Cleveland 2008: Table 45

Situated (somewhat oddly) in the Intercontinental at the Cleveland Clinic (I guess doctors at conferences and long-term patients' families need good food too), Zack Bruell's Table 45 is a spacious and open format, with niches carves across an expansive room, done in blond woods and dark letters.

While they were out of both of our first two wine selections, the entire waitstaff was extremely helpful and brought us a bottle of Torres, Mas Las Plana '97, which was a nice Bordeaux-styled South American with good earth tones. The waitstaff (numerous) were highly professional and amazing throughout the meal (terrible state of the world that this is *such* a surprise), but I applaud them.

The Naan of the Day, a fontina cheese naan, was a gracious portion and served with three sauces (tomato, hummus and a curry aioli - all very spicy).

The menu was substantial, and themed with many Indian flavors. We had a large party, but highlighted a range of dishes, including Scallops, Indian Peking Duck, Lamb and Venison.

I myself sampled the Tandoori Pork Belly, the Crispy Calamari and the Maple Glazed Venison with Bacon and Pumpkin Spaetzle.

The calamari was a bit too heavily breaded, and I would have served it with the curry aioli. The Tandoori Pork Belly was excellent, and the cumin-scented rice and bok choy was well-paired. One of our party also raved about the Beet Salad.

The entrees were universally well-prepared, with visual elements highlighting the Indian theme. The venison was much less gamey (and 'chewy') than a typical venison dish. The pumpkin spaetzle was quite nice, as was the sauteed spinach. I sampled the duck, which was very good (albeit a bit fatty) as well.

In sum, a shining high-end Star of American-India in the hospital district, with a few things to work on. But the service and several good dishes more than compensate for the 'room for improvement'.