From small plates to shared plates: let’s eat (and save some money)!

March 13, 4:58 PMLarimer Square Restaurants ExaminerMargaret Ebeling

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Salmon & caviar potato chips (c) Marc Piscotty Photo

Your friend announces that she has selected a small plates restaurant for dinner. You thought you were going to eat – something more than the morsel on a plate. And you know you need something more when enjoying a glass of wine or two, or three…She, on the other hand, pecks away at small plates like a delicate bird. Oh to find a happy medium, and find it at a very good value.

The doors opened a mere 2 hours ago at Corridor 44 where they unveiled a new menu that has the best of both worlds: small plates and shared plates. Reading between the lines, the latter means larger portions that can be made for one or can be more social in allowing all to jump in and try. This portioning done in the kitchen makes a lot of sense for a Champagne bar – where you want to nosh and nibble yet still fill your tummy so that those bubbles don’t go straight to your head.

Here is a good menu for two people – each orders an appetizer and an entrée:

Smoked salmon & caviar potato chips with crème fraîche 8

Asian grilled tuna sandwich “by the twos” with cucumber & ginger 12

Filet mignon with mushroom - thyme sauce & crispy fried onions 18 (note that this dish is available in a smaller portion for 10)

Lamb chop “lollypops” with pomegranate molasses, cucumber-olive salad 14

Total bill: $52 for two guests, plus tax and tip

Here is a good menu for four people that feel no shame reaching their forks and fingers in every direction across the table:

Oysters on the half shell with cocktail & mignonette sauces   (½ dozen) 12

Mussels in green curry coconut broth with fennel, scallions & grapes 12

Stuffed potato skins with baked brie, pancetta lardons and aged balsamic vinegar 7

Prosciutto, brie & green apple sandwich “by the twos” 9

Crab cakes with roasted tomatoes & lemon aioli as a sandwich 14

Seared salmon with chive beurre blanc, crab & apple-fennel salad 8 for smaller portion  (15 for larger portion)

Lobster tempura salad with asparagus, avocado, fried capers, champagne vinaigrette 20

Surf & turf: two filets each topped with jumbo shrimp, two sauces 24 (14 for smaller portion)

Side of C44 truffle parmesan fries 6

Total bill:

$112 for four guests ($28 per person), plus tax and tip

No matter how you eat, this menu is truly engineered to shatter the hesitation that many feel about small plates. All we want is some variety and some formidable portions, and we want it all at a good price. Is that so much to ask? Corridor 44 thinks not – let’s toast to that.