Big Smoke Burger Opening at Divonne Complex
http://yookyoungyong.com/?p=657 By danderma | November 24, 2013
Last weekend and on an extremely gorgeous day, weather wise, I received a heavy paper bag invitation from Kuwait’s newest burger place, Big Smoke, whose opening I attended last night. Inside the big paper bag was the invitation card along with an apron and a salt & pepper or herbs shaker, a perfect gift for the BBQ season especially in such a great weather.
Big Smoke Burger is a Canadian franchise and is located at Divonne, the newly built restaurants complex in Abu Al-Hasaniya area right next door to The Village. In Divonne you can find plenty of restaurants, a mix of old favourites and new ones, all of which are not open yet which makes Big Smoke Burger the first restaurant to open there.
Some of the restaurants that are opening up include Nino, IHOP, Johnny Rockets, The Salad Boutique, Hello Kitty Cafe, and Starbucks! All the restaurants are arranged around a big lovely fountain and once they open I can see their tables arranged around it, European piazza style, all that’d be missing is a few street performers!
The very first restaurant to the right and also the very first restaurant to open is Big Smokes, illuminated by colourful spot lights and live music playing to set the festive mood.
The inside of Big Smokes isn’t that big, perhaps enough for a handful of tables only. There is plenty of outdoors tables though and in this gorgeous weather I cannot imagine who’d want to sit inside. The opening of Big Smokes in the piazza like Divonne couldn’t have come at a better timing.
As we sat on a table waiting for the official opening, the Big Smoke waiters arrived with trays of Boylan’s Soft Drinks bottles. Boylan’s is a Canadian soft drink which is made with pure cane sugar. There were three flavours: Orange, Black Cherry, and Ginger Ale.
I tried the orange one and it was quite good, a tad on the sugary side but still good. I was told that the ginger ale was excellent, everyone was raving about it.
After the red ribbon was cut we got to take a few pictures of the burgers preparations.
The fries are freshly prepared in Big Smokes. Each day the potatoes are cut, soaked in water, then fried in oil before being served. I almost stole some of the other people’s fries as I was taking these photos!
Then it was time to place our orders. Big Smokes offer a veggie patty instead of their meat one in whatever combination you fancy and they have several “signature burger” options on their menu with ingredients like rosemary, blue cheese, caramelised onions, and chipotle mayo.
Once you place your order you are handed a number that you place on your table while you wait for your order to be brought to you. My number was 18 and it didn’t take long before my veggie burger was on the table. I took the liberty of photographing my fellow diner’s burgers though as I waited. One is the mushroom burger, one with caramelised onions, and one with mashed avocado spread.
I didn’t order the onion rings but as I was waiting I stole some from one of my dining companions and I fell in love! Each ring was gigantic, crunchy, yet quite fluffy! I loved Big Smoke’s onions rings and I would recommend them for sure.
The fries were as close to home fries as it gets. They were good but were a tad too salty for my taste buds and that’s why I couldn’t polish them off.
The poutine is basically fries topped with cheese curd and gravy. My dining companions said the taste of gravy was too prominent in the dish and that if you leave the fries for too long they become soggy and lose the crunch. If you are a fan of gravy then this dish is for you and make sure you eat it fast. If you are looking for cheesy fries with strings of cheese everywhere then this is not for you.
My veggie burger came in a whole wheat bun with pickles, lettuce, onions, mayo, and cheese.
The veggie patty was grilled and had that smoky grill marks on top and an excellent grill taste. However, the patty itself was a bit bland and is not made of mixed vegetables and/or beans but rather is of a soy or quorn meat substitute. The rest of the burger was excellent though, bun and toppings. If you are like me and don’t care much for soy or corn meat substitute then don’t go for the veggie patty but I suppose a signature burger without burger would do the trick just fine.
We were having a good time so we decided to have a bit of food art using the ketchup and mustard dispensers.
The weather was good, the atmosphere was jolly and bubbly, and we had a blast! At the end of the night each guest received a little heavy Big Smokes paper bag giveaways.
We had a great time at the opening of Big Smokes Burgers last night! Thank you Ghaliah Technology for extending the lovely invitation to the opening and thank you Big Smokes for your generous hospitality, wishing you the best of luck!
Big Smokes Burgers is located in Divonne Restaurant Complex in Abu Al-Hasaniya area right next to The Village. For more information and directions you can give them a call at +(965)-22495372 or follow them on instagram (@BigSmoke_KW).
