The Smokin'9 is a burger concept, owned by a Lebanese with a passion for food. The place which recently opened on JLT Cluster U, offers a selection of mini burgers - 9 choices of grilled mini burgers. Tonight we eat burgers!
The burgers: Agnes, mighty, frenchie, don gonzola, classic, paneer, grinco, Kenny and mozzar.
Located behind the building entrance, Smokin'9 is your little street eatery facing the water. It's a square space with concrete flooring, a wooden bar, a couple of seats at the bar and three tables only. An open kitchen with white tiles gives you an mise-en-bouche of the cleanliness or what to expect for dinner.
Good to know: sauces are made in-house, ketchup and guacamole as well.
The selection:
- Agnes: beef, grilled onions, grilled tomatoes, iceberg with ketchup and mayonnaise.
- Mighty: beef mixed with shallots and parsley, iceberg, gherkins and home made steak tartar sauce.
- Frenchie: beef, comté cheese, sautéed mushrooms in olive oil, fresh parsley and Dijon mustard.
- Don Gonzola: beef, Gorgonzola cheese, fresh Aragula and homemade tapenade.
- Classic: marinated grilled chicken breast, melted emmental cheese, iceberg, watercress, mayonnaise and bbq sauce.
- Paneer: marinated grilled chicken breast, paneer cheese, baby spinach and curry mayonnaise.
- Gringo: the signature chicken patty, homemade guacamole, iceberg, chipotle bbq mayonnaise.
- Kenny: spinach quinoa patty, fresh avocado, iceberg, fresh coriander and homemade rocotto marmalade sauce.
- Mozzar: breaded mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, homemade sun-dried tomatoes.
Nine burgers served on metallic trays. Very appealing, every burger comes with a wooden stick in its heart carrying the burger's name. A tender burger bun, clean and clear with no milk, juicy meat and an innovative mix of ingredients. Kafta style with parsley, Gorgonzola with tapenade, curry mayo and chicken and so on. The Frenchie is a bit salty! The Veggie version is tasty indeed, Quinoa looks like falafel rich in flavors, the Mozzar with fried mozzarella and basil leaves is a vegetarian's piece of heaven. Grinco is different than your average burger, it's made of chicken cubes and chipotle mayo. Classic, as simple as it is, a juicy chicken breast with a light sweetness and mayonnaise. Agnes, the simple burger is loaded with ketchup and I like that. Meat is good, balanced with 20% of fat.
The burgers are generally good, well done, and balanced in flavors, but there something missing. I'll add one little detail to make them better; the bun needs to be buttered and toasted for it to be juicier, more tender and richer in taste. I would expect more spices, pepper, jalapeños... The extra mile in few words. The buttered layer will add a light and interesting crunch to the bun and some additional ingredients will make the journey remembered more.
The fries are good, indeed very good! A premium quality of crunchy brightly yellow fries served in a metallic cup.
The Smokin'9 is proudly Lebanese, a concept to look out for in Dubai and I hope to have a chance to try it one day in Lebanon. A Lebanese in Dubai has promising mini burgers.
