Before you start the angry letter brigade berating me for spending a review on a chain restaurant, let me explain. Sometimes a chain restaurant comes along that is so different from everything we already have that it deserves our attention. The menu, the style or the service stands out in a way we think you should know about. Bonefish Grill is one such place.

The Bonefish Grill raises the bar for seafood in Colorado Springs with their variety of fish, knowlegeable staff and consistantly outstanding execution of dishes. Besides an array of fresh seafood, the menu offers appetizers, salads and grilled items for those who don’t care for seafood. The staff is well-educated, welcoming and accommodating. The food is superb, the fish easily equal to what I could get when I lived on the east coast. In fact, I can’t remember the last time a chain restaurant impressed me this much.

Whoever trains the staff at Bonefish has taught them well. Everyone is well-versed in the menu, including the various preparations and sauces with which you can customize your meal. In addition, on a busy, crowded Saturday evening, we went in with a party of ten. When one gentleman showed up with two extra people he hadn’t RSVPed for, the staff quickly and quietly found a two-top to add to our table, giving us enough room for everyone.

On the appetizer menu, everyone talks about the Bang Bang Shrimp ($8.90), crispy fried in a spicy sauce. I like the road less travelled, so I opted for the Saucy Shrimp ($8.90), where tender, juicy shrimp are sautéed in a tomato, lime and garlic sauce, accented with sundried tomatoes, meaty kalamata olives and salty crumbles of feta. You’ll want to save some of the house bread, a chewy, warm  focaccia, to soak up the remaining sauce.

XXXA simpler started is the steamed edamame (fresh young soybeans) ($3.90). Who doesn’t love squeezing the pods and popping the fresh beans into their mouth? The Singapore Calamari ($8.30) is a delicious take on fried squid. Along with tender rings, you also get tiny, golden, ten-legged nuggets to dip in the spicy sweet Asian sauce. For tender squid, you either need to cook it very quickly or for a very long time, and Bonefish has the flash-frying down to an exact science.

If you crave dishes that are beautiful as well as appetizing, order the beet and goat cheese salad ($3.90 with entree). Almost too pretty to eat, the salad starts with a bed of spring greens, topped with magenta pickled beets and onions plus creamy, snow-white goat cheese. The salad gets a crunch from candied pecans, and the whole thing is balanced with vinaigrette that’s neither overly sharp or sweet.

Bonefish offers up seven different grilled seafoods, from salmon to cold-water lobster tails. Each entree is offered with your choice of one of their signature sauces (mango salsa, chimichurri, Pan Asian or lemon butter. The wild Dorado (Mahi Mahi) ($19.30)  with chimichurri is an excellent combination. The traditional Argentinean sauce of parsley, oregano, olive oil, lime juice, garlic and red wine vinegar compliments the buttery, tender fish. Similarly, the Atlantic salmon ($17.30) was moist and fork-tender, paired with a sweet and piquant mango salsa. If you can’t decide, your server will be able to suggest which sauces pair the best with each selection.

A recent special on the menu was Orange Roughy Piccata with scallops and shrimp ($21.50). The fish was dusted with flour and sautéed, topped with a piccata sauce of white wine and capers that was missing the traditional brightness fresh lemon juice would have given it. While the shrimp and scallops were tender and delicious, they didn’t add anything to the finished product.

If you’re looking for over-the-top rich and delicious, you might want to try Pecan Parmesan Crusted Rainbow Trout ($17.50). Simple elements like succulent trout dusted with cheese and nuts, artichoke hearts and fresh basil hit new heights when combined under luscious lemon butter. While traditionalists might balk at the combination of cheese and fish, it works here because the Parmesan isn’t allowed to dominate, combining with the pecans to truly compliment the sweet trout.  Or the Longfin Tilapia Imperial ($18.30). You’ll never think of tilapia as plain ever again. The fish is stuffed with a creamy combination of scallops, shrimp, crabmeat and lemon caper butter, as sumptuous and filling as any red meat dish ever hoped to be.

This is not to say that Bonefish Grill is a peerless place without a single flaw. The current “fresh, seasonal vegetable” is a chickpea dish, similar in texture to baked beans, on the heavy side and lacking flavor. The fish in the fish and chips ($11.30) is flaky and moist, but the coating, while crunchy, is on the greasy side. The accompanying chips (French fries) are well seasoned but not as crisp as they could be.

The meal will end on a positive note if you order dessert. The specials menu offers chocolate crème Brule ($6.20), which I almost passed up because I don’t like custard.  I’m so glad I was persuaded, because beneath the crunchy, brittle topping is a velvety, deep chocolate delight more similar to mousse than custard. On the regular menu, Key Lime pie ($5.90) tops a buttery roasted pecan crust with a tangy citrus filling. But my favorite has to be Jen’s Jamaican Coconut Pie ($6.20). Each slice is overflowing with sweet, caramelized coconut with just enough custard to hold it together, topped with rum sauce.