This past weekend I turned 29.  And I realized, for the first time, that damn it, I’m getting old.  It snuck up on me, getting old that is.  Normally, celebrating my birthday with a case of Miller High Life until I am dancing on a table ( a very strong table) sounds like a good plan.  Considering the fact I can’t stay up past midnight anymore, I thought it might be time to have an adult birthday celebration.

I did a little research to find an upscale restaurant in Cleveland that I hadn’t been too yet.  I came across Table 45 and was surprised to see that they had been nominated for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.  That sold me.  Table 45 was the winner in my search, so I surfed over to Opentable.com to make the reservations.

We arrived at about 8 p.m. after a harrowing drive down Eddy Road (Damn you TomTom) and were greeted by our valet who I’m sure was thoroughly impressed with the luxurious stylings of our 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander.  I’m sure he didn’t have the privilege to park many cars that nice before.  A quick walk through the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel brought us to the doorstep of Table 45.

The host confirmed our reservation and walked us through the modern bar and meeting area to the other side of the restaurant to our table.  I was very impressed by the design of Table 45.  The long narrow restaurant glistened in the setting sun shining through the windows, the orange light bouncing off of the chrome and glossy plastic cast a warm glow on the many patrons enjoying their meals. 

We’ve Only Just Begun
I started my meal with a wonderful glass of Giesen Riesling 2006 ($7) that had a ripe lemon bouquet with hints of ginger and apricot.  Did that sound like I know what the hell I’m talking about?  I don’t.  It smelled like wine.  But it did taste very good, that I do know.  It went great with my Asparagus salad($8).

Making a big impression on the eyes, the decomposed salad came on a long plate with the following going from right to left: thin slices of red and green tomatoes stacked in a curl, a small pile of mesclun greens, a roasted shallot and five asparagus spears topped with crumbled blue cheese.  Lying beneath all of this was a sweet and tangy roasted shallot balsamic vinaigrette. While I’ve never been a big fan of blue cheese, its mild flavor allowed it to blend in with the other items comprising this dish.  The vinaigrette was good, but the clear standout was the freshness of the ingredients used in this raw application. 

The Main Course
The menu at Table 45 offers a wide variety of dishes, all of which have been given Chef Zack Bruell’s magic touch.  The entree section is divided into three parts Meats Etcetera, Fish Etcetera and Etcetera which was comprised of mostly pasta dishes that seemed like an afterthought for picky eaters when compared to the rest of the menu.  Being the fat man that I am I honed in on the meat section giving careful consideration to the Tandoori Oven roasted chicken, but finally settling on the five-spice braised short rib with stir-fry vegetables and a cilantro potato cake($25).

Presented on a large square plate, the massive short rib took me by surprise.  I had expected something much smaller and it had me wondering how big the cow was from which it had come.  It was larger than my fist and lying beside it on opposite corners were the cilantro potato cake and the long thin strips of stir-fry vegetables that were sprinkled with black sesame seeds. Looking at the whole dish, I must say that it didn’t make sense to me.  I get that it was supposed to have an Asian twist, but the stir-fry vegetables seemed quite out of place.  It may have been to that the flavor of the other Asian accents (cilantro and five-spice) where unnoticeable to me.

While seemingly lost from their rightful dish the stir-fry vegetables were cooked correctly and tasted good, if not a bit greasy.  On the other hand, the potato cakes were a perfect crispy compliment to the soft braised short rib, with tons of potato flavor in each bite. I could have easily downed a number of those.  What I can’t get over though was how good the braised short rib was, just amazing!  It was perfectly cooked and seasoned with a nice sauce that fortified that beefy flavor, but also added a needed bit of acid to cut the fattiness.  Speaking of fattiness, for being a short rib there wasn’t much there.

When it was all said and done I really enjoyed the dish, but not as a whole.  Each segment tasted great on its own never really getting along with the other items on the plate.  I would order this again just for that short rib though, it was that good.

Flawless Service
Amir, our server, was just what you would expect at an upscale restaurant, attentive to our every need and a true professional.  Never overbearing, but always there when needed he treated us with respect that can often be missing for a young couple at a fancy restaurant. 

A Fantastic Night
The entire night was perfect.  Table 45 is a wonderful setting for that special meal, even if its only that one time a year to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, you’ll appreciate the classy, modern atmosphere.  The food is upscale and so is the service, so treat yourself or someone important to you to a perfect night at Table 45.