I discovered the Portland restaurant scene relatively recently (August 2007) and I deeply regret not going earlier. My very first night in Portland I ate at Clyde Common on the recommendation of a hotel concierge, and little did I know that this restaurant–which had been open less than a year at that point–would become my favorite restaurant in my favorite restaurant city in the US. There’s a certain kind of sublimity that comes from the perfect pairing of an eater and a restaurant, when the personalities of each are completely in sync. Though I wouldn’t call Clyde Common the “best” restaurant in the US (or even in Portland necessarily), it embodies, in a way few other restaurants do, my particular restaurant personality. The French Laundry and Jean Georges are great, but I would hate to eat there for every meal of my life. Not so with Clyde Common.
RECS: Most restaurants have a specialty—meats or seafood, unusual pairings or pure invention—but Clyde can do it all, from simple Moroccan chickpeas to a whole fish cooked several different ways. Plan to eat here more than once, no matter how long you visit.
