NEW YORK, NY – The city has plenty of restaurants that offer exceptional dining, however, there is something captivating and special about the Lovecraft Bar that has patrons coming back for more. Created in honor of legendary American Author, H.P. Lovecraft, this horror-themed bar has been inspired and modeled after his literary works. The restaurant serves a variety of drinks that include infused cocktails, a large selection of beers, and scrumptious eats. Lovecraft Bar NYC has a laid-back atmosphere that New Yorkers can’t seem to get enough of.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman over cocktails and dinner as he explained his passion for cooking and all things related to food.
Lovecraft NYC Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman with Cognac Wellerlane. Coleman sits with Cognac over cocktails and dinner as he explains his passion for cooking and all things ‘yummy’.
Welcome back darlings! I am Cognac Wellerlane and I am here at this fabulous eatery located in lower Manhattan right here on Avenue B, Lovecraft, and I am here with Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman. He has prepared wonderful appetizers for us and I am very, very interested in what he has to say about these gorgeous appetizers and what went into creating these innovative dishes. It is a pleasure to see you again. The last time we met was/
Chris: At the Carlyle Hotel.
Tell my audience how you became the Executive Celebrity Chef here at Lovecraft.
Chris: First of all my name is Chris and the way I became the celebrity chef down here at Lovecraft; Anthony the owner and I go way, way back. Anthony is one of the owners. We met a few years ago in the Hamptons.
The Hamptons, my favorite spot in the whole wide world. Where did you meet Anthony in the Hamptons?
Chris: Me and Anthony actually met in Montauk at the Point Bar. We have built a camaraderie and friendship for a long time and he was intending to open up a restaurant in the Hamptons a few times and it didn’t happen for whatever reasons. He kept my number but we lost contact for a while. Then one day, I would say six, seven months ago he text me, “Chris are you there? Is this still your number?” I said “Sure” and I said “Who is this?” And he said “Anthony, do you remember we met in the Hamptons.” So I said “Sure” so he went on to say “I am in the process of opening a new restaurant and I am looking for a chef and I know you are very talented. I think I am interested in having you come to the restaurant, let’s meet and we will talk about it.”
And bingo! You are here.
Chris: Yes, I am here and I actually have another great chef behind me (Dine Tidjani), a good friend of mine who has been with me for at least five years. He was the head chef at Gurneys with me.
At Gurneys, Really? I love those people. They sold the business.
Chris: Yes, I was the head chef there last year. I decided to leave because I am in love with the city. This the place where it could make you or break you, New York City.
That’s right. It will either make you or break you! But you look like you haven’t broken yet. Look at these dishes that you created for us. Tell my audience what we are seeing here.
Chris: We have Chesapeake Bake Maryland Crab Cakes. A little bit of onion down here, celery, red tomatoes, part of the food is a vision, visual. All of this is marinated. I love flavor. I like the execution. I treat my food very respectively. I like the people to see the passion and the tasting style that I bring to my food and what I do. I love food!
And you want your patrons to love what you have prepared. Tell my audience about this dish. It looks amazing!
Chris: What we have down here is Prince Edwards Island Mussels. I try to do this different then way a lot of people do it around here. I do this with coconut curry sauce.
Coconut curry sauce, wow!
Chris: So we go down to the West Indies over here. It has a slight kick to it!
Sounds sexy!
Chris: I don’t know what that means!
Yes, it looks delicious! I can’t wait to eat this. The way you prepare food it is just unbelievable. So tell me more about the ingredients.
Chris: We have clam juice. When I clean my fish I reduce the salmon carcass. I use all the goodness that comes out of the carcass of the fish.
Tremendous! What is this, is it lobster?
Chris: Just mussels but the way it has been prepared the flavor, the passion that I put into it. You have to remember if you don’t cook with love and passion your food will never taste good, bottom line you have to have passion!
Tell my audience about the signature dishes here. What do people from all over, tourist and the people that live here, what are the signature entrees?
Chris: I like to give my customers top quality produce. We have down here nice grilled skirt steak.
My husband is going to try the steak.
Chris: The steak is like you are eating butter! It basically melts in your mouth. A lot of people out there want to save a dollar. They don’t use top quality; me, I rather use top quality. I want every customer that comes here, I want them to say “Wow, this is amazing!” There are over 20,000 restaurants in New York so why would they want to come to this place. I want to give that to my customers.
What is the signature seafood here at the restaurant?
Chris: Crab cakes is one of them as you can see over here. I also have nice tuna tar tare. There is only one other place that makes it the way I make it.
What about the salmon. I see you make Grilled Salmon.
Chris: It’s Wild Salmon, off the hook! The way I do it is I put it on a saute pan very, very hot. I make sure the skin gets very, very crispy. Then I put it on the grill and then I finish it in the oven. Three ways of cooking, sauteing, grilling and baking.
Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman has prepared excellent meals for many A-listers including Leonardo Di Caprio, 50 Cent, Mel B the Spice Girl, Kate Hudson and Russell Simmons. For more information about Chris please visit http://www.colemancooking.com and to find mind out more information about Lovecraft restaurant please visit http://lovecraftnyc.com
TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Celebrity Chef Chris Coleman at LOVECRAFT NYC Restaurant located at 50 Avenue B, New York, NY in Lower Manhattan
TV Host Cognac Wellerlane interviews Chef Dine Tidjani at LOVECRAFT NYC Restaurant located at 50 Avenue B, New York, NY in Lower Manhattan
