After taking over the U.S. by storm, the Drake-backed restaurant Dave’s Hot Chicken is now open in Dubai at The Walk, JBR.
Last night, Dave’s Hot Chicken hosted an exclusive launch event and we at Esquire Middle East wanted to be one of the first in the region to sample their much hyped fried chicken which has garnered a huge “Hot and Spicy” cult following.
Dave’s Reaper level of spice
The L.A phenomenon specializes in Hot Chicken Tenders and Sliders, along with sides of crispy fries, creamy mac n’cheese and house-made kale slaw. Each piece of hand-breaded chicken is spiced to order and offered at 7 different spices levels ranging from No Spice to Reaper. Yes, the top level is as scary as it sounds as everyone is required to sign a waiver before trying it.
As the saying goes… you reap what you sow.
I chickened out
Being a person who can only handle a moderate amount of spice, I didn’t even consider trying the Reaper level, not even for the ‘gram because I knew that I would probably need at least five bottles of water to cool my tongue.
However, I did enjoy watching those who were brave enough to try the spiciest chicken as the staff at Dave’s began chanting “Reaper” and cheered them along as the brave souls chugged bottles of water and fanned themselves in a futile attempt to cool off. You could feel the energy of the staff at Dave’s and everyone else who crowded around filming the Reaper challenge.
Ultimately, being that I was surrounded by many flashing cameras, I did not want to be photographed with my eyes watering should I have tried the Reaper level. I would most likely attempt to convince people that I’m just emotional at having been one of the first in the Middle East to try the chicken and NOT suffering from the spice at all.
Saying that, I will recommend one thing for my fellow moderate spice tolerant people:
Always pick one spice level below your tolerance level.
If you can handle that, then go up a spice level the next time you order. Even with my two pieces of medium spiced chicken tenders and fries, I needed to refill my drink once as it was slightly too spicy for me but I can confirm that the quality of the chicken lives up to the hype. It was as juicy and as tender as everyone had claimed which is why I was determined to finish my meal.
To those who claim that they can handle all the spice, Dave’s Hot Chicken will put you to the test, but it’ll be worth it.
Sweet sauce and sweet hats
It was recommended to me that I try Dave’s sauce and it was honestly a game changer. The sweet tasting sauce provided my meal with a sweet and spicy combination which stood out from other spicy chicken meals I’ve had in the past. It was almost as if I wanted to slightly burn my tongue in order to fully enjoy the soothing sweetness of Dave’s sauce with each bite of chicken.
In addition to sweet sauce, everyone who attended the exclusive launch event was able to get a custom grafitti styled hat with your name on it as well as the Dave’s Hot Chicken logo. While I’ve never considered myself a hat guy due to my hair being too thick, maybe I should consider a shorter hairstyle to pull off wearing this hat. Either way, this is now a permanent room decoration.
Dave’s Hot Chicken will be opening a second branch in Motor City in the coming few weeks. For those outside of the UAE, you won’t have to wait long to try Dave’s for yourself as premium restaurant operators Lavoya linked a franchise agreement for 31 locations in the GCC including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, with Qatar stores anticipated to open as soon as next month.
Some of the world’s top musicians and actors have invested in Dave’s Hot Chicken such as Drake, who got involved when he asked Dave’s to cater his party after receiving Billboard’s Artist of the Decade award.
The Canadian artist isn’t the only major investor either as both Samuel L. Jackson and Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner are major stakeholders in the business.