Summary
The American tapas-bar craze made the term "small plates" a big buzzword. But decades earlier, restaurants across the country were already selling diminutive servings of food to accompany a favorite beverage. And these weren't little dishes of marinated Manzanilla olives, or slivers of jamon accompanied by a glass of sherry. The restaurants were Chinese, the drink in question was tea, and the food was called "dim sum."
Zen Gardens cuts the carts. A piece of paper, delivered to the table alongside the regular lunch menu, lists the available dim sum. After you've indicated your choices, the server whisks the list away, and the food begins appearing at your table as soon as it's cooked. Despite the language barrier, I was able to ask the server if it was possible to order the food in "flights." Never having experienced the restaurant's dim sum, my companion and I had no idea how many plates of food we'd need.On a sunny Saturday afternoon during its dim-sum service, [Tantra] was nearly empty. Like Zen Gardens, Tantra doesn't use a rolling cart for dim sum, at least not on slow days. The dim sum menu, with separate sections for dumplings and buns, fried foods, cold dishes and vegetarian fare, was delivered with a list of specialty drinks. Unlike the Chinese restaurant, this one encouraged us to relax and order one or two dishes at a time, then add more as desired.See the full content of this document
Extract
Taste Test: Dim Sum
Taste Test: Dim Sum
Zen Gardens, 7 Fayette Drive, South Burlington, 862-8885 Tantra, 169 Church Street, Burlington, 651-9660The American tapas-bar craze made the term "small plates" a big buzzword. But decades earlier, restaurants across the country were already selling diminutive servings of food to accompany a favorite beverage. And these weren't little dishes of marinated...See the full content of this document
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