A homemade recipe for fried lobster is helping raise the profile of a city bar and eatery.
It started as a home experiment several years ago, when Dominique Spence, now 36, was cooking as therapy while recovering from a stroke.
The delicious fries quickly became a favorite food for the whole family.
Today, the recipe is a fan favorite at her brother, Corey T. Smith’s One Bar + One Kitchen, which opened in December at 70 Union Place behind Hartford’s Union Station. Smith co-owns the establishment with DJ and radio personality Charles Hollis. Spence is the executive chef at One Bar + One Kitchen.
“We wanted to share this with the world, and it’s been so well received,” Spence said. “We even have people ordering fried lobster on Taco Tuesday.”
Social media has been flooded with rave reviews for the delicious fries, which some say are “like no other fries” they’ve ever tried, with one fan saying the Facebook post just reminded them of the lobster fries and made them want to rush out to the store to pick up an order.
This dish consists of fries topped with lobster and tiny shrimp in a butter/garlic sauce and topped with cheese sauce.
Spence developed the lobster fry while focusing on therapy that focused on getting things together.
She was making fries and had lobster in the fridge so she decided to combine her favorite foods.
“I just said, let’s put these three simple ingredients together,” Pence said, noting that he’s made tweaks over the years.
Smith, 43, said he’s a French fry connoisseur but not a “big fan” of seafood, but even he was wowed by the sweetness of the lobster meat in his sister’s perfectly seasoned dish.
“The lobster, butter and cheese sauce was perfect,” he said.
They also offer burgers topped with buttered lobster, and of course a traditional lobster roll is also available.
Spence suffered her first stroke in 2006, at age 21. “Ironically,” she said, she was at the same restaurant at 70 Union Place, which was then a nightclub called The Bourbon, when the stroke began.
She was at a club with her cousin when she started feeling unwell, so her cousin drove her to the hospital. Spence suffered a severe stroke and had to learn everything again: writing, walking, talking.
She then suffered another stroke in 2012 and underwent brain surgery in 2018. Spence has recovered from the stroke but is left paralyzed on the right side of her body.
It was largely through cooking and the kitchen that she was able to regain her motor skills and get back into the game with the help of her grandmother, mother and older brother, Corey.
Dominic said he was initially “nervous” about returning to the place where he had his stroke, but the nervousness disappeared the moment he walked through the doors feeling triumphant.
“Aside from my passion for cooking, the location of One Bar means a lot to me,” Spence said.
“When my mom was told she had 24 hours to live, walking through those doors and serving customers there with my brother was amazing.”
Both siblings developed an interest in cooking at an early age, thanks to their maternal grandmother, who would often look after them while their mother worked.
“When I was little, I would always watch my mom cook, and she would watch us eat and lick her fingers,” Smith said.
One day, his grandmother asked him to try frying chicken. He did so well that his grandmother asked him to cook it and sell it. He did, and people bought it.
Now, my grandma licks her fingers when she brings me food from the restaurant.
“She’s the reason we do this,” Smith said.
Smith is also a chef, but primarily works front of house at One Bar + One Kitchen.
The two have always been close, and Smith said he wanted Spence involved with the restaurant because he knew that if he couldn’t be there one night, Spence would have everything covered.
They’ve been open since December and “we’ve had our ups and downs, but it’s been going well,” Smith said, but not enough people know the store exists.
This friendly bar/restaurant has live music every Wednesday from 7pm to 10pm, focusing on 80s and 90s R&B.
There is also a popular karaoke night every Thursday from 7:30pm.
The bar serves mostly fast bar food like lobster fries and burgers, but also serves soul food on Saturdays when there are no special events. Spence also occasionally serves West Indian food on weekends.
On Tuesdays, the restaurant will host “Taco Tuesday,” featuring some interesting menu items, including a new jerk chicken taco with sweet plantain and mango salsa.
The two-hour all-you-can-eat Taco Tuesday is usually from 6 to 8 p.m., but this week it will be from 5 to 7 p.m.
Soul Food Saturday menu items include chicken, pork, shrimp, fish (all fried), macaroni and cheese, collard greens cooked with turkey, candied yams, and cornbread or biscuits.
“When we’re in the kitchen together, it works seamlessly. There’s no issues,” Smith says. “She does her job, I do my job, and we combine it all together and serve it to people.”
Spence said he wanted to bring something different to the community.
Smith said that for him it’s about “bringing something positive to the city.”
“There are a lot of places to eat, but I don’t feel like the food is necessarily top-notch,” he said.
Smith said he aims for an atmosphere that is welcoming to everyone, including families.
