Clyde's

on an impromptu friday evening, a few close buddies of BOOF including Sho, twinskii, their sig others (j$ and bl), and I all decided to head out to jazz in the sculpture garden, a friday evening favorite. after a few glasses of sangria, some brazilian jazz and a little too much DC heat and humidity, we all decided that we were starving and because this is Sho's former stomping ground, she recommended that we head to clyde's for a bite.

because Sho knew some members of the clyde's staff, my view of the restaurant will definitely be biased but i have always had a fond place for clyde's in my heart. clyde's is a DMV restaurant food chain and i have been to the locations in both georgetown and chinatown and had good experiences at both; however, this is a review for the chinatown location.

located right in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of chinatown, clyde's sits adjacent to the verizon center as a pronounced restaurant spanning two levels and with entrance from both the street and the cinemas. the restaurant is fitted with dim lights, varied artwork (a lot of european influences), dark brown tables and a mix of both hardwood floors and carpeting upstairs. there are three bars in the clydes in chinatown (two downstairs, one upstairs), so it never really gets too busy and too difficult to get a drink. nevertheless, because it is such a hot spot it does get busy for dinner but unless their is a big event going on at the verizon center (Caps game), you should always be able to get a seat for dinner with not too much of a wait.

clyde's features "traditional american" cuisine and with aussie buddy bl in town, it seemed like the perfect option.

to start off, i ordered the zucchini fritters. i love zucchini in any form so i was really excited to see it in the fried variety, in a restaurant! they were fried well, the seasoning was good and did not take away from the natural flavor of the zucchini. all in all, i was pleased.

BOOF buddy, twinskii, ordered the nachos which were topped with ground beef, cheddar cheese, guacamole, sour cream, sliced jalapenos and pic de gallo. she enjoyed them but nothing too special.

other BOOF buddy, j$, ordered the thai marinated steak salad which included mango, carrots, cucumber, toasted peanuts and chili lime dressing. the flavor was good and a very nice option as an entree salad.

you'll have to excuse my forgetfulness because i can't really remember what BOOF buddies bl and Sho ordered but I am pretty certain it was of the burger variety. I also do recall that BOOF buddy bl ordered some oysters on the half shell and he mentioned that they were good as well.

i ordered the grilled portobello topped with roasted peppers, zucchini, grilled red onions, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, pesto mayonnaise on toasted multigrain. the sandwich was very tasty and i think because it was topped with such great veggies but yet the sandwich could still be bitten into without being overwhelmed by too much stuff and too much flavor.

all in all with SUPER service to boot, i enjoyed my time at clydes. well, i always enjoy my time at clyde's. there is nothing too special and spectacular about the food and flavors that they produce but it is also a good and satisfying meal. perfect for a movie night or a pre/post-game meal.

Grade: B+/B (A for service C+ for food)