Cafe Norris Fall 2009

Friends of Cafe Norris,

We hope that you all had a great summer. We had such a great time last semester and hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as we did. We appreciate all of the support that we received this year and last from every person who came as well as much praise from Administrative Departments on campus.

The first night of Cafe Norris for Fall 2009 is coming up in the next couple of weeks and we couldn't be more excited. We are shooting for the first night to be on Saturday October 3rd at 7:00pm. I will post a new slot to sign up for on the reservation website on Wednesday at 9:00pm sharp. We are expecting all 20 seats to go lightning fast, so be ready. This summer on average they were all gone within the first 2 minutes.

The reservation site can be accessed from the blog page (cafenorris.blogspot.com) in the upper right hand corner.

There are a couple of changes for this year's Cafe Norris. First, if you have a reservation you must pay your "club dues" at least five days in advance, or you will sacrifice your seat. We hate to have to do this and we know that it is an inconvenience, but it is important to have club dues in before the time of the actual event. We really do apologize in advance for any inconvenience. Dues can either be handed in in person to Saul Sutcher, or can be dropped into the mail addressed to:

Café Norris Box 1682
Occidental College
1600 Campus Rd,
Los Angeles, CA 90041

Unfortunately we only accept cash.

Second, while we know that the price point for Cafe Norris was a huge plus, for everyone, Cafe Norris ran in the red pretty much every week last year. This year, Cafe Norris won't be running every week. It is really more of a special occasion dinner rather than an everyday meal. In a perfect world, Cafe Norris would be free. But money was coming out of pocket almost every week last year. So, this year, club dues are increasing to $20 per person. Now, while we know that this may seem high, it will be accompanied by larger servings sizes, much more extravagant ingredients and often a bonus course Cafe Norris' sister Cafe 20 operated under this price point all summer, and we felt that the experience and quality of food was much higher. Again we are really wish that it could be lower, and we appreciate all of your support.


For those of you who haven’t seen it already, the LA Times did a piece on Cafe Norris earlier this month. Go check out the link: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-schoolchef2-2009sep02,0,4445098.story .

We are really excited for the first week and hope to see you all there,


Saul Sutcher

Cafe Norris Week Five

Fresh Sweet Pea and Ricotta Ravioli

Seared Scallops with roasted chanterelle mushrooms and fennel

with garlic aioli chive oil and red pepper puree

Cafe Norris Elissa's Birthday Weekend

Mixed Greens Salad,

with toasted almonds and blood oranage

Braised Duck

with cous cous salad, braised turnips 

and roasted sunchokes

A selection of four cheeses

with roasted grapes

Olive Oil and Sauternes Cake

with Pear and Vanilla Sorbet, and a Grapefruit peel dipped in chocolate

RE: Reservations

So it looks like we only have one spot left open for the rest of the year. This comes as a wonderfully pleasant surprise to us, and are so happy their is this amount of enthusiasm on campus. We hope that you all have as much fun as we do.

 If you have booked on a day that is already full, that is okay, because people often cancel. Spots almost certainly will open up eventually. But do know that if you are on the waiting list it does not guarantee a spot for you. We do encourage you to add yourself to the waiting list and hopefully we can fit you in.

Saul Sutcher

Elissa Chandler

Elissa's Cafe Norris Birthday Menu

Homemade Cornbread

Dates stuffed with goat cheese
wrapped in prosciutto with roasted almonds

Grapefruit and Artichoke Hearts Salad

with dijon vinaigrette

Braised Duck Legs

with turnips and farro salad and Roasted Asparagus with lemon

A selection of cheeses

with fresh strawberries and roasted grapes

Sauternes Cake

with Pear sorbet and candied chocolate covered orange peel

Menu For 2/21/09

Here is the tentative menu for this saturday night. The menu is subject to change based on the availability of products.


Cafe Norris Week Two Menu
February 21, 2009

Seared Big Eye Tuna
with Sauteed Pea-sprouts



Oxtail Ragu with Homemade
Rustic Gnocchi and Sauteed
Brussels Sprouts



Trio of Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ginger Snaps with Strawberry ice cream Dutch Almond Cookies with Earl Grey ice cream Chocolate Blackberry Cookies with Chocolate ice-cream

Opening Night

Butternut Squash and Ricotta ravioli 

with brown butter and sage

Grilled Quail wrapped in pancetta

slow roasted carrots and fennel

baby arugula salad

Tarte Aux Pommes

with Creme Anglaise