Michael Mina says: “We focus a lot on what’s going into the burger: always 50% short rib, 25% brisket and 25% chuck."
Another example of Mina translating US cuisine to appeal to the local market is Firebird’s lobster roll. He has refined what he calls “traditionally a delicious big sandwich” for guests of upscale Dubai restaurants, whom he thinks prefer to eat with cutlery or, at least, want something small if they are going pick something up to eat it.
Similarly, there’s a nod to the regional palate and preferences throughout Firebird’s menu with items such as the fois gras sliders with kumquat and date, and the fact the majority of appetisers are designed to share — an approach that lends itself well to Mina’s penchant for putting a twist on a classic.
Walking Caterer Middle East through the menu, and sharing details of how he refined dishes and “added whimsy”.
Mina says: “The meat and potatoes appetiser is really fun — it’s steak tartare cut up and served on a potato cake that’s similar to what we’d call a tater tot in the US, with caramelised onion sauce. The popcorn shrimp is another dish that’s big in the US, but we do individual little ones with house-made tabasco sauce and avocado under each one, then we dust them with cumin because the spices here are really amazing.”
Continuing, he adds: “The Philly cheese steak is a classic American sandwich but instead of one big, messy sandwich we do four little Philly cheese steaks. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is as American as it gets, but we give each person an espresso cup of soup with a little grilled cheese [on the side].”
Mina says that the salad section of the menu was important to him, partly because it is “market driven by product”, so instead of a traditional Caesar salad, Firebird's version includes black olives “because the olives here are really delicious”, for example.
Moving onto Firebird’s entrées, it’s no surprise to see burgers on the menu, given that they are a diner staple, however Mina is very particular about Firebird’s burgers.
“We focus a lot on what’s going into the burger: always 50% short rib, 25% brisket and 25% chuck, and it took us a long time to nail those measurements.
"We also do our grinding in-house and there’s a real trick to how you grind, so that you get all of the air pockets into the burger, making it juicy, airy and crumbly. We also focus heavily on the bread; we call it a brioche bun because people know what that is but we put some potato in our brioche so that it soaks up some of the richness and cuts out about half the butter. It has a little more substance, which works really well for a hamburger.”
He adds that while “the all-American burger” in the US would include pork bacon, for the Dubai, this flavour profile is replaced with smoked Gouda, veal bacon and onion marmalade.
As befitting a diner, steak and eggs is one of the signature dishes. The meat is cooked over wood, which Mina says makes “the flavour second to none” and a sunny side up egg is served on top of a pressed potato gratin (without cream added), which is caramelised on both sides to make it similar to a hash brown. A roasted avocado, hollowed out and filled with Firebird’s house-made tobasco sauce is the final component.
“It’s clean and sophisticated,” he says of the dish. “Every diner in America has steak and eggs —I don’t want to go too far out of the box; I just want the dishes to be refined and reflect the refinement you find in everything in Dubai. This is one of the most interesting cities in the world. I love the F&B scene in Dubai.”
Elaborating on what he finds intriguing about Dubai, Mina says he sees an abundance of great restaurants launching over the next decade, stating: “You can feel with this city that the food scene is exploding because the clientele is here. As a chef, our job is to seek out places where you can push the boundaries.”
He notes similarities between Las Vegas’ food scene when it emerged several years ago and Dubai today: “It exploded with Vegas quickly and every time I come to Dubai, I see that.
"There are parallels between what’s happening with the dining scene here and what happened in Las Vegas with it igniting over a ten-year period. And that happened because chefs want to go where there are people that appreciate the time and effort you put into food. If the clientele is there, the chefs will find their way there; that’s what’s happening with Dubai.”
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