Earth to The Proper Plate

When a restaurant is named The Proper Plate, a person has to wonder what is proper about it.

Aiken’s new downtown cafeteria opened last month with a mission statement that is exceedingly proper, ecologically speaking: “Using fresh ingredients served in biodegradable packaging, we minimize waste while ensuring that every meal served not only tantalizes the taste buds, but also respects the environment.” Grab-and-go lunch boxes and plates on which food is presented are made of materials that will decompose after they’ve been used. Hooray.