Cuisine, Cocktails & Conversation at Clay Restaurant in Harlem

I just checked another Harlem restaurant off my foodie wish list! Not only did I love the restaurant, but I got to catch up with one of my best friends, who I haven’t seen IRL since before the pandemic. I always knew Zoom was not a replacement for human contact, but I never realized how much of a difference it makes to see your friends and family in person compared to a computer screen. Even talking on the phone every day is just not the same. Dinner time has always been special for me because it’s a chance to talk with your nearest and dearest… and share a meal.

Cocktails

For once, I arrived early for dinner so I ordered a mocktail while I waited for my dinner companion. The Inner Flight (no.1) was a refreshing mocktail stirred up with chamomile, lemon, honey, mint, and orange flower. Once dinner got started, I switched over to the hard stuff. The vodka-based cocktail, Traveling Light, was also refreshing, but also a little more tart than my first pick. The lemon taste was pretty prominent, followed by the flavors of honey, mint, and orange flower.

Inner Flight

Traveling Light

Now, this doesn’t happen often, but I learned something new while drinking. The Traveling Light cocktail actually has raw egg white in it, which bartenders use to create that nice frothy layer of foam at the top of your drink. It’s a surprisingly common ingredient used in cocktails. This same creamy white foam can be found in cocktails like the classic Whiskey Sour or a light Gin Fizz. I know this might sound alarming because “salmonella” immediately comes to mind. But, according to this blog post by A Couple Cooks, melons pose more of a threat for salmonella than raw eggs do.

Conversation

I was so looking forward to this lovely meet-up for dinner and drinks with a dear friend of mine. She’s actually much older than me… Old enough to be my mother! I remember listening to Oprah Winfrey on TV one morning during the pandemic while I was making my coffee. And in the background noise of my morning routine, I heard a discussion about how young people really need to cherish the time they have with older people, particularly grandparents and other elderly members of their communities because there’s just so much to learn from them. Isn’t that the truth! It’s amazing how much you can learn from someone who is twice your age. After all, they have lived your life two times. Play that one back in your end.

Trim the fat & continue enjoying your steak.

From catching up on the usual, like work stuff and new knitting projects to relationship advice, we covered just about everything. I think that the time this pandemic has given me to self-reflect paired with these conversations with her has really helped me to better my relationships with my family, friends, and significant other. But I’ve also learned to trim the fat so that I can continue to enjoy my steak. This analogy basically just means that I need to remove the people that don’t serve me well from my life, which I try to do every few years as some friendships just run their course.

The habit makes the monk.

I’m not sure who said it first, but my dad always says “the habit makes the monk.” I took this advice, yet again when ordering dinner last night. I’m always torn when choosing between ordering something I know I’ll enjoy and trying something new, especially now because I don’t eat out that often since the pandemic. Dining out has become more of a rare occurrence. Then again, if you order a bunch of appetizers to share, you can have some things you love and a few new picks to try.

Cuisine

I ordered the Bucatini with short rib ragu and Parmigiano cheese, and so did my dining partner. Maybe I should have just gone for a more adventurous pick, but I really enjoyed my dish. It’s not a terrible idea to stick with what you know.

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Dessert

Yes, we somehow managed to save room for dessert! So we split the Chocolate Dulce de Leche Tart with coconut flakes. It was to die for! Our waiter recommended it and I’m so glad that he did.

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