Eating off Slate Plates

[oldpoer]

Does anyone really like eating off these so called plates in a restaurant

[david63]

Don't really mind what I eat my food off in a restaurant, or anywhere else for that matter, as long as it is clean

[Kendhni]

Are you talking of the slates just as a replacement for plates ... in which case I think it is 6 of one half a dozen of the other .. as long as there isn't too much liquid sauce

Or are you talking about the hot lava rock slates that have a 'cook your own steak' and are part of the dining experience ... in that case I do enjoy a little bit of a challenge.

[oldbluefox]

Are the slates hardened in any way? I'm not sure I fancy bits of slate dust mixed in with my steak after cutting.
Whilst we've got plenty of slate up here we tend to use plates and sell our slate 'down south' at exorbitant prices!

[Romig1]

Are you talking of the slates just as a replacement for plates ... in which case I think it is 6 of one half a dozen of the other .. as long as there isn't too much liquid sauce

Or are you talking about the hot lava rock slates that have a 'cook your own steak' and are part of the dining experience ... in that case I do enjoy a little bit of a challenge.

I hesitate to be a geological pedant, but........

[Boris+]

Ok, shoot me down for this silly concern, but is slate porous? Can slate ever be cleaned to the extent that a porcelain plate can be cleaned - what would happen to slate in a nice hot dishwasher?

Em

[Romig1]

No Em, slate is not porous.

[david63]

... and you can put them in the dishwasher

[Kendhni]

I hesitate to be a geological pedant, but........

Definitely a bit of tautology going on there there should be a '/' in there ... we have had food served on hot slate as well ... it's bad when a chap misses out a slash

[Romig1]

Em, slate is a metamorhic rock, created due to heat an pressure being applied to other rocks.

Just checked Wiki and the temperatures involved...



"The temperature lower limit of metamorphism is considered to be 100 - 200 °C,"

I suspect they are "dishwasher-safe"

[Boris+]

I've never had to work with slate as a material, so not sure exactly about the properties.

However - not trying to argue, just wondering - a porcelain plate has very few (if any) places for anything to hide in because it is a very very hard surface.
Can this be said of slate?

Sorry everyone - I wouldn't fancy eating directly off a piece of slate.

Em

[Kendhni]

Em, surely the same could be said of wood chopping boards etc. ... but yet most people use them to chop and prepare food on ... some food will steamed in wooden srteamers and served on or in wooden servers as well. Having said that I have wondered the same about wood for years

[Quizzical Bob]

No Em, slate is not porous.

They use it for roofs.

[JohnTheDog]

No Em, slate is not porous.

They use it for roofs.

[Manoverboard]

Seemed like a cool idea so I've just popped out for half a dozen of those slate plates

Mobietta is really pleased with them but, well, does anybody happen to have the phone number of a Dorset roofer please ?

[Kendhni]

No Em, slate is not porous.

They use it for roofs.

I don't think the OP would want to eat his dinner on the roof

Curiously they also use concrete tiles for roofs and it is very porous .. similarly bricks and concrete block walls are porous?

[Delboy]

From photo's I have seen, food never looks very appetising when presented on slate, also they don't seem to hold much, and does the gravy not run off the sides, or has it got its own guttering.

[david63]

There are many and varied sizes and designs (some at silly prices) but you would not normally serve a dish with gravy on a slate.

[Manoverboard]

So ... when you go into a restaurant that uses them can the bill be put on the slate

[Kendhni]

If Julie is cooking then there would be no problem with the gravy ... the lumps would stay on the slate

[Quizzical Bob]

So ... when you go into a restaurant that uses them can the bill be put on the slate

Yes, and you can chalk off the courses as you go along.

[wolfie]

A few months ago we had our roof redone, replacing as many of the original slates as possible, but we did have to order some extra as not all came off in ine piece.

So, I have about 40 beautiful slates on offer to the highest bidder.

[gfwgfw]

Slate - Pass please

. . . but I took the muchbeloved to a fine newly opened extravaganza eatery in town for a well deserved treat

And our fantastic steaks to die for plus mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and peppers were presented on an very large iron skillet

Our thrice fried chips were serve like wise in an iron pot

Being quite slow eaters our delicious meal was piping hot 'till the very last bite

This fine establishment is a serious rural Darzet secret, but I could be bribe - at a price

[Mrs007]

My daughter and her friend were quite late for a dinner reservation last week but they said it would be alright for them to dine still, as they said they would only have the main course. However, they couldn't resist asking for dessert and she couldn't be sure if her brownie was deliberately served to her on a slate with the custard in a small gravy boat as retribution.

[jay-ell71]

For goodness sake a plate is a plate and a piece of slate is an affectation. Jay