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-   -   "Be careful, the plate is hot." But why?? And why SO hot?? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/diningbuzz/1660143-careful-plate-hot-but-why-why-so-hot.html)

ou81two Mar 4, 2015 10:53 pm

Restaurants, typically big or low end ones have heat lamps. It keeps the food warm while they're waiting for it to be picked up. It does have the unfortunate effect of drying the stuff out and cooking the meat while it's waiting there. Not a big deal for 'mexican' food since its all mostly mush anyways.

stut Mar 5, 2015 2:34 am

My grandparents (Scottish, like me) were obsessed with having hot plates. They had (opaque) Pyrex plates, which lived in the lower oven, and every meal, these plates were treated like the inverse of an ice cream in the desert - if you weren't served food on a plate hot enough to scorch a tablecloth, it was an embarrassment.

I do like that it keeps food hot (obviously, not great for salad) but the problem was it kept cooking the food on it. So if you're having a leisurely meal over plenty chatter, you end up with burnt food welded to the place.

crabbing Mar 5, 2015 7:00 am

i always thought that restaurants serve dishes on hot plates to create the illusion that the dish was just cooked, when in reality it may have been sitting under heat lamps until all of the dishes for the table are ready.

emma69 Mar 5, 2015 7:22 am

My parents prefer food on warm plates, my mother would pop them into the oven for the last couple of minutes of food prep time. If the oven wasn't on (say, we were having Indian food takeaway) she would put the oven on low to warm the plates before she went out to pick up the food!

I have a warming drawer on my over for the same reason, but frankly it just stores my baking trays and cake pans!

pilotalan Mar 12, 2015 5:16 pm


Originally Posted by emma69 (Post 24458480)
My parents prefer food on warm plates,

As do I! Food is better warm, so anything that keeps it warmer longer is better.
Keyword is warm, not HOT!!

MollyNYC Mar 14, 2015 5:31 pm

I too have had hot plates in many different types of restaurants, not just Mexican.

I also love them! I'm a slow eater and a hot plate keeps my food warm longer.
Hot food on a cold plate....yuck!
Oh and I warm the plates at home as well.

Paul56 Mar 16, 2015 11:03 am

I have been in Mexican restaurants where the food arrives at
the table sizzling and everyone turns their head to see what
the ruckus is about.

I have also been in restaurants where they flambe tableside.

In those situations I know enough to keep my fingers off the
plate and out of the fire and be careful with the food so I do
not burn myself.

Understandable it is not everyone's cup of tea.

bitburgr Mar 16, 2015 11:29 am


Originally Posted by pilotalan (Post 24449552)
In a higher-end steakhouse, they will often heat the plates to keep the steak nice and warm.

We were told once at Peter Luger's that those of us who didn't want our steak medium rare (which is what we ordered) that we could use the plate to continue cooking the meat.

None of us tried.

cubbie Mar 16, 2015 2:04 pm

I'm fine with steaks and fajita ingredients on sizzling hot plates. Anything else that comes on a plate too hot to touch, as opposed to just a warm plate, has been heat-lamp heated, I suspect, and turns me off. I'm also opposed to hot food on cold plates (I don't mind hot food on r00m-temperature plates; that's how we eat at home; I mean hot food on truly cold plates) and cold food (e.g., salads) on hot plates.

lighthand Mar 16, 2015 3:08 pm

There's also a number of Chinese dishes that needs to be served on piping hot skillet. Like bean curd with egg, whereby the egg is cracked over it just be for being sent out of the kitchen. Russian shashlik is also often served on a hot plate.

So I guess it depends on the food you are having, and how the chef believes it should be served/plated.

Palal Mar 16, 2015 4:21 pm

Yesterday I was eating at a bouchon in Lyon, and I was served on a hot plate that just came out of the oven. Had the same many times in portugal for dishes that were baked.

Doc Savage Mar 16, 2015 4:25 pm


Originally Posted by readywhenyouare (Post 24454790)
I don't think the waitstaff have anything to do with plating the food.

But they do need to pick things up from the kitchen promptly.

arlflyer Mar 17, 2015 7:28 am


Originally Posted by cubbie (Post 24516523)
Anything else that comes on a plate too hot to touch, as opposed to just a warm plate, has been heat-lamp heated, I suspect, and turns me off.

It's not due to a heat lamp. The early posters were correct - at Mexican places they finish the dish by adding the sauce and cheese and then blasting it in the salamander.

Heat lamps only keep food at safe temperatures, somewhere in the neighborhood of 140F, which is not insanely hot to the touch like the OP is referring to.

pilotspouse Mar 17, 2015 9:13 am

I want my food hot and cooling on MY time! A hint that the plate is hot could be the towel or hot sleeve the server is using to prevent burns. DOH! When I make pasta dishes, I use some of the boiling water to heat the bowls before serving. If you don't like a hot plate, don't go to Mexican restaurants (or ask them not serve it w/cold cheese, beans, etc) Most use a salamander.

cubbie Mar 19, 2015 12:18 pm


Originally Posted by arlflyer (Post 24519886)
It's not due to a heat lamp. The early posters were correct - at Mexican places they finish the dish by adding the sauce and cheese and then blasting it in the salamander.

Heat lamps only keep food at safe temperatures, somewhere in the neighborhood of 140F, which is not insanely hot to the touch like the OP is referring to.

Right, sorry, I didn't necessarily mean heat lamp heated, I meant to include salamander-blasted. Which I don't necessarily mind if the food has been recently plated and then blasted for last-minute heat. What I mind is food that's been plated for quite a while and reheated to make it seem freshly plated, sometimes drying it out in the process.


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