Lore, a fusion of cuisine and culture
Fusion is the term consistently used to describe the cuisine at Lore in South Slope. This makes sense. The menu, heavily inspired by the flavors of India, is also informed by ingredients and dishes of diverse cultural origins, including Korea, Switzerland, the UK, and America. The food, and inventive cocktail list, orchestrated by Executive Chef and owner Jay Kumar, in conjunction with Executive Sous Chef, Maux Morgan, hits the sweet spot that defines the make-or-break equation that often results from fusion cooking. What defines Lore, though, is not just the inventive yet accessible cuisine but also the successful fusion of harmony that prevails within the corner storefront at 441 7th Ave.
Kumar is a burly and bearded character, bad boy Bollywood handsome, with tattooed arms and a radiant smile. With the open kitchen in the hands of Maux and their staff, Kumar often mingles with customers in the L-shaped floor space, within the modern bistro aesthetic of exposed brick walls adorned with vintage artwork and shelves lined with illuminated blue bottles. Among those with whom he engages one particular night are a table of Sikh men, diverse young women and men on dates or celebrating in groups, a ladies night of WOC, and an elderly couple holding hands over the table.
The United Nations of Brooklyn vibe is very much reflective of the owner’s background. Born and raised in India, Kumar spent 30 years in Switzerland, where he studied culinary arts and worked in some of the country’s most celebrated kitchens. He also has ties to the UK through a previous marriage. He is now married to an American art curator, Daria Brit Greene (whose love lured Kumar to America, and from whom the interior artwork derives). His original business partner at Lore was Korean. Perhaps the most reflective aspect of Kumar’s ethos is that his Executive Sous Chef, Morgan, is a Jamaican who had no experience with such cuisines before being hired.
Andrew Cotto has been eating his way through Brooklyn for 25 years. As an author, the food of our borough has been featured extensively in his novels and journalism. In his column for the Daily Eagle, Andrew tells the tales of Brooklyn eateries, from the people behind the food to the communities they nourish.
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