Originally Posted by the beef
Go with the Shimano M324s. I bought a pair from my LBS for $60 a month ago - they rock. The pedals are weighted so that the SPD connector hangs facing towards you - so starting up is not a problem. These are a really good value - and I think you can find a short review on them in this months' Bicycling mag as well.
Hmmm, I was going to post about an approach that you may be describing, if I understand you correctly.
I used double sided on my first bike and, frankly, got irritated at trying to get the right side up each time. Part of this was because either side might be "up" so you couldn't be sure how to flip them and I also found it tricky to get them flipped anyway.
So, I figured there would be two better approaches. One I've seen described here about some pedals - they are weighted so the same side always faces up. Well, that solves the problem of knowing how they are set but leaves you with the need to flip them.
The other way is what you may be describing - they are weighted so they are roughly vertical. If you want the clip-in side, you could easily nudge the top of the pedal forward, letting you easily snap into the clips. If you want the platform, you could drag the top part of the pedal back with the center of your foot, letting the rest of it nicely drop into position.
At least it seems like it would work. I've never had a pair designed like this to actually test.