A Power Lunch at Clyde Common

Generally, when people ask me about a power lunch spot in Portland, and they want something besides the traditional steakhouse like a Ringside establishment or Urban Farmer, my mind goes to Higgins to especially showcasing Northwest and local. This is followed further on the list with maybe Davis Tavern, Gruner, and Clark Lewis. Recently though, a new fantastic lunch option has been highlighted onto my radar that I would say immediately after Higgins now on my short list- and that’s lunch at Clyde Common.

Clyde Common offers a well rounded menu of options showcasing the season and region, without the questionable people hanging on the sidewalks like Davis Tavern and with a more modern, hip vibe like Gruner and Clark Lewis but more approachable food that is sophisticated but not fancy.

As you are waiting for your lunch party to assemble and read the menu, go ahead and order a snack – everyone will thank you. The roasted garlic cashews and house marinated olives and popcorn with tōgarashi, honey, and butter sound like very low key bar snacks, but are worth it as you will find yourself continually reaching into the bowl for more as you can’t help wanting to keep that tastiness lasting that balances salty and sweet and bit of savory. These snacks are available on the dinner and happy hour menu as well.

If your party is a little hungrier, you can’t go wrong sharing a Clyde Common + Olympia Provisions charcuterie plate that includes meat goodies that vary depending on what is on hand, which could include (based on what I’ve seen on visits) sopressata, chicken liver or pork liver mousse, country pork pate, saucisson d’alsace or saucisson sec, chorizo navarre, lamb summer sausage, beef tongue pastrami, or various Ancient Heritage Dairy cheeses, as well as pickles, mustard & bread of course. Be sure to ask to see what your board will be boasting. It would be a great choice to accompany cocktails at dinner or happy hour too.

One thing I appreciated is that there are plenty of vegetarian options to choose from – look in the Clyde Common small plate sections for options like a daily soup that I’ve seen vary from cauliflower soup to a summer vegetable gazpacho with basil; there’s also grilled sweet corn with espelette & lime aioli, cotija, and cilantro (warning a little messy to eat as you see it comes on the cob), seared cauliflower with salbitxada and parsley and or a simple green salad with fennel and grana (you can add grilled chicken or seared trout to any salad if you wish). One of my favorites is the simple small plate of fried shishito peppers with citrus vinaigrette,

A large plate of house tagliatelle with arugula pesto, egg yolk, and fried spring onion satisfied hunger without going overboard to take you into naptime. And look how eggscellent it is (sorry couldn’t resist).

If you are a meat eater though, I would definitely point out the lunch only special of smoked pork belly sandwich, slaw, Caroline style BBQ sauce served with salad or fries. Unlike most BBQ pork sandwiches, it’s a chopped version of the pork and not drenched with sauce so you can taste the meat and whisper of smoke. I’m also a fan of Carolina style sauce which is much lighter instead of the sweeter or spicier BBQ sauces (real Carolina sauce is more vinegary than this – the Clyde Common version is thin but not as acidic).

The meat is juicy and moist, as you can see. I would have given up the fries and bun and slaw even just to eat a small pile of the smoked pork belly by itself.

If you happen to come for happy hour or diner instead of lunch (or perhaps in addition to…), definitely don’t miss a special touch by Chef Carlo  Lamagna from his heritage and family of the Phillippines, the pork and shitake lumpia. It’s similar to an egg roll, but a Filipinio version that is crispier and meatier than what you would normally get from a Chinese style egg roll. This is such excellent drinking food that is just too underrepresented in Portland and the US in general. The dish shown below is a normal than average portion for my dining party and doesn’t represent a normal serving. But isn’t it the fanciest presentation of lumpia you’ve ever seen?

I’m also so in love with the happy hour only saganaki and olive bread but not the way you think. Of course you can’t go wrong with seared cheese… but that bread is an unbelievable revlation, I actually savored and took smaller bites of the bread to make it last as long as possible because it is so delicious, more than the cheese. Usually I ignore the bread in meat and cheese boards to focus on the main event, but in this case the olive bread is the star with it’s buttery briochie with specks of olive embedded as surprises. Wow.

To further confuse you on whether you should come here for lunch, happy hour, and/or dinner, I’ll just leave this survey of many of the Clyde Common House Cocktail (available all day) here. I am a fan of the happy hour at Clyde Common, as you can see, and that saganaki (and now I know I was missing out by not having the lumpia too).

• Barrel Aged El Presidente with rum, blanc vermouth, Grand Marnier, grenadine aged for three months in a  bourbon whiskey barrel
  
• Coffee Daiquiri with Appleton V/X rum, lime, Tia Maria and brown sugar
  
• Barrel Aged Negroni with gin, sweet vermouth, Campari, aged for two months in a bourbon whiskey barrel
  
• Daily Punch, this one happened to be Gin, Lemon, Pineapple and White Wine
  
• Pacific Standard with vodka, lemon, ginger, honey, soda is also a happy hour special price cocktail
  
• The Bourbon Renewal with bourbon, lemon, cassis, bitters is discounted at happy hour and my personal favorite cocktail
  

The happy hour burger is a good deal, but don’t overlook the Clyde Common Happy Hour dish of the Mussels that comes with lots of frites and is great with the Daily Punch or Pacific Standard

And these desserts of a parfait and ice cream cake

So, which meal at Clyde Common do you want to come to?

Disclosure: I was treated to a lunch with other Portland bloggers by Little Green Pickle, but paid for my own meals at happy hour and another lunch at other times. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.