A little side boob

But no wardrobe malfunctions.

Hannah’s List: New New York Recs

So there’s a new spot above 11 Madison Park called Clemente Bar and wow. We kicked things off upstairs in their tiny omakase room called The Studio (like, nine seats tiny), which is fully vegetarian.

First up was a tofu agadashi hand roll that ended with this one perfect bite where all the juices hit at once. Insane. Brendan and I love this kind of setup, cozy counter, tasting menu, guaranteed chat with the person next to you. We always seem to make a new friend. This time was no different: we ended up at the lounge after dinner with the guys next to us and polished off four bottles of wine together. Very normal Thursday behavior.

Also just proof that NYC is a much smaller town than you realize. Basically, we arrived a couple minutes late (didn’t realize it was one of those omakase tastings where everyone is served at the same time) and we got there in time for the second cocktail pairing.

I asked the bartender a question about the drink he was making, a duo next to use chimed in, and we basically spent the rest of the night laughing it up with them. Turns out, one guy’s wife runs a baby app and somehow we got on the topic of UrbanDaddy which my friend started.

He actually casually works for a company called World Wide Technology which was founded by David Steward, now a self made billionaire and the richest Black man in America.

Dessert was a mango sticky rice situation that I’d eat every day if I could. Main was this soba “fish” made with handmade soba noodles, sourced through some guy in Brooklyn who brings them in from Japan. Also, two different types of ramen on the menu. We ordered both. No notes.

Another night at the museum

The next night, we were at MoMA for a beautiful event hosted by the Black Arts Council (used to be called Friends of Education and my mom was super involved). This time I was invited by Brandon Blackwood, the accessories designer, who also went to Bard like me. I sat next to the legendary Beth Ann Hardison, who really transformed the modeling industry to be more inclusive. Her and my mom have been friends for years.

Actually, everyone at these events seems to know my mom. People say all the time that she’s kind of the fairy art godmother of the Black arts world. She’s been supporting folks like Mickalene Thomas and Derrick Adams since the beginning, and it was sweet seeing them all reunited.

Ming Smith, one of my mom’s best friends and an iconic photographer, was also there. She just had a big solo show in Milan and she’s been part of our lives forever. Phony Ppl performed which felt full-circle since they played at my engagement party like nine years ago at what used to be the Four Seasons (now The Grill).

I wore a very spicy Christopher John Rogers dress that had me slightly stressed because I forgot boob tape... but we made it through without a wardrobe malfunction. Miracles do happen.