Small plates, big punch

It’s summer on the boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, and Norman’s, the new kid on the block, has introduced something new: tapas on the terrace.

The idea is a few casual bites on the terrace outside the elegant dining room. But Norman van Aken doesn’t seem to do anything by half measures. He may call his little dishes tapas, but they’re every bit as interesting and intricate as anything on his regular menu.

And that’s saying a lot for this gutsy chef, who just blew in from South Florida to open his third Norman’s. What could be more summery than Van Aken’s cooking, with its tastes of Florida, the Caribbean, South America and farther shores?

On a recent night, four of us tried practically every dish on the 10-item tapas menu. It was a lovely way to spend some time with friends I hadn’t seen for a while. We needed to catch up and happily, no lip reading was required -- we could actually hear each other. Norman’s, inside and out, is one of the more civilized dining experiences in town.

For tapas, you can sit outdoors on the terrace looking on the Strip or inside at a handful of tables in the bar. Tapas come out in no particular order. They’re entirely mix-and-match, and that’s part of the fun.

One of the first dishes out was an extraordinary hamachi tataki with white peaches, nectarines and black plums. I got the bite with the peach, which tasted sweet and vinegary at the same time, making a brilliant foil for the velvety raw yellowtail drizzled with lapsang souchong tea oil.

We should have ordered two of the incredibly tasty empanadas with pork belly and roasted corn. They were that good.

We did, in fact, double up on the grilled lamb loin satay: juicy lamb threaded on skewers and grilled to a deep rose, with a cumin-laced yogurt on the side to dip them in.

Bacalao fritters with bone marrow and a Xeres (Sherry) vinaigrette were notable, too, for melting in the mouth. And several of us vowed to copy the caramelized cipolline onions with braised veal and capers for our next cocktail party.

Ribbons of duck prosciutto came with a soft-boiled egg and blue-black Nicoise olives. And littleneck clams were steamed with sausage in a roasted garlic broth that, of course, had everybody dipping their bread in the bowl to soak it up.

The fun doesn’t let up come the trio of desserts. Our favorite? The bananas fried tempura-style in a cinnamon and ancho chile batter and served with macadamia nut ice cream and a hot milk chocolate dipping sauce.

Who would’ve thought that on the Sunset Strip you could find something so seriously delicious?

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The Terrace at Norman’s on Sunset

Where: Sunset Millennium Plaza, 8570 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles

When: 5:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. Full bar. Parking beneath Sunset Millennium Plaza

Cost: tapas, $8 to $12 apiece

Info: (310) 657-2400