Clyde's, you were good to us

In the Spring of 2019, my hometown buddy, Mitch told me his friend was opening a restaurant in Des Moines and that it was going to be done well.

That Summer, signage started to go up in the East Village and by fall we got a look at the beautifully designed bar. It was clear that Mitch's friend was both experienced and meticulous, and we were excited to give it a shot.

As soon as Clyde's Fine Diner opened, my buddy, Thome and I went to check it out while my wife, Kari was out of town. I got the fried chicken and peas, which was something you don’t see on the menu every day and just pure comfort food. You might imagine that Kari was jealous and a little mad that I went without her, hahah... but, I brought her back in the following week. We sampled the small plates, fell in love with the buffalo potatoes, and introduced ourselves to Mitch's friend, Chris - the owner and head chef.

Kari and I quickly became regulars, bringing in her family, my family, friends, and had many date nights over the next few months.

And then... Covid hit. 

Clyde's shut down for a while but figured out how to reopen with takeaway service. They were one of the few places we trusted, so after a couple months, we ordered our first takeout of the pandemic. Man, after that we ordered so much takeout from Clyde's. Sandwiches, apps, cocktails, bloodies, specials, holiday charcuteries, and eventually became regulars of "Clyde's Fine Burgers." On occasion, they'd even send us home with complimentary shots of Malört, haha.

After 414 days of pandemic / quarantine life, Clyde’s would be the first restaurant we dined in again. Once we were vaccinated and started to reintegrate with society, we brought everyone we could - friends, family, and we finally got Mitch and Jessica to join us. We were back to being regulars IRL and we wanted the place to thrive.

Clyde's had some of the most creative chefs in the city - a scratch kitchen supporting local suppliers and still selling everything at approachable prices. They made their own noodles, sauces, sausages, everything.

The place was so damned versatile.

You could show up to Clyde’s dressed as fancy or grungy as you wanted and you’d fit right in. The same table could order fresh oysters with wine and a nice seafood dish alongside a burger and fries with a beer and a shot, and it worked. You could truly show up in the mood for anything or nothing at all and find something to hit the spot… and it wasn’t even a big menu. It was just always interesting and always well curated.

But if you really knew what you were doing, you ordered off the specials list, because the specials were never a "deal" or the kitchen trying to get rid of something. It was the kitchen having fun and showing off with mind and palate bending creativity.

The whole restaurant had a simple, beautiful, timeless design, great lighting, great location, good music on the record player, and just good vibes. There was nothing stuffy about the place even though they were James Beard nominated.

I have so many memories in and around Clyde's, but a few favorites:

Clyde's was, hands down, our most visited restaurant ever, and when we found out they were closing, we booked 4 reservations over their final 2 weeks.

Kari and I had our last date there on Friday and got to spend the final night of Clyde's service with the friends who first told us about the place... surrounded by a restaurant full of the people who helped make it special. It felt good, it felt sad, and I'm glad we got to soak it in.

Many thanks to Chris, Diego, Carson, Cody, Wes, Gavin, Tom, Eliza, Charley, the chefs and everyone in the front of the house who made us feel welcome. I'm sure the high standards and meticulous professionalism were stressful at times, but you truly built something special for the city of Des Moines, and you went out with a bang.

...

“Great! Where are we gonna hang out now? We’re not Oak Park people! We’re not Harbinger people! We’re Clyde’s people!” Kari responded after we first heard the news... and even though we also love those (and many other) places in Des Moines, nothing else quite hits in the way that Clyde's consistently hit for us.

Here's 500 photos of good times and good food to back it up.