It's all about providing a niche, while getting their own unique character with Clay Coffee here. Most places are easily pigeon-holed, and somehow Clay Coffee - beyond being for coffee lovers - escapes that fate. How it does is hard to describe, which is possibly the reason for the escape in the first place. There is definitely something to it, no matter what way you cut it.
Coming here was done by invitation. At the time, this was a new place opening and they were sending out e-mails to active members on this site. Scrolling through the messages one day, I saw this and there was the chance to get a plus one to here to sample the spring menu, and potentially have a go at the nitrogen coffee (I will get to that one later). This was a limited run opportunity. Showing this to my house mate/dining buddy, the go-ahead went and sooner or later the two of us were here. Originally the arrangements were in the morning, but then they were moved to around midday as an opportunity to try both the lunch and breakfast menu.
It is a pretty small place, even in a high-traffic area car-wise, it is tucked out of the way a little bit. The place is diminutive, and with the decor they are not going for anything much here. It is pretty sparse, with a few decorations here and there aiming to give it a characteristic feel. In all honesty, come to think of it, it is a little like a greenhouse. If anything else, the position and view is pretty good as far as suburbia gets. It is just far enough from the road to have fresh air, and there is leafy greens all around. The al fresco option works quite well, and it is secluded being right in the corner.
Service is pretty reasonable. The guy heading the place was Tony, and he was up front, friendly and he had a long chat with my dining buddy about ways of getting the word of his place out there (my dining buddy has had much experience with sales, let's just say that). Tony had elements of both introvert and extrovert. A major positive for him, and this place, is a wanting of being involved and doing well. Some places I have been and the wait staff could not care less. On top of Tony being a good host, the young waitress here was also good. She was friendly, knew her stuff, and good arrived quite proficiently.
For food, it is eclectic. They are not focusing on any sort of theme per se, and at the same time they want to offer a substantial enough selection for all that are at the cafe. The food changes depending on the season, and it is a pretty small menu overall. A few hot, savoury things - nothing too complicated - plus some sweeter options for breakfast, and at lunch they have some basic cafe fare. Couple with that is the sweets in the cabinet. Then there is the drinks menu, in which half of it is dedicated to coffee. And that coffee is made from beans that are courtesy of Toby's Estate. That is enough to draw me in nowadays, Toby's Estate is often quite strong where a single shot could well do the trick.
Well, without a doubt - and getting first things first done and out of the way - with the way that they touted the nitrogen coffee, that was the first order of business when it came to drinks. This was their specialty coffee, and something quite new to me. It was a lot like cold brew, chilled and dripped over for a long time while being infused with Nitrogren gas. The way it was served was in a wine glass, that was quite a nifty touch. This had a less distinct and bold flavour than espresso usually has, and it was smooth on the tongue. Like a lot of cold brews, it is one to be sipped over-time and get different layers of flavour from it.
For my dining buddy, the drink that he went for was a coffee fusion. This was like a mix between the slushies gotten from convenience stores, and a milkshake. They took coffee - real coffee, two espresso shots - milk, and ice cream, then blended it up into a really thick drink. This was also tasty. A good touch was the coffee beans on top of the drink.
Next it was onto the meals. I went with the French toast. With this one, the topping was a mixture of cream cheese, infused with maple syrup and mixed berries. Of course, as compulsion puts it, a side of bacon was also ordered. The bread part was a brioche, which made it sweet already, and the rest of the items were decidedly tart instead. When we are talking about berries, this was not a frozen pack mix, but plump, fresh berries just recently picked. They were juicy, tart and there were several varieties. These suckers coloured the cream cheese topping, which was delicious as always, and the addition of maple syrup just completed it all. Plus, bacon as always is tasty.
My dining buddy went for a pulled pork burger. Well, what needs to be said about it really? Get some pork belly, slow cook it, and put it on bread with coleslaw. Adding onto that, there was avocado and barbecue sauce. For a few dollars more, you could get a side of fries. My dining buddy did do that. I got a segment of it, and it was pretty good. The bread was sweet and crusty, plus the pork was tender and done in a vinegar-based sauce. The fries were shoestring and crispy. Wholesome, kind of standard, but this is one thing you don't muck with for a good reason.
So, so far I pretty optimistic about this entry. At that moment I felt that it was the shot at the gold this time around. The only question was whether they would be able to succeed at it. By that, what I mean is when somewhere is seeming like it could get a good 5.0 score, the last trial is having something sweet to see it through. That the case here - Clay Coffee succeeded into getting a good 5-score.
To test this, I got another coffee (this time it was a pour-over) and had a brownie on the side. Think of the pour-over as being filter coffee, which I have grown to quite like. The texture on the tongue is smoother, it is slightly hotter so a bit of time is needed to drink it. The consistency of it, compared with espresso, is thinner and it has a medium kind of taste to it. All throughout it, the flavour and aroma was there and each sip was delicious. And the brownie was also good. It was dark chocolate, and the texture was perfect - crumbly and robust. Eating that, and drinking the coffee, this confirmed that Clay Coffee is not just a winner - but maybe even a legend. Time will tell on that one.
There is a big road ahead for this small place, and it is one that location that deserves to succeed. It has a lot going for it. It is pretty relaxed, strips back most of the flair for simply having a nice meal in what is a pretty good setting. A number of aspects are there that are easily going for it. We are talking nice aesthetics, wholesome and well-constructed meals, a homely sort of feeling, and good service. Also, for the coffee lover it provides a good tasting array for different brews. In all honesty, there is little reason that Clay Coffee should not do well.
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