Umami My Man

I'm going to make it quick but Miho and I went to this burger place called Umami Burger. It's definitely one of those trendy LA hot spots that is overpriced and pretentious but there is no denying taste.


The 1st I heard of matching the "umami" taste with burgers is from Heston Blumenthal's show where he was in search of the best burger. He infused umami into ketchup by incorporating mushrooms into the tomato flavor. Here we have a garlic aoli and umami ketchup.

I must say the ginger soda to the left was one of the best I've tasted. Crisp but with that nice brewed finish you'd expect from a cola. Of course it has that ginger bite. The Vavo ginger soda was a plain-Jane taste. Understated, over-priced but by no means a slouch.


1st up was soba noodle salad (they no longer had the roasted potato salad I wanted to try) and malt tempura onion ring. The onion rings hit the spot and while Miho didn't care for the soba salad I thought the noodles had that nice al-dente texture of quality noodles.



The California Burger with butter lettuce and blue cheese (I believe). Very tasty and juicy (by the way, they automatically assume you want your burger medium-rare which is the only way I like my burger). They really did a nice job of balancing the sweetness of grilled onion atop the burger. Most places would just throw the condiments into the burger with any sense of proportion but you can tell some thought went into this burger design.


Truffle oil burger - a little lonely by my standards but the meaty goodness that drips with every bite screams that they use high quality meat and fresh rolls to soak up all that goodness. Way over priced but again there's no denying quality ingredients. The true missing factor is restaurant ambiance and service. There is nothing spectacular about the restaurant itself although they try to give it flare.


The highlight of the evening! Vanilla bean ice cream Samwiches (I jest) from a local shop called Milk (where Iwant to go next). Sure the ice cream is smooth and refreshing, the vanilla bold and aromatic. But the cookie bread has this outer crust that is a cross between cookie and wafer while the inside is like a fresh baked chewy cookie. You got that crisp that sinks into a soft bed of sweet cookie, then that cool vanilla iced creaminess. Oh god!