clyde common

when tim was in town, jen and her boyfriend lyle had been talking about this place in portland called clyde common. i had never been before, but all the food they had talked about sounded so amazing and very well prepared. we decided that after our day trip to newport and to the wineries we would have second dinner there:) i was very excited, not only because i had heard so much about the place, but lyle kept saying how great the desserts there were! and if you already hadn't guessed i have the LARGEST SWEET TOOTH in the world! blame my parents for giving me too much chocolate as a child, or maybe it was all the candy in willie wonka and the chocolate factory...hmmm. well, back to the point when we got to clyde common it was pretty late, maybe around 10. they have late night specials and we were eager to eat and check out the menu...

sorry for the lack of light, its pretty dark in there and i only had a candle to help me out. but i think that was one thing i enjoyed, the ambiance was wonderfully romantic. the restaurant itself is really open with an upper level and the lower level. the lower level has the open kitchen, bar, and large beautiful windows looking out to the street. the tables are large family style tables, no small individual, so if you don't know the person sitting next to you, you soon will. which i thought was a wonderful idea, i think it forces you to step outside your own comfort zone. there were a few couples there out for a late dinner or drinks, which told me that this was a great place to just "hang out" at, overall a very relaxing spot.

such simple elegance...

everyone impatiently waiting for their food. we couldn't decide what to eat for the longest time because there were so many things and so many things i had never heard of. our poor waitress, we kept having to send her back because we hadn't decided what we wanted and we kept asking questions because we just didn't know what everything was. and if you work in the food business you could fairly mark us as "those kinds" of customers that night".
i finally opted out for a simple salad since the "clam chowda" from mo's earlier had filled me up pretty well...

this is the chowda, so yummy i had to put in a picture!!

this is my escarole salad with green goddess dressing, which is kind of like a light pesto with lemony flavors that follow, very fresh, with prosciutto all over...mmmm bacon^_^

this grilled cheese was delicious, i don't know why but i seriously think pesto can go with anything!! well almost, but they put it with their grilled cheese which i thought was pretty ingenious^_^ pair it with their pickles, which are different kinds of veggies and hard boiled egg pickled, so delectable!! now, on to the best part...

this is the best ice cream sandwich i have EVER HAD!! its peanut butter and vanilla ice cream sandwiched between chocolate cookies, over chocolate sauce, with toasted marshmallows on the side and peanut brittle on top. yes, it was sway worthy and totally ROCKED my chocolate world!! lyle really wasn't lieing about their amazing desserts! 

we also go a mixed berry cobbler, with a little biscuit top and vanilla basil ice cream...drool!

it was delicious^_^

so was this^_^ i'm going to go here again to grab some drinks and maybe a dessert...or two later this week. definitely one of my favorite places to go in portland^_^