Zerma Burger! This is the new rallying cry for fans of Marseille chef Jérôme Benoît, aka Jéjé Barbu. He has just opened his smash burger restaurant in the heart of the Noailles district (1st arrondissement), in the premises that long hosted Ella Aflalo’s Yima.
Jéjé is one of the most generous and fanciful figures of Marseille gastronomy, three ideas a minute and a talent and inventiveness proven over a long time in the different Marseille addresses where he has visited. A jumble of Le Ventre de l’architecte at Le Corbu, Il Clandestino on rue d’Endoume or more recently Mémé and Il Capriolo, on boulevard Longchamp.
We announced it last December, when Jéjé formalized the sale of his Mémé table, the guy felt a desire for simpler cuisine, street food where he would work with fresh, quality produce. It is now a done deal with Zerma Burger, where it offers “everything homemade, except the ketchup, because for the burger, there is nothing better than Heinz ketchup“.
Blue Smoky with Bresse blue cheese, Chili with peppers from the Noailles market, Chicken or Végé, the smash burgers (the steak is crushed on an ultra-hot plancha to caramelize on it while remaining tender inside) are offered between €12 and €13.50. Sides are extra: simple homemade fries (€4), cheddar fries (€4.50), coleslaw (€3.50) or breaded fried chicken (€6.90). Cookie, brownie, cheesecake or fruit salad: desserts range from €3.90 to €6. A burger, fries and drink formula is also available with a supplement of €5 on the base price of burgers.
Fresh, without excess fat, arriving on a tray with homemade Zerma sauce (a revisited Béarnaise Jéjé style with yogurt, Japanese vinegar, chives, etc.); the burgers and fries are delicious. The buns arrive from Pain Pan, the organic sourdough bakery in Cours Julien, the meat from an artisan butcher in the same Plaine-cours Ju area.
For now, Zerma Burger, which opened this week, will hit its stride. But in the long term, Jérôme Benoît plans to return “from time to time, like once a month” in Mémé mode, with more elaborate gastronomy.
And what happens to the ex-Mémé from Boulevard Longchamp? Closed since January, the address should reopen by summer in the form of a trendy natural wine dining cellar called Les Rigoles.
Zerma Burger, 27 rue d’Aubagne, Marseille 1st. For here and to go. Wednesday to Sunday, noon and evening.
