"I'm wondering about the phenom and success of the small-plates concept," wrote a reader in restaurant critic Todd Kliman's chat today. "It's a trend that outlived what I had anticipated." Kliman, who says he loves the small-plates way of eating, suggests that it's a "move away from traditional Western-style dining . . . the idea that a plate must consist of a protein and starch and perhaps a vegetable to round things out." He agrees with the reader that the bill at small-plates restaurants ends up being higher than you might expect with low-ticket items—"deceptively not-cheap," as Kliman says. What do you think of small plates? Are you happy that the trend isn't dying? Or would you rather see them go the way of the appletini?
