The year-old burger joint in Islamabad, Jessie’s has now opened its doors in Lahore. Owned by musician/filmmaker Yasir Jaswal, the eatery is known for its burgers and shakes. But it has taken a huge risk by opening up off M.M. Alam Road a few feet from one of the giants of Lahore’s burger scene.

From the outside, Jessie’s attracts with its neon signs. Inside, there are more neon lights, metal frames on the ceiling, there’s colourful vibrant graffiti, and also a conventional stand-up video game machine in a corner of one of the two dining halls. It’s loud with music blaring from speakers, yet it’s vibrant and lively, almost giving off vibes of a gaming arcade that’s been turned into a pub. The wooden benches, chairs and tables are perfectly in line with the entire ambiance, while there are a few tables outdoor also for the smokers.

The menu isn’t too elaborate with the primary focus on burgers, of course. There are a handful of the usual starters, a couple of ‘specials’ – including beef steak and grilled chicken, a kids menu and some crowd favourite desserts. All the burgers are served in wooden boxed trays with fresh, crispy fries sprinkled with chilli power.

I started off with the beef steak from the special section, and asked for it to be done medium rare. This 300-gramme beef tenderloin was served on a wooden slab accompanied by a runny brown gravy, mashed potatoes and creamy spinach. The first thing I noticed was that the steak wasn’t medium rare as I had asked, but generally it looked and tasted great; it was firm, soft and easy to cut into.

Next up was the Messy Mushroom burger recommended by the waiter for being a popular item on the menu; it’s available in either chicken or beef. The burger comprised a 6oz beef patty topped with mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, onions and an in-house mushroom sauce. The minced beef patty had an overpowering peppery flavour besides which I couldn’t taste anything. Even the veggies and sauce couldn’t add any flavour to it. Though everything was fresh -- from the buns to the vegetables to the brilliant cooking of the patty.

The Firestarter burger had a thick 7oz chicken patty topped with cheddar cheese, smoked beef bacon, the usual veggies, pickles and a fiery sauce. The beef bacon and pickles provided all the flavour to the cheesy burger.

The Pindi Boy, a sophisticated version of the anda shami, is a bit too pricey for the classic street snack at over Rs550. It consisted of a generous beef shami kabab patty, egg, coleslaw and an in-house mint chutney. Though there was enough beef in there, which was cooked beautifully, it needed more seasoning to bring out some zest. The coleslaw overpowered any taste that was supposed to be in the burger, and even the mint chutney was insipid.

Disappointed so far, I attempted to salvage the meal with a Philly Cheesecake slice, which thankfully provided some relief in terms of flavour. It had a buttery crust at the bottom with a nicely set cake over it.

The overall problem with Jessie’s is its burgers themselves that are supposed to be the specialty. What sets a restaurant apart from others is the flavour, but if that is lacking then there’s pretty much nothing that can divert one’s attention from that. Taste needs to trump everything else in food; presentation, condiments, sides are secondary.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2018