MARLON JAMES ON BOB DYLAN AND CRITIQUES

I receive a newsletter titled, ‘Literary Hub’. Though I admire it, I often quickly scan it because I’m typically crushed for time. Who isn’t these days? But I saw that there was an interview with the excellent writer Marlon James on the topic of Bob Dylan. The excerpt that spoke…

The Taste of Things: A Film Appreciation

ON ‘THE TASTE OF THINGS’. A FILM TO SAVOR I saw a trailer for a film with this title, and it affected me like a delicious amuse bouche. I knew I must have the rest of this ‘meal’ from the gifted creators who brought it to movie screens. I told…

SOUTHERN LIVING MAGAZINE

The venerable Southern Living Magazine just released the 2024 Best New Restaurants in Every Southern State. Lisa Cericola is the journalist who wrote this engaging article. Their choice for the entire state of Florida is “NORMAN’S‘. I was taking completely by surprise to be candid. It is not like other…

ON TOAST

ON TOAST Few things makes me take notice I’m in a different town than the one we live in than the sound of a freight train lowing in the distance. The horn, the cadence of the wheels, the bumping mechanical rumble of the boxcars all takes me on a journey…

BOQUERIA MARKET, BARCELONA MEMORY 2005

BOQUERIA MARKET: BARCELONA Saturday, September 10, 2005 Saturdays in markets all over the world bustle with energy. At Barcelona’s famed Boqueria market on a sun drenched September morning Janet and I felt as alive and excited as we might have walking into Woodstock in 1969. Magazine pictures can only give…

DR. JOHN, THE NIGHT TRIPPER

I was a fan of this legendary New Orleans artist from his breakout albums ‘Gris Gris’ in 1968. I likely was turned onto it by a guy I came to identify as my chosen older brother. He preceded me in birth by four critical years. When he turned me on…

LATE WINTER TASTING MENU DEBUT

Greetings All! It is time for the debut of our newest Tasting Menu at our restaurant, ‘Norman’s Orlando’. We begin on February 15th. Click on the PDF below and the full menu will appear. With this menu we are also celebrating our First Anniversary at this location! For those of…

MICKEY ROURKE

I have begun a new series I’ve titled ‘Folks’. They include the myriad people I’ve met, cooked for, hung out with and more over the life. For other entries see that area of my site. It is under, “Writings”. You never know who you will bump into. MICKEY ROURKE The…

Captain Tony

Boats are launched. So perhaps it is by some unconscious pull like a tide in the Gulf of Mexico I have selected the one and only ‘Captain Tony’ to start my first in what will hopefully be a surprising list of what I call ‘folks’ here that I’ve come to…

CHEF FERDINAND METZ NEW BOOK

For many years Chef FERDINAND METZ was the President of the vaunted Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Over my ‘coming up the ladder’  years, I met and worked with many graduates of that school. They uniformly respected him. Some spoke with a mix of awe and…

The New Times Miami

Please check out the new Miami New Times article written by Nicole Danna on the debut of my new show, “Norman’s Florida Kitchen”. To our delight Amazon Prime has picked it up and offering it where Amazon Prime is! Just hit the link above. We’d love to hear about your…

Norman Van Aken featured in Florida Foodie

Hi All! Recently I was up with our team at my new restaurant in Orlando just off Sand Lake Road in the Dellagio Plaza. The kind folks at the newscast ‘Click Orlando’ had me on their show, “Florida Foodie”. The digital storyteller is Thomas Mates and the hosts were Anchor,…

Norman’s Featured in Flamingo Magazine

9 Celebrity Chef Restaurants in Orlando You Have To Try Famed chef and cookbook author Norman Van Aken has a long history of operating successful restaurants in the Sunshine State. His recently-opened Norman’s, located in the Dellagio Town Center of Dr. Phillips, is a must-visit. Norman’s fusion menu includes everything…

Chef Norman Van Aken Stars in New TV Show

Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel Norman Van Aken is an accomplished chef, recipient of a multitude of James Beard acknowledgments among other culinary honors. He is an accomplished restaurateur. He is the author of many acclaimed cookbooks, but also one heck of an entertaining memoir, one that helps showcase why adding “TV…

Norman’s Return to Orlando

Hello Everyone! It is time (some might say past time) for an update on our restaurant, NORMAN’S. It has been a very busy time as opening restaurants always are. So please let me share some news with you all! Orlando Weekly food editor Faiyaz Kara review at the link. Now…

 
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