rooted texturally with black beans and peas, with the acidity from the pickled red onions being a perfect palate-cleanser for the freshly fatty tuna. The robustly seasoned off-the-bone jerk chicken were served nicely by the mild nutty crunch of chick peas ad pickled onion as well.
Once we saw conch fritters on the menu we had to order them—how much more Caribbean-authentic can you get? Cindy and I decided to sample the shishito peppers side from off the menu as well.
The fritters were divine! A just-crunchy exterior containing a light, airy ball large-minced fresh conch in a pillow of mild exotic flavor, available with a kicky chipotle may for extra bite, and a Caribbean slaw of pickled veggies. (You may very well notice the continuity of pickled items, which is very much a staple of Caribbean cooking as it serves to cut through flavorful fatty proteins, and just so happens to also be the perfect invitation—that and the hotter spices—to introduce an ice cold island beer to one's mouth!)
The shishito peppers were roasted, highlighting their naturally floral earthiness, and tossed with pickled shallots and fresh greens to pull their rich, now smoky bouquet up through the nose.
We couldn't well have an island-theme meal without pork, so Cindy and I lastly opted to share the pork tacos.
Wonderfully spicy, juicy, tender shredded roasted pork came topped with crispy pickled napa cabbage, and was complemented, as is tradition, with the sweetness of fruit, here in the form of a pineapple salsa and pickled mango. It rewarded each bite with a great variety of not only flavors and temperature, but of texture as well.
With all the dishes sporting hefty portions, it speaks volumes that we pretty much cleared each plate of its food. (And so impressed we were with it as well that we indeed decided to walk to few blocks to Grey Lady for what turned out to be likewise excellent dessert!)
But now both Cindy (greater aided with a Norman's Cay signature cocktail called "Midnight Run") and I can look back fondly on our mealtime—sitting street-side on this island of Manhattan—that transported us, if only briefly, to feeling like we were beach-side on another.
Bun Apple Tea!
KACNYC
NORMAN'S CAY | 74 Orchard St. | 646.481.1229 | normanscaynyc.com | | | | | |
