At this Main Line restaurant, the cutlets are so big they eclipse the plate

Is it a Parmesan- and anchovy-laced Caesar salad the size of a garden? Or is it the cutlet that ate Bryn Mawr?

It all depends, I suppose, on the perspective of the person at Carina Sorella who orders the Caesar salad and adds chicken for an extra $10. The gentleman dining at the banquette beside me at this suburban sibling to Fitler Square’s Trattoria Carina was clearly taken by surprise.

Perhaps he was expecting the usual chicken Caesar garnish — a few strips of flattened, perfunctory poultry scattered on top. His eyes popped with astonishment when the server arrived with a chicken cutlet so big and plump that it eclipsed the plate, cradling a mound of salad like a few leaves in the palm of a giant’s hand.

Diners passing by stopped in their tracks, Aperol spritzes in hand, to ask if they could take a picture, which is no doubt the restaurant’s desired effect. My first thought: Where do they find chickens as big as linebackers? Second thought: I want one, too.

No sooner had I ordered ours, though, when the woman in that party of three beside us laid into the server with a stern lecture over how this cutlet was a shameful waste of food and a gross display of excess. The supersizing of American portions is easy to complain about, of course, provided the dish is destined for one person. But this 14-ounce monument of fried chicken and buttermilk breading is perfect for sharing.

There is an undeniable allure to such a beautifully done cutlet. At this nearly year-old restaurant, whose kitchen achieved somewhat mixed success with its range of familiar Italian classics (arancini, pastas, pizza), it’s the best bet for a satisfying meal.

Manager Don Galvano told me that Carina Sorella sells up to 40 of these cutlets in one form or another on a typical Friday night; they also anchor the upgraded chopped salad (particularly popular at brunch) and the chicken parm, which is a powerful date-night magnet at the original 32-seat Trattoria Carina.

At this much larger space in Bryn Mawr — it has 110 seats and a curvy white bar where the crowds imbibe negronis, espresso martinis, and three kinds of spritzes — there’s a steady parade of those head-turning cutlets through the dining room. Tenderized by a two-day marinade in buttermilk and pounded until they’re as big as a catcher’s mitt on the plate, the chicken keeps the kitchen busy.

My biggest complaint is that there wasn’t enough salad to match. Still, considering that the salad is more than enough for two people to share for $27 (factoring in the $10 for the added cutlet), it’s a bargain.

“They are grandiose,” conceded Galvano, who, along with chef Codie Robinson, is also aware of the occasional negative reaction.

“I have heard from several customers who were shocked and thought it was too big,” Robinson said.

Expectations can be double-edged. Had it been listed on the menu instead as a chicken cutlet with an option to add the salad for an extra $10 vs. the other way around, I doubt it would be so polarizing. I happily took our leftovers home and nibbled away at that the cutlet’s impressive remains for two days.

Caesar salad with chicken, $27, Carina Sorella, 866 W. Lancaster Ave. (U.S. Route 30), Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010, (610) 596-9166; carinasorella.com