Restaurant Review: Downtown 140 in Hudson, Ohio

It seems for some reason that weekends are a blur during the holiday season. There’s just constantly stuff going on, people to see and big meals to make. In the greater Cleveland area, the weather is cold and we see the first inkling of winter with a dusting (or more) of snow. This year has been no exception- December is flying by like a high speed train trying to reach 2011 as fast as possible. Well, every now and again, people need to take some time, slow down and enjoy themselves. That’s what happened this past Saturday night at Downtown 140 in Hudson.

It’s hard to make plans with friends in December- it seems as though every weekend night is reserved for a holiday party of one form or another. When our friends suggested that we all go out to dinner, we settled on a night and started hunting around for a restaurant. After a little deliberation, we all agreed that the new menu at Downtown 140 looked appealing and we were all interested in sampling some of Chef Triskett’s food. So on a cold, blustery night we piled into the car for the trek to Hudson.

Downtown 140 is in an intriguing location in Hudson. It’s in the basement of a building with no windows. At first blush, you might think that this would detract from the dining experience, but I think that it leads to part of the charm of the location. As you enter through the front door, you are greeted by a small bar that is heavily stocked with excellent bottles of wine along with the full compliment of craft beers and liquor. The dark leather chairs are inviting (I know, I’ve sat in them a time or ten in the past) and are typically always occupied. The dining room has a nice layout with enough room between the tables to have an intimate experience but close enough that the conversations throughout the room tend to meld into a lively cacophony of voices. One of the most unique features of the restaurant is the massive, rough hewn stone wall that offers a strange sense of security to the atmosphere – it is truly something that you simply do not see in many restaurants. As with many dining venues, there is an open kitchen where one can watch the chefs ply their trade.

Tender and tasty longstem artichoke fritto. Photo by Scott Groth

This restaurant has typically been known for its Smallest, Small and Not So Small plates. The Smallest bites being single tastes of something, almost like an amuse buche. The Small plates are typically appetizer portions and the Not So Small being moderately sized entrees. Chef Triskett has changed up the vernacular a bit to First, Segue, Mid and Main. There were at least two items in each section of the menu that appealed to me enough to want to order them both. Fortunately, all the items I was interested in were ordered by other people at the table who were willing to share. Excellent- right? Kinda like having your cake and eating it too, but instead of cake it would be braised short ribs.

For years Downtown 140 has been known for its excellent wine list as well. On this particular evening, we brought our own bottles since we are members of the Downtown 140 wine club. We did peruse the wine list and there is something for everyone on the list. The wine club is something that people should inquire about if they are in the area. It’s a good deal and we always enjoy bringing wines from our cellar to pair with specific dishes.

A quick note about the service: our server, Steve, was spot on throughout the night.  It never felt as though he was encroaching on conversation and had the timing down just right between courses. Our dishes were all expedited at the same time which is always nice… I can’t stand it when one person at the table is left staring at the table cloth with no food, feeling like there is something wrong with their dish. This seems to happen more and more at restaurants these days, but not at Downtown 140. Between dinner and dessert, the table was cleared and the crumbs removed which you just don’t see at many restaurants anymore. It’s a nice touch.

Let’s get to the food. The meal started off with an offering of fresh breads. From what I remember, there were four kinds of breads but I think that only one was tried by everyone at the table: the mushroom gruyere. Wow- this was some seriously good bread. As always, it was accompanied by some fresh butter, reduced balsamic and a nice olive oil. Our table started off by ordering two of the Phyllo Spring Rolls ($3.50/piece) and Citrus Poached Gulf Shrimp ($3.50/piece) from the First menu. The spring rolls are filled with forest mushrooms, goat cheese and asparagus. The idea is solid and well thought out, however they were a little salty.  Not to the point of wanting to put it down, but just a little heavy handed.  The gulf shrimp were large and well cooked but seemed somewhat uninspired on the plate.  The consensus was that we should probably have tried the Ahi Tuna.

Next up was the appetizer course which was ordered from either the Segue or Mid portion of the menu. Our friends ordered the Lump Crab Cakes ($13) and the Soup du Jour ($7) which was cream of garlic and potato with a pan seared scallop. The crab cakes are served with crisp capers and a red pepper sauce that was very tasty. The cakes themselves were made well with a good balance of crab meat to filling and they were cooked perfectly.  I liked that there were three on the plate making it a nice appetizer portion.  We were told that the soup was delicious with a nice consistency. The pan seared scallop looked tender and juicy.  I smelled the soup and it did please the senses.

