Dinner is three courses with wines and chef always throws in a bigger shared platter of something special.
When people ask about the modern way of eating in Los Angeles, the succession of wildly variant small plates followed perhaps by a big, shared platter of meat, I sometimes refer them to Josef Centeno, who got the style started here when he was chef of the long-defunct Koreatown restaurant Opus a decade or so ago.
Perhaps they'll try to make their dishes as locally sourced as possible, or Olympic-themed, or they'll try to create a sharing platter for a street party.
I didn't feel too guilty about it, due to it be being a sharing platter, so, like, the same amount would've been eaten whether or not I had any.
Diners who could wrangle an invitation and find the e-mailed address would gather at a 24-foot-long table, where, typically, bankers, farmers and tattooed baristas shared platters of whatever was fresh from the markets.
Greek couples and groups are smoking, sipping cloudy ouzo over shared platters; there are families with young children busting curfews.
Shared tables and shared platters are for grazing, antipasto and breads, then slow-roasted meats and roast vegetables, all paired with local wines.
Under normal circumstances, the celebratory meals give people reason to reconnect with friends and family, and gather around shared platters of food.
An enormous fishy sharing platter, terrific value at £12.50, which paired fingers of battered pollock with a punchy gremolata, and smoked trout with a satisfyingly complicated wild rice salad.
Or try the new idea from Lancashire wedding venue West Tower: a "serviced buffet," with sharing platters served to each table, combining the ambiance of a sit-down meal with the value of a buffet.
Then there are the French and Italian starters, the burgers and sharing platters, an impressive array of steaks (up to 14oz) and those pizzas – served "sensible" or "large".
