After a successful year, the coolest burger joint now pitches it’s tent in Lahore! Yasir Jaswal (Jessie) and Yawar Siddiqui’s love for burgers gave birth to the phenomenal eatery that we now call Jessie’s. With its neon signage, rustic floors, cabin like furniture and contemporary hand painted artwork on the walls, Jessie’s sets just the right kind of vibe to attract crowds of all ages. None of the food is frozen at Jessie’s, hence patrons experience the same fresh and delicious flavours each time they visit. On top of that, the restaurant doesn’t only serve quality food but also serves as a platform to showcase performing arts; making the meals twice as enjoyable. Jessie shares how his idea came to life, what role music will be playing in the restaurant and his favourite thing from the menu!
What inspired the idea of Jessie’s?
Growing up I always wanted to open up a restaurant and serve great food. Cooking was something that I enjoyed doing and I used to grill burgers for friends and family at home. One of my childhood friends, who is now also my business partner at Jessie’s, suggested that we open up a place. One thing led to the other and now here we are.
Do you cook yourself?
Yes I love cooking. I designed all the burger recipes that you will try at Jessie’s. Of course, when you hire a proper team in the kitchen then they help you to takes the recipe to the next level.
What is more gratifying, music or grilling?
Well they’re both gratifying in their own way. I haven’t been doing music for a while now so it seems this might be taking over for now.
What is your favourite thing from the menu?
That’s a tough one but I’d have to say that it’s a close tie between the cheese burger and the steak.
Do you plan on holding gigs at the restaurant?
Music and any other kind of performing arts is a very important part of Jessie’s philosophy. We’ve done a lot of gigs back in Islamabad and want to promote more live jams wherever we go so yes, we will definitely be doing lot of gigs here at Jessie’s.
How in your opinion has Pakistan changed in terms of spending and eating out?
I think it has changed a lot. I remember when we were in school or college, we would go out once a month. These days its twice or thrice a week for kids as well. But people have also become very conscious about the quality and value for money. Comparisons have become easy due to social media, which is great because not only will this improve the quality of food available in the market but also push the outlets to keep on striving for better service as well.
What is the process of developing a new menu of a dish?
Well it has to be something new and different. If it’s the same stuff everyone’s serving, then there’s really no use. We try to do something unique every time and make sure we do lots of taste tests and until and unless we get a thumbs up from the majority we don’t put it in otherwise we keep working on it.
What is in store for Jessie’s Burgers?
Well for now we just opened up in Lahore. It’s a completely different beast than Islamabad. We want to focus on what Lahori’s want and make sure we deliver in every way.
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