Angus beef filet- cooked perfectly but there is a lot of stuff happening on this plate. Photo by Caroline Groth

Caroline ordered the Warm Poached Pears ($8) salad which was plated beautifully. The endive was fresh and crisp, the pears were executed perfectly and married well with the dressing. My favorite component on the dish was the smoky blue cheese which elevated the flavors on the plate.  This is a dish that will be ordered again when we return.  I couldn’t resist trying the Longstem Artichoke Fritto ($9) with pepperoncino gremolata and lemon aioli. Just the description alone makes my mouth water. The last time I had fried artichokes was at Zack Bruell’s Chinato restaurant (read the review here) in downtown Cleveland- at the time he was calling them Fried Artichokes Roman Ghetto Style. Chef Triskett’s are more delicate and tender than what we had at Chinato.  Everyone around the table enjoyed the crispy, flavorful bites.

The big dilemma came with the decisions about our main entree selections.  It seemed as though everyone was hung up on at least two dishes and I was having a hard time deciding between three.  Steve told us about the specials which was akin to throwing a monkey wrench into my decision. Four dishes to choose between now.  The sound of braised shortribs with a nice glaze served with brussels sprouts was music to my ears.  But, I also wanted to try the Veal Osso Buco, the Ohio Pork Chops and the Angus Strip Steak with the truffled mushroom ragu.  Decisions decisions.  I made my decision on the fly after everyone else ordered.

Our friends ordered the special Short Ribs ($28) and the Veal Osso Buco ($28) served with a very good saffron and goat cheese risotto, balsamic red onion jam and some jus.  The bite of short rib that I tried was tender and delicious with a nice glaze.  The meat was cooked perfectly.  It is easy to overcook short ribs and they start to break down too much resulting in a strange texture in your mouth.  These were cooked spot-on and I was told that it paired well with everything on the plate.  The veal we tried was tender with a light and flavorful sauce.  It paired very well with the saffron risotto which had just a hint of saffron that didn’t overpower the dish.  It tasted fantastic.  From my vantage point, both dishes had comfort food written all over them and boy did they deliver.

Tender and delicious spare ribs- perfect on a cold, winter night. Photo by Scott Groth

The Angus Beef Filet ($30) Caroline ordered comes with haricots verts, potato fondue and a potato chip salad with some red wine syrup.  I picked the Ohio Pork Chops, lured in by the promise of crisp pork belly, brussels sprouts and a cider reduction.  The filet was cooked to perfection- rare plus just as she ordered it.  All the elements on the plate were executed well, which speaks highly of Chef Triskett’s abilities in the kitchen.  The one complaint my wife made was that there are simply too many components on the plate.  The focus of the dish was confused and the meat kind of got lost in the shuffle.  For the money, the meat should be the star of the plate.  Finally, my pork dish left me wishing that I had ordered the Short Ribs, the Osso Buco or the Strip Steak.  Although the plating was nice, the pork itself was overcooked and as a result was pretty dry with some chew to it.  In my estimation, the dish was light on the crispy pork belly and heavy on the acids with both the cider reduction and the addition of fine julienne cut Granny Smith apples.  I found that even though the meat was a little dry, I would rather eat it without the sauce because of the sharp taste.  The brussels sprouts and smoked sweet potatoes were prepared nicely.  I did enjoy the pork belly which was crisp and succulent.

Ohio Pork Chops with brussels sprouts and crispy pork belly. Photo by Scott Groth

After the meal, we took a breather and gabbed with our friends for a while before ordering dessert.  Our friends both ordered the House-made Donuts ($8) with a trio of dipping sauces.  They were definitely freshly made and smelled wonderful.  Although I did not try them, the reports were unanimous: two thumbs up.  Caroline ordered the Lava Cake and a cappuccino.  The lava cake, unfortunately, was more like a cupcake.  The center was almost solid and the outside was a bit dry.  I have a feeling that the lava cake was fired first and had to wait for a while until the donuts were ready.  The cappuccino was massive and delicious.  For me, well, I had a full glass of wine left and went for the cheese plate which had some quince puree, natural honeycomb and candied nuts alongside some pretty darn good cheese.  Unfortunately, I didn’t write the names of the cheese down so I can’t pass along my recommendations.

All told, we left Downtown 140 happy.  The kitchen had a good showing, with the overwhelming majority of the dishes ordered well executed and tasting like a professional Chef was at the helm who takes pride in his food.  The menu speaks for itself when everyone at the table has a hard time trying to decide between several dishes they would love to try. Personally, I would like to try their strip steak and several other Segue and Mid choices. If they have a short rib special again, that will be ordered hands down. Overall, if you’re looking for an inviting restaurant, good tasting food and a well developed wine list, Downtown 140 would be a solid choice any night of the week.