The first warning sign is usually the platter. It lands with a thud, somebody moves the bread basket to make room, and suddenly everyone at the table is reconsidering whether ordering an appetizer was such a smart idea.
That is the kind of meal New Jersey’s Portuguese restaurants do particularly well.
Across Newark’s Ironbound, Elizabeth, South River, and Perth Amboy, portions tend to favor abundance over restraint: whole fish shiny with olive oil, steaks crowned with fried eggs, mountains of saffron rice, bubbling seafood combinations, and enough grilled meat to turn dinner into an endurance event…