Everything starts somewhere. Last week, my friend Jon Rowley (a contributing editor for Gourmet Magazine) and his wife, Kate, visited the Oregon Coast. They’d heard great things about the razor clams served at Norma’s Ocean Diner from their friends and colleagues Jane and Michael Stern (also contributing editors to Gourmet). When their reports came in favorably for both razor clams and salmon, I decided it was time to visit Norma’s.

Norma’s has been in business since 1976 and has developed a loyal following of Seaside locals and visitors who return each year. Painted in sky-blue, with a light burning atop the tiered lighthouse-shaped building, Norma’s is hard to miss.

Inside, the ocean theme is carried out with a collection of miniature lighthouse replicas, paintings and nautical photographs. The restaurant, lined with cozy booths, is decorated with blue wainscot, light gray walls and hanging lanterns. Burnished copper tabletops etched with a mosaic laid from rings of glassware (“messages from others,” as our waitress put it) offer a nice contrast to dark wooden chairs.

For me, a dining experience is greatly enhanced by good acoustics within a restaurant. I relish being able to hear my dining companions over outside noise. At Norma’s, graced by soft jazz playing in the background, even the sounds of a screaming baby were barely audible.

On to the food. Given a high recommendation, would it live up to my expectations? For the most part, yes. I was very happy to read on the menu that the Frank family is committed to serving healthy, quality food. The kitchen uses only dairy products with no growth hormones, no MSG, oils with zero trans fats, and the best part – only natural Angus beef and wild salmon are served. Fresh seafood is sourced locally.

Under “Appetizers,” Dungeness crab legs served steamed with melted butter were fresh and sweet. Squid rings (missing my favorite part, the tentacles) were lightly seasoned with herbs, breaded and deep fried. They were light and crisp. Cheese sticks (mozzarella coated with a seasoned coating and deep fried) were delicious dipped in a spicy marinara sauce. Other options include seafood cocktails, oysters on the half shell, steamer clams and more.

Seafood fettucini at Norma’s Ocean Diner in Seaside.Oyster stew made with fresh Willapa Bay oysters was delicately seasoned, rich and creamy. The house salad, full of fresh spinach and lettuce, was topped with tender pink shrimp. A mix of huckleberry vinaigrette and blue cheese dressing topped it off for me. Under “Fish and chips,” diners have a choice of Alaskan cod, albacore tuna, salmon, halibut or a combo. You can also choose between batter-dipped or lightly breaded and fried. Wild salmon, lightly breaded and fried, was perfection – the salmon was moist and flavorful and the batter light and crisp. The coleslaw on the side was very finely minced, too sweet and had a gritty texture.

Sautéed scallops bathed in a saffron-colored lemony sauce were large and succulent. When you order any seafood off the dinner menu, you have the option of choosing fried, sautéed, Cajun, poached, grilled or broiled – a nice touch. The seafood menu also features petrale sole, halibut steak, wild salmon, whole Dungeness crab and a Captain’s Platter filled with an assortment of seafood.

Disappointing was a top sirloin steak. Despite the fact that the beef is naturally raised and corn-fed with no artificial ingredients, it was tough and lacked flavor. I look forward to trying Norma’s natural Montana-raised pork chops in the future. The ambitious menu features a variety of hot and cold sandwiches and freshly ground, flame-broiled burgers. Salads include Norma’s Signature Louis (made with fresh crab or shrimp) and a smoked salmon salad garnished with egg, tomatoes and olives, among others.

After finishing up their finals at Portland’s Central Catholic High School, Eleni Pappelis, middle, enjoys an order of fish and chips with friends Allison Farley, left, and Nay’Chelle Harris at Norma’s Ocean Diner in Seaside.Some desserts are made in-house, including a delicious marionberry cobbler, apple crisp and peanut butter pie.

Norma’s offers healthy, high quality food at reasonable prices. The atmosphere is cheery and inviting. The service is excellent and, as Jane and Michael Stern said on NPR’s “The Splendid Table,” “If James Beard were here today, this is the place he would be dining.”

Norma opened her doors in a tiny Seaside restaurant in 1976. Soon, visitors and locals waited in long lines for Norma’s mouthwatering seafood. Within a few years (1983), she moved her growing restaurant from its original location to its present address at 20 N. Columbia, less than a block away.

Norma passed away in 1993, and the restaurant, which operated annually from mid-March until October, was kept open by her daughter and son-in-law as absentee owners (1994-1999). They chose not to open in 2000 and the building sat empty through that season and was in disrepair.

Randy and Darleen Frank purchased the restaurant in early 2001 and reopened the doors March 10. Randy has resided in Seaside since 1965 and has been involved in the food service industry since 1970. Darleen has lived in Seaside since 1976 when the two met while both working at the Crab Broiler Restaurant and married in 1982. Daughters Esther and Abby are also involved in various aspects, including holding schedules as servers.