Cleveland 2008: Downtown 140

Cleveland, well, more specifically, the small town of Hudson, Ohio, has been graced by "big city" dining. For years, my travel to my hometown of Cleveland had been plagued by no fine dining; then by some solid, but perfunctory steak and Italian upscale joints; most recently, a rash of "hip" and "trendy" restaurants have exploded, but they have mostly been the type that couldn't have made it in a major metropolitan market ~ second tier spin-offs to a land of untested palates. Finally, at long last, the real deal has arrived in this idyllic New England-looking village in between Cleveland and Akron.

Shawn and Tiffany Monday's Downtown 140 is an amazing respite from the fine dining chains that have cornered the market on meals costing more than $25 a head in the Cleveland area. Amazing dishes crafted in a tiny open kitchen are a testament to Shawn's creativity and efficiency, whilst Tiffany manages the crowd and has hand selected one of the best wine lists in country, literally.

Shawn proffers hand made soups to order, amazing "by the piece" tastes (grilled figs wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with goat cheese, tempura shrimp, market fresh sashimi with delightful spicy sauces), and a range of ever changing appetizers and entrees, with a focus on organic, local ingredients (I have had excellent fish, steak, veal, chicken in my numerous visits there). The dishes alone put this restaurant into my "Global Top 10" alongside names such as Alinea, MOTO and Bouley Bakery.

To further inform my comment on the wine list, I did indeed say it - this is one of the best wine lists in the country, period. I said it - a robust selection of not only the "French standards" (think Latour, Ducru, Margaux) and new world high end wines (such as Quintessa, Cheval des Andes, Nickel & Nickel) but also up and comers that Tiffany has introduced me to - which I consider (perhaps with some hubris) to be no small feat. I saw wines such as Rocket Science here before it came to frequent the lists of New York and Chicago fine establishments, as one example.

These two are a team which solidified my decision to put them on the Cress_Travel top 10; it has the powerful combination of Shawn and Tiffany to seize the imaginative palate and delight the oenophile, and a well-trained, friendly and knowledgeable staff that makes my increasingly regular meals here when in Cleveland as enjoyable as any in the major culinary capitals of the world.