I am in the process of relocating to Portland, Oregon and at the moment living in temporary housing in Portland’s Pearl District. Typically my gastronomical life is confined to whatever I have the energy to prepare after my 12-plus hour work day – a plate of pickles, maybe a salad, or sometimes some healthy grub from the Whole Foods located across the street.  This week, however, I was finally able to enjoy one of Portland’s finer eating establishments, Clyde Common.

Clyde Common is described as a “European style tavern serving delicious food and drinks in a casual and energizing space” and when I walked through the door I felt like I entered a friendly neighborhood eatery somewhere in England/Ireland. The tally board menu above the bar greeted me with the names of over 20 different types of whiskeys. I knew right then I this was going to have a very memorable evening.

I was dining this evening with a fellow new employee. We were seated at the end of a long common table near the kitchen where we were promptly greeted by our server Shannan (with an “a”).  Ever the hospitable host, Shannan offered drinks to start the evening. Since whiskey is my drink of choice this time of year I asked Shannan for a recommendation.  She promptly brought me a glass of Four Roses Single Barrel Whiskey, a relatively smooth, slightly peppery Kentucky bourbon.

Choosing an appetizer was a very tough decision.  The menu “starters” were quite diverse – from beets with watercress, cream cheese and pistachios to chicken fried chicken livers with cucumber and lemon aioli.  I decided to go with fideos with scallops and sausage in an ink vinaigretta.  Absolutely amazing!  The dish was so good I felt a bit embarrassed soaking up as much of the rich black squid ink sauce with pieces of fresh baked bread!

Selecting an entree was even more difficult as the menu contained food from all of my favorite food groups – pasta, fish, lamb, chicken, beef and pig.  As I surveyed the menu Shannan brought me another glass of whiskey – this time Four Roses Small Batch Whiskey.  Wow!  A mellower, well balanced, slightly less spicier whiskey.  I decided to go with the Clyde Common pig in braised cabbage with a shallot vinaigrette.  This amazing dish contained 3 variations of swine – salted pork belly, shredded pork shoulder and pork sausage.  An absolutely fantastic combination of flavors.

A third drink was definitely in order as I reviewed the dessert choices.  This third whiskey was Willett Potstill Reserve a wonderful even more mellower whiskey – slightly sweeter than the other two.  The dessert selection offered another nice assortment of tastes:  Lemon buttermilk pudding cake with white chocolate sorbet, Pear-Parsnip Clafoutis tart with vanilla ice cream, Chocolate Mousse with scotch-honey, peanut butter cream, and others.  I went with the Pear Tart which did not disappoint.

All in all I really enjoyed my dining experience at Clyde Common.  Given it is only a few blocks from my corporate apartment digs, I intend to dine there again soon.