10.14.2009

A Cheeseburger Wednesday Edition-- Umami Burger Los Feliz



My friend Mike likes to eat cheeseburgers on Wednesdays. I have grown to love it too. While I enjoy a burger any day of the week there is something so special and satisfying about eating a cheeseburger on Wednesdays with Mike. Wednesdays will be henceforth known as Cheeseburger Wednesdays.

This post is dedicated to Mike and to cheeseburgers - It is the Cheeseburger Wednesday edition of LetMeEatCake.

Last Wednesday we enjoyed our cheeseburgers at the recently opened Umami Burger. Umami Burger resides in the former home of the late Cobras and Matadors in Los Feliz.

Living in Los Angeles, the burger capitol of the world, it is not hard to find a burger joint at every corner. Formerly relegated to the domain of fast food, the cheeseburger has now acquired an elevated status. Cheeseburger components now include gourmet condiments, organic greens, and artisan cheeses. Cheeseburgers are now bigger, more exotic, and even more stylish.

Umami Burger demonstrates how a seemingly ordinary dish such as a cheeseburger can be magically transformed into something magnificent with a few well-selected ingredients.

Umami Burger offers a mouthwatering selection of cheeseburgers.

The Manly Burger is a perfectly seasoned ground beef patty with gooey melted beer-cheddar cheese atop a pillowy bