“Suddenly ordinary city” — quote recalled (8)
I believe the answer is:
bathetic
'suddenly ordinary' is the definition.
(bathetic means anticlimactic or suddenly ordinary)
'city quote recalled' is the wordplay.
'city' becomes 'bath' (English city).
'quote' becomes 'cite' (synonyms).
'recalled' says the letters should be written backwards (to recall can mean to bring something back).
'cite' back-to-front is 'etic'.
'bath'+'etic'='BATHETIC'
(Other definitions for bathetic that I've seen before include "causing anticlimax" , "Anticlimactic" , "sentimental" .)