I should preface this post, and the subsequent drinking ones, by telling you that since I was driving, I merely took a sip to taste and handed off the rest of my drinks to others.
Gourmet Pigs wanted to check out Clyde Common because the bartender/bar manager, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, has gained quite a bit of renown for his old-fashioned cocktails. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the day we visited.
Nonetheless, even without the famed bartender, one of the best parts of going to Portland bars during happy hours and late nights is the cheap eats. Seriously. I'm talking $2 to $5 for appetizers and desserts. So I was really more excited to try the food than the drinks anyway.
I requested a seat by the window. Better for pictures! But it was reserved. After assuring the waiter that we'd be long gone by the time the party was expected to arrive more than an hour later, we ended up sitting at the end of the long communal table.
Gourmet Pigs and I ordered a few drinks from the $5 Happy Hour menu while we waited for Wandering Chopsticks reader Dylan to meet up with us. I was amused by the sound of "Heavy Petting," which I thought would be a little quirky for the blog, but the waiter didn't seem to think it was funny. In hindsight, I guess a drink named "Heavy Petting" wasn't that funny anyway, but still...not even a hint of a smile. I was intrigued by the use of quinine syrup in the drink since as far as I knew, it was only used to treat malaria.
We ended up going with Nasturtium, Dolin blanc vermouth, Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, Bonal Gentian-Quina, and lemon peel, $5. Whoa! Too strong!
And B.M.O.C. (big man on campus, I presume?), bourbon, raw ginger syrup, Angostura, and soda water, $5. This was more my style, and the drink Dylan ordered when he arrived, so definitely the more popular of the two.
We ordered the daily charcuterie board, $5, which came with bread, hard-boiled egg, pickled onions and gherkins, and salami. Love the freshness of the colors.
Flatbread with white bean puree, ricotta salata, raisins, pine nuts, and greens, $6. The raisins sounded a little odd, but worked really well in contrast to the smooth bean puree.
My favorite appetizer though were these awesome fried chickpeas, $3.
I think they were every so lightly battered and fried (unless that's the texture chickpeas take on when fried?) and then seasoned. Must try this at home. Crunchy outside, creamy inside, and sooo addictive.
Dylan also added an order of grilled baguette, Nutella, jam, and hazelnuts, $4. So simple and so good. Who doesn't love warm baguettes and Nutella?
As we tried to figure out where to go next and then for dinner, Dylan suggested Teardrop Cocktail Lounge, because they make their own bitters. Definitely appealing to Gourmet Pigs who wanted to try as many cocktail bars as possible. So off we went.
All Oregon posts can be found with the tag Series: Oregon, but I suggest reading this particular trip in this order:
I'm Coming Home
Bunk Sandwiches - Portland - Oregon
Horsetail Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Multnomah Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Wahkeena Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Bridal Veil Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Shepperd's Dell Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Latourell Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Crown Point Vista House (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Stinging Nettle Soup
Stinging Nettle Tea
Nai Xao Xa Cuon Banh Trang (Vietnamese Sauteed Lemongrass Venison Rice Paper Rolls)
Thirsty Lion Pub and Grill - Tigard - Oregon
Reuben Sandwich
Argyle Winery - Dundee - Oregon
Hawks View Cellars - Sherwood - Oregon
Clyde Common - Portland - Oregon
Teardrop Cocktail Lounge - Portland - Oregon
Clyde Common
1014 SW Stark St.
Portland, OR 97205
503-228-3333
Lunch Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Happy Hours Monday to Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Dinner Monday to Friday 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Late Night Menu Monday to Thursday 11 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
*****
1 year ago today, Com Suon Cha Trung (Vietnamese Rice with Pork Chop and Steamed Egg Omelet).
2 years ago today, Spaghetti alla Bolognese.
3 years ago today, Southern fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cream gravy redux.
4 years ago today, Chicken Fingers
Nice looking cocktails! Those fried chickpeas do look good!
ReplyDeleteFun fact: Did you know quinine can be found in tonic water? :D
ReplyDelete-Susie
I tried making those chickpeas at home (got a recipe somewhere), but they turned out more dry and chewy than crisp/creamy. So maybe there's some trick I missed. Nice shots, by the way - that window helped :-)
ReplyDeleteoddlyme said...
ReplyDeleteWC -
And one of the extra best things about Portland Happy Hour is that, in downtown Portland, they have it on weekends as well!
Visiting there with my husband, I got so spoiled. I think we had one "regular" dinner, other than that, we ate our way through the towns happy hours.
One of our favs was Portland City Grill - the kung pao calamari was not to be believed. And yes, I think it was under $5!
For our flight back, we walked to Ken's bakery and got their sandwiches. One of my best airline meals EVER : )
Hope you get to go back up there and play again soon!
May 23, 2012 1:38 PM
Oddlyme,
I like Portland City Grill for the view. I think I had crab cakes there one night for only a few dollars too! Pilsner room is another fave for late-night cheap eats.
P.S. I had to cut and paste your comment back down because of the link. Trying to cut down on Spam, so I don't allow links in comments. I normally hit delete, but you're a long-time reader so thought I'd explain.
W&S,
I have to try making some to see if I can replicate the recipe.
Susie,
Is that what causes the bitterness?
Nikki,
I've seen recipes online that call for baking them. But I think it's the frying that really gave these chickpeas the crisp/creamy flavor. Baking would dry out the inside, I think?
WC - Yikes! I did not know about the spam potential. I will not link again, I promise : )
ReplyDeleteOddlyme,
ReplyDeleteNo worries. It's just when links appear in comments, the Spambots seem to hone in on that and deluge the post. Maybe they do that in general, but I just felt it was better to have a blanket policy so that covers self-promotional linking too.