Johnna’s Pick of the Week: Clyde’s, An American Bar (DC)

While rummaging through a pile of clothing that we were planning to give away, we came across our old Clyde’s T-shirt. Wow, it must’ve have been about 10 or more years ago when we got this shirt, which means Clyde’s has been holding strong for quite sometime. Now you may wonder why we picked Clyde’s this week especially since this place has been around for ions. Well, we reevaluated why we do the Pick of the Week and what criteria must be in place before we make our decision. The top three reasons are: consistency, service and of course, the taste. So we thought, why Not Clyde’s instead of why?

Clyde’s is the DC restaurant. Funny when people come to the District and they ask the infamous question “where are the spots that we can only find in DC??”. Ha. In a city of over 500k residents and over a million in the surrounding territories, it is odd that there is not really that “distinct” taste. You know what we mean?? Just think: Chicago has deep dish pizza, New Orleans has creole seasoning everywhere and Philly has those cheesesteaks (*Yum.). When you visit each of these cities you look forward to having these “distinct” classic dishes of that region. DC does not have that “distinct” food but we do have a distinct mark on our territory and it’s called Clyde’s.

Nothing fancy, but classy enough for you to gather your corporate co-workers for a lunch or holiday party is what sums up the atmosphere of Clyde’s. Now we have been to Clyde’s a million and one times and we have no staple dish which ironically is a good thing. The menu changes so frequently, we really can’t keep up but each time we visit we are pleased with the alterations. On our most recent visit, we feasted on shrimp scampi (*simple in flavor but good), the calamari (*always a delicious appetizer option) and the Wild Mushroom Pâté en Croûte (*basically a creamy mushroom mixture baked in a flaky shell). We nibbled on a few more things but the point of today’s post is not really to focus on a specific dish but how Clyde’s never really seems to disappoint. Consistently good, satisfactory service and saporous menu selections.

Now when we get that same question “where to go in DC?”…we say go to Clyde’s. It’s basic All-American food, but it is the one thing you can only find in the District territory. With so many other sites to see in the Nations capitol, it’s no wonder why our “distinct” flavor must be simple, classic and reasonable. “Welcome to the District, can we introduce you to Clyde’s, An All-American Bar?”…

Category: Johnna's Pick of the Week, restaurant reviews, Washington D.C.