Saturday, April 10, 2010

UMAMI BURGER

It’s amazing that within a little over a year of Umami Burger’s opening it has expanded to three more locations, but then again, their burgers are pretty damn good! My colleague Pinks is moving to San Francisco at the end of this month and since my boss was returning to the States on Sunday, Farts (another colleague) and I decided to take him to an early going away lunch and I couldn’t think of a better place than Umami Burger. It has been awhile since I’ve been to the La Brea location so I was surprised that they now have an outdoor patio. The wait time was thirty minutes.

We decided to order a few side dishes: thin French fries, onion rings, sweet potato fries…thank goodness Umami’s burger are not big.
Umami Burger
Farts raved about their onion rings, confidently saying that they have the best onion rings in town. Pinks and I thought he was crazy because the rings were incredibly oily. Our stomachs were upset at the end of meal and we think it’s the greasy rings. I still think 25 Degrees’ onion rings are the best. Thanks Farts.
Umami Burger
Instead of ordering two orders of onion rings, we should have ordered two sweet potato fries. I heart their sweet potato fries. They are equally as good as Father’s Office.
Umami Burger
Their thin French fries were not bad –definitely better than their thick fries.
Umami Burger
Farts didn’t believe in sharing his burger. He ordered the SoCal burger.
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Pinks and I shared the…
Manly burger
Umami Burger

and the Triple pork burger
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Both burgers were excellent. I liked how they combine the bacon with the ground beef in the Manly burger. I loved the flavors in the Triple pork burger! I’m getting hungry just thinking of their burgers. Pinks can check Umami off his list of restaurants that he must eat again before he leaves sunny LA.


2.13.09
Thanks to Thrillist my colleague, Pinks (he likes wearing hot pink, tight pants) and I checked out the soft opening at Umami Burger. It's pronounced oo-ma-mi. I was like, "Uganda? Um-a-mi? Ur mommy?"

Umami Burger is right next to Copy City on the east side of La Brea. There's a tiny parking lot...we lucked out. When we got there, the fellas were like, "We're sold out on most items." Huh? It's only 1PM... "Ok...do you have the Truffle Burger?" "Yes." "Do you have the Triple Pork Burger?" "No." "Er...what burgers do you have?" "The Umami Burger and the SoCal Burger." We went with the Umami since it sounded more exotic, and we scored on free Izzy drinks, Hand Cut Fries, and Roasted Garlic Potato Salad since it was opening day. Oh, we ordered at the counter and they brought the food to us. Umami Burger's space is small, so it's best if you come here in groups of 4 or less. There's one bathroom.

Wait time was around 15 minutes. The Umami Burger was delish but slightly dry.
Umami Burger
Loved the Umami's toppings and seasons! The sweet roasted peppers (I think..) on the Truffle burger threw me off.
Umami Burger
I honestly can't tell the difference between Truffle and Reg Oil...I preferred the Umami Burger, and Pinks liked the Truffle Burger because the sweet bun that came with the burgers complimented with the Truffle Burger more. We both felt that Umami Burgers are better than 8oz, but my #1 gourmet burgers are still 25 Degrees.If you had to order one side, I would go for the Roasted Garlic Potato Salad
Umami Burger
over the Hand Cut Fries
Umami Burger
even though the Potato Salad could use more garlic (I like it to be really garlicy). The ketchup is homemade...Heinz is better. Pinks said that the best part of Umami is that you can't overstuff your face --burgers are not massive like 25 Degrees. Just when we thought our meal was done, they gave us free "oatmeal" cookies, which were really chewy & good!
Umami Burger
Overall, Umami is not bad, and we'll be back to try the Triple Pork Burger and the Turkey Confit Burger (I'll call in advance to make sure that they are stocked up...).
p.s. As noted on Thrillist, it's BYOB!

Miracle Mile: 850 S La Brea Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone#: (323) 931-3000

Los Feliz: 4655 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone#: (323) 669-3922

Hollywood: 1520 N Cahuenga Blvd,Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone#: (323) 469-3100

Santa Monica: 500 Broadway,Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: (310) 451-1300
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