Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

Culinarily speaking, it depends on what camp you're in.

For some, this notion is laughable. "Too much" never detracts from edible gratification. What's a little stomachache when unlimited fried deliciousness can be had?

For others, less is often more. Smaller portions and reserved seasoning allow for more savoring, more courses and more exploration of flavors.

So who's right? Is less more or is more better?

Jackson Ward's Hidden Treasure Restaurant seems to be battling with this question.

Tucked away in a Clay Street basement, this year-old eatery takes the less-is-more approach to its homey décor and unaffected comfort food. However, its menu execution seems to think more is better, favoring quantity over quality.

Hidden Treasure's warm yellow walls are accented with vibrant, childlike paintings, and there's a cozy fireplace. Rustic wooden chairs surround intimately spaced tables set with white linens and candles, creating a humble yet inviting space.

The menu features unembellished comfort classics, such as meatloaf ($12.95), fried catfish ($11.95) and stuffed trout ($13.95). Simple desserts, such as lemon poundcake and peach cobbler, are nothing shy of homemade.

However, the menu's execution falters by veering too far into more-is-better terrain. Overly large portions and sometimes-overdone seasoning overwhelm rather than satisfy.

Big portions aren't necessarily bad, but when servings are large, servers should be menu guides rather than passive, friendly faces. Regardless of the restaurant, an unanticipated landslide of food can ruin any meal.

Take my recent dinner for example. After perusing the appetizers, we decided to start with she-crab soup and a roasted pear and pecan salad (both $6.95) before ordering entrees.

Our server jotted down our order with nary a peep (or hint of what was to come) and returned with warm, fluffy rolls drenched in butter, Parmesan and herbs.

The piping hot bowl of she-crab soup was bisque-rich, indulgently heavy with cream but lacking in signature sherry and crab.

Vibrant mixed greens were topped with warm, caramelized pears, balanced by the pungent jolt of blue cheese crumbles and tart raspberry vinaigrette. Paired with the rolls, the soup and salad were satisfying meals in themselves.

On Thursday and Friday nights, Hidden Treasure offers a surf'n' turf special ($16.95) -- sirloin or rib-eye served with crab cakes, salmon, crab legs, fried tilapia, fried lake trout or sauteed shrimp.

We chose sirloin and lake trout along with the salmon cake entree ($13.95), but vague menu descriptions proved problematic.

As we finished our first courses, our server surprised us by returning to take the forgotten orders for salad dressing and sides included with our entrees. Another salad? Wish we had known that earlier.

When our entrees arrived, quantity was more apparent than quality. Three delicately fried trout fillets were pleasantly greaseless but also underseasoned. Topped with onions and green peppers, the sirloin had more gristle and bitter char than meaty juiciness.

The nicely browned pair of Whopper-sized salmon cakes were chock-full of intense herbs and spices, but the interiors were so mushy the only salmon indicator was the strong fishy flavor.

Sides of Southern-style potato salad -- tender cubes of potato coated in a lush mustard-mayo-sweet-pickle mixture -- and mashed potatoes -- rich with butter, cream and a prickle of garlic -- were the highlight.

Carrot cake ($6.95) looked like such but tasted nothing of the sort. The three layers of cake were extremely moist, but, when combined with cloying cream cheese icing and what tasted like molasses, it was sweet to a teeth-aching fault.

As a nearby table of four paid their bill amid valiant attempts at three half-eaten desserts, they were shocked that their unexpectedly large sweet endings set them back $21.

Which made me think.

What if Hidden Treasure fully embraced the less-is-more approach -- scaling back the size and subsequent price of several items (or at least offering more informative service or menu descriptions)?

Perhaps both camps could agree that savoring trumps sustenance. dcraig@timesdispatch.com.