Plates dishes out eclectic, affordable cuisine

By Laurie Gordon

NEWTON — Located four doors down from the Newton Theater on Spring Street, Plates World Cuisine opened in May and gives customers a fresh, diverse menu amidst a charming atmosphere.

“Our customers like our pricing, compliment the ambiance and totally love the food,” said co-owner and chef Desiree Torre, “Sixty percent of our customer base come from Sparta. We want more locals and people from inside and outside the county to come enjoy the Plates experience.”

The concept for a cafe evolved into a taste-bud-tantalizing triumph featuring the option to enjoy the a la carte menu or, for lunch and days when the theater has a show, to opt for the in-and-out buffet. “The food is fresh,” Torre said, “I mean really fresh.” Torre doesn’t believe in marinading for hours. She preps just a few hours before each meal service and all salads are made as they are ordered. Her husband, Tony Torre, travels to specially hand-picked distributors of food and selects the very best.

The Torres met in Ontario, Canada. Desiree Torre grew up in London where the family’s maid taught her to cook and gave her special recipes and methods outside the norm. With a unique and well-liked cooking style in her back pocket, she helped her husband when he was the General Manager of the Cardinals minor league baseball team with food and entertainment as the team moved from Ontario to its new home in Sussex County.

The couple settled in Newton and loved both entertaining and offering their home to do fundraisers which they still enjoy and including a recent event for the Sussex County Sherriff’s Office. Meanwhile, the Cardinals left and Tony Torre became the Vice President/Business Development Officer at Sussex Bank, a job he still does in conjunction with the restaurant. Meanwhile, Desiree Torre tried her hand in the cosmetic business, but when her partner wasn’t as eager as she was to expand, the Torres decided it was time to do something else.

“We had always wanted to open a café,” Desiree said. And so they pursued that, but the available spaces just didn’t’ lend themselves to that. Then one day Desiree was in town and saw a building that formerly housed an art gallery was for rent. The Torres saw a chance to build on a café idea and open an eclectic restaurant. Plates was born with original intent to serve tapas on small plates. After a few weeks they realized “the tapas boom had pretty much passed by Sussex County,” Tony said. They transitioned to offering single appetizers instead and used their Plates name to underscore the unique triangular dishes they now use.

“The one thing I never have to worry about with Plates is the food,” Tony Torre said, “What Desiree makes is always fantastic.” Her style involves integrating some Indian and Caribbean influences along with the more traditional forms of steak, chops and fish. The result has catapulted Plates into the limelight as a go-to destination either before or after the Newton theater. They keep prices affordable, too, especially in light of the freshness of the food. The lunch buffet special, for example, is $7.50.

The Torres were pleased to be part of last month's A Taste of Newton where they sold out of Desiree's Hurry Home for Curry. They've also begun naming some of their dishes for celebrities who have performed at the Newton Theater. Recently, singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who was performing at the theater, dined at Plates and gave it a big thumbs up.

Locally, people including Heidi Weber have become very fond of Plates. “At Plates, you will have a fabulous, home-cooked meal prepared by a great chef served in a warm, intimate setting. Tony and Desiree's restaurant is a wonderful addition to our community.” Her sister, Gretchen Lauzon agrees, “Amazing food, friendly staff and beautiful atmosphere.”