Dining critic candidate No. 48

A Review of

PLATE WORLD CUISINE

Every day, around six o’clock, I face the same question: “What are we going to eat for dinner?” Arriving at an answer is often beyond aggravating, and way too often we find that by the time we decide many places are already closed! But praise the food gods, we now have a new option that will make deciding a little bit easier on those nights when we want a great meal in a fabulous setting. I discovered a gorgeous eatery called Plate World Cuisine.

I arrived at the north Colorado Springs eatery surprised by the surrounding area, which is pretty devoid of other restaurants. But the second I could clearly see Plate I was impressed. This restaurant is absolutely beautiful. The décor has a sort of Asian tropical flavor in which no detail was overlooked. From the silverware to the fantastical sloping ceiling to the dramatic waterfall behind the bar, Plate is from first glance a feast for the eyes. I wasn’t about to let the surroundings affect my impression of the food, however, so I tried my hardest to scan the menu with a harsh eye. This proved to be nearly impossible.

Plate World Cuisine is called such because Chef Ryan Blanchard refuses to follow the trend of “Fusion Cuisine,” the popular style of merging several distinct world flavors to create a new dish. Instead, he carefully prepares his menu according to a divided map of cooking styles including French, Latin, New American, Italian and Japanese. Each region has a selection of appetizers, salads and entrees.

First we sampled the pig tacos which came in fried wontons. They were served with chunky guacamole mixed with lots of sweet corn. The shells were perfect, crispy and flavorful without a hint of the hardness that taco shells usually have. We both agreed the pork was a little underseasoned, but still tasty enough to disappear in two seconds. Next up was a jicama and mango salad with mango habenero dressing. I was a bit wary of the habenero spice but a glaze of creamy and sweet dressing combined with the cool crunch of jicama made that fear dissapear. The salad was quickly followed by Peruvian roasted chicken on a bed of rice and some mango jicama slaw, and red snapper baked in banana leaves. The plating of the chicken was a little boring on the eyes but the flavor, crisp skin and juiciness more than made up. The plating of the snapper was beautiful, with layers of potato rosti and grilled vegetables.

The service at Plate was ridiculously great. Our server arrived at precisely the perfect moment with each course. It was almost scary. I kept waiting for a slip but it never ever came! Did they finally perfect the personality program for robots? Hmmmm…..

Plate World Cuisine is fun, beautiful food in a fun, beautiful setting. That annoying nightly question will be answered many times in the future by this great restaurant.