Clyde’s, Friendship Heights, Maryland

Clyde’s Restaurant Group is one of the staples of Washington dining, utterly dependable for a good meal at a moderate price. It started out with one restaurant/bar — or bar/restaurant — in Georgetown. That was in 1963, and since then it has grown to a dozen properties in the Washington area, with three more on line. Half of the dozen, the Old Ebbitt Grill, The Tombs, 1789 , Fitzgerald’s, The Hamilton, and The Hamilton Live, fly under different flags but they share an extraordinary ability to make money. The Old Ebbitt is the 5th-grossing restaurant in the United States.

We all decided to go to Clyde’s Chevy Chase after an event at Ella’s school to mark Patrick’s birthday. We managed to be seated promptly and settled in. Each Clyde’s has a theme — hunting and fishing, art — and the Chevy Chase Clyde’s (actually Friendship Heights) is the Transportation Clyde’s. Smaller-sized race cars, airplanes, and travel posters set the theme, and a miniature train circles the ceiling. It’s huge fun for children, and it charmed Ella and Lily.

But to the food. Liza had the Faroe Islands salmon, which came with a pretty salad of mixed greens, walnuts, and pear ($26.99).

Liza was enthusiastic about the salmon and the salad, both of which were admirably fresh and well prepared.

Nancy limited herself to a bowl of chili ($8.99 and $0.59 each for the onions, sour cream, and cheese). Nancy thought the chili could have used more pep, but at the time Nancy did not fully appreciate the magical curative powers of Texas Pete.

Michael ordered a burger topped with sautéed mushrooms ($16.99 plus $0.59 for the mushrooms). It came, of course, with fries. Michael gave it a full-mouth thumbs up.

I should have taken a better view of Michael’s burger. I confess that I didn’t pay a lot of attention to others’ orders because I was focused on my own cheeseburger with blue cheese and bacon ($17.99).

That’s a generous serving of bacon, and some pretty fries. (I prefer mustard to ketchup on fries.). The fries were nice and crisp outside with fluffy centers and a good flavor.

So how was the burger? Take a look.

That view suffers a bit from that blob of the tomato’s locular gel and from the awkwardness of taking a photograph while holding the burger, and I should have taken the photo after one bit. But one good bite deserves another. And another. But just look at the meat. Now that’s a medium rare burger, as close to perfect as mere mortals can get. The burger had beefy flavor and the blue cheese, a change from my usual cheddar or American, added a welcome tang. The bacon added texture and … bacon.

The girls, Ella and Lily, had, respectively, cheese pizza and rotini with butter and parmesan ($9.99 each), both with applesauce. They both ate a decent amount, but the train held greater interest than the food.

All in all, it was a good meal. Aside from the chili, the food was excellent and the service was prompt and professional. The pricing was reasonable if a little curious at times, such as the extra charges for the chili toppings and only an extra dollar for two big bacon strips. But Clyde’s knows what it’s doing. The real strength of each of the Clyde’s restaurants, I think, is that their wide ranging menus contain something for every taste, dietary restriction, and allergy, and they dependably prepare that something well, and for a fair price, at least by local standards. 

What? You say you’ve never been to a Clyde’s? Good Lord, friend! Go now!

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