Darkness had fallen by the time Kristi Burch and Shelley Brock got together after work to relax over a glass of wine. They were in the mood to share confidences, career stories - and a casual meal.

Neither had the time or appetite for full-course meat-and-potatoes fare. Nor did either have the urge to nibble on nachos. They were looking for something simpler than a sit-down dinner yet more sophisticated than bar food.

So the friends settled back at the hip lounge Red Maple to savor a few bites of raw tuna and sweetly spiced shrimp-and-rice cakes - imaginative, flavorful food that could have been a spectacular snack but turned into that night's meal.

Stylish little dishes, commonly called "small plates," are showing up these days in all kinds of places. The fashionable are sampling them; so are money-conscious college students. Celebrity chefs are creating tasting menus; so are caterers and ethnic eateries.

Small plates are having a big influence on conventional menu categories and eating customs. No longer does dinner have to follow the predictable pattern of appetizer, soup or salad, entree and dessert. Diners can choose between a sit-down evening meal and snack; restaurants can skip super-sized servings.

"I'm the type that likes to try a little of everything," said Brock, a 44-year-old physical therapist, as she tasted Red Maple's roasted vegetable special on a recent night. "You can't do that so easily when you go out for a full meal."

Rarely do small plates resemble the single-ingredient hors d'oeuvres of the past. They often include a bit of protein, vegetable and starch put together in creative ways. What matters with these dishes isn't sequence or size but elegance and intensity of taste.

In Baltimore, for example, a sampling of small plates includes: shredded duck over an apple-onion pancake for $7.50 at Sascha's 527; tenderloin with gorgonzola cheese for $7.95 at Tapas Teatro; corn-and-crab fritters for $6 at Red Maple; and mussels in ouzo for $10 at the Black Olive. Bethesda's Jaleo serves soft-shell crab with tomato salad for $6.95; Washington's Cafe Atlantico has grilled quail with plantains for $9.

Such main dishes in miniature can satisfy discriminating yet health-conscious diners. But they're also appealing because gourmet taste can be had at an affordable price. Small plates may be a third the size of a typical entree and they're usually only a fraction of the cost. That makes it easy to order a couple as a meal, or a half-dozen to share with a table of friends.

"With a traditional entree, even if it's prepared correctly, you're stuck with it," said Steve Suser, co-owner of Sascha's, where the menu is divided between "taste plates" and "big palettes." "With small plates, a whole table orders a bunch, and if you don't like a dish, someone else will. You can try more things without getting stuck with a big bill."

Little meals may be trendy but they're hardly new elsewhere in the world. Indeed, their popularity is probably the result of Americans becoming more aware and appreciative of the tasty tidbits of other cultures: Spanish tapas, Greek mezze, Chinese dim sum.

Restaurateurs have been quick to respond to the rising demand. At the Black Olive in Fells Point, for example, chef Pauline Spiliadis devotes as much attention to her mezze menu as to the grilled fish for which the upscale Greek restaurant has won critical acclaim.

"We often eat this way ourselves," said Spiliadis, as she sampled the cheese-stuffed grape leaves and eggplant dip for lunch. "Maybe we don't want to eat a whole fish. So we sit as a family and have some bread, some olives, a little salad and mezze."

But small plates are no longer limited to ethnic eateries. Some chic new restaurants and lounges serve nothing else. Even a restaurant as formal as Baltimore's Hampton's now offers multicourse tasting menus made up of smaller dishes. And contemporary chefs are mingling a multitude of cultural traditions to come up with new flavors.

In Washington, Cafe Atlantico introduced a Saturday brunch billed as "Latino dim sum," while in New York, Beyoglu specializes in "Turkish tapas." The word tapas, in fact, is now shorthand for small plates. In Baltimore, Tapas Teatro has an international menu, while Red Maple chef T.J. Lynch has turned toward Asian influences for his tapas.

"Tapas aren't necessarily Spanish anymore. What's happening is different cuisines are focusing on this style of eating," said Salma J. Abdelnour, a senior editor at Food and Wine magazine. "The Japanese have a long-standing tradition of eating small plates, and you're seeing them now touting themselves 'tapas-style.' "

Perhaps the biggest reason for the popularity of small plates, according to Abdelnour and other food-industry observers, is that they give everyone a chance to experiment.

Chefs can show off their skills by featuring ingredients that might be too strong or too expensive for a main course. Sascha's executive chef Quinn Appleby notes the goat-cheese souffle and roasted garlic plate "are so rich you would not want to eat a big plateful. The nature of some of these flavors is really best kept to smaller quantities."

"It's actually a classic economic theory," said Eve Felder, associate dean for advanced cooking at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. "The power of ingredients, the power of flavor combinations, is in the first bite. The first bite you have of pizza is incredible, and as you become sated, with each bite you lose taste."

Moreover, as Jaleo's executive chef Jose Andres points out, by keeping portions small, chefs can serve such luxury fare as beef tenderloin, lobster and truffles. The ever-crowded Bethesda tapas bar has offered a taste of morel mushrooms for $6.50. If made into a typical entree, Andres said, the same dish would cost $30.

"To me, the tapas concept means the freedom of ordering what you want," Andres said. "When truffles come in, I take a little rice, slice some on top, and for not much money, people can try it. Or you can just order a beer and a tapa for $3.95 and you're welcome."

Small plates seem to make diners more adventurous than when they stick to the standard appetizer and entree, said Harbor Court's executive chef, Matthew Laurence. He's had far more takers for sweetbreads, escargot or game when they turn up on Hampton's new five-course tasting menu. "You get more of a variety of textures and tastes," he said. "Frankly, when I go out, that's what I like," he added. "I want to taste everything."

Whether the popularity of small plates will change a country accustomed to super-sized servings is unclear. Health surveys show that for all that Americans profess to want to eat more healthily, they've only gotten heavier. And as Felder of the New York culinary institute notes, people still understand the value of size better than flavor.

"Our culture is about big, more," she said. "Yet there's also the whole outgrowth of the grazing era. Perhaps with these small, delicious dishes, we're starting to see the pendulum swing."

If so, speculated the two friends at Red Maple, what was once eating a snack will soon be considered a sophisticated dining style.

"It's fun to try things. It's social," said diner Burch, a 37-year-old editor. "I wouldn't come here if I was starving, but for a late-night meal, it's perfect."

Charred Tuna Bites

Serves 6 to 8 as hors d'oeuvre or small plate

SPICE MIX:

3 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

TUNA:

1 pound fresh tuna, sushi-grade if possible

oil for sauteing

GINGER TARTAR:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon ginger

In a small bowl, combine all spices, which can be dry. Then cut tuna into bite-sized pieces and toss in the spice mix until coated.

Place a saute pan on the burner and let it get hot, then add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add spice-covered tuna bites and saute, turning each piece quickly so as not to overcook. Total cooking time should not be more than 1 minute for each batch.

Remove tuna bites from pan and place on paper towel to absorb oil. Repeat as necessary.

For ginger tartar: Mix ingredients in bowl and put in refrigerator to chill.

Then place tuna on plate and top with ginger tartar. -- Sascha's 527

Melitzanosalata (Eggplant Dip)

Serves about 30 guests with bread at a party; can be halved

3 medium to large eggplants

salt to sprinkle

1 1/2 cups of very fine olive oil (divided use)

5 cloves of garlic

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Cut the eggplants in half and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for 20 minutes. Roast the eggplants with a bit of olive oil on the grill or in the oven until soft.

When cold, put them in a food processor and blend with the garlic and balsamic vinegar. Slowly add the olive oil until the consistency is smooth and creamy.

Refrigerate for about 20 minutes before serving. -- The Black Olive

Mussels in Ouzo

Serves about 6 guests as small plate; 3 guests as larger serving

3 dozen fresh mussels

1/4 cup olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups of white wine

1/2 cup of ouzo

1 parsley bunch, chopped

Rinse off mussels. Throw out any that are clearly open.

In a large saucepan, saute the garlic until it is almost brown, then immediately put in the mussels.

Add the wine and cover. Keep on high and cook for about 3 minutes until the mussels are opened. Uncover and add the ouzo. Cook for another 30 seconds.

Remove from the heat and add the chopped parsley. Serve the mussels in the broth. -- The Black Olive