School Me on Plate Coverage

[Chris Amirault]

I have been reading Nations Restaurant News a bit lately and have become fascinated with the concept of "plate coverage." Heretofore merely a baseball term in my brain, I'm starting to learn that this refers to filling, even overfilling, a plate with stuff so that it looks abundant to the diner upon delivery to table.

If that's about right -- and please correct me if it's not -- it seems that plate coverage is a desire that only particular restauranteurs seek to fulfill. Is this a family-casual concept only, or do prime steak houses toss parsley on for a similar effect? Do you seek plate coverage? Don't you?

Do tell.

[WiscoNole]

Not to be curt, but whatever looks good. You just kinda know it when you look at it.

[Timh]

To me, plate coverage practitioners operate in terms of value perception for people who think in terms of quantity, not quality. Higher up the scale you've got those that prefer to "paint" around the smaller portions or just smear. I find those "painting" and/or "smearing" rather tiresome and lacking in originality.

[Chris Amirault]

Can one smear for plate coverage? Or do you need 1/2 lb of sweet potato fries?

[Timh]

That would be alotta smear, but then It wouldn't surprise me to see it done. Fries work, and now that I think of it, there is also the Gotham B&G vertical plate (overhead air space) coverage. If you can't go large to the left or right, go big, up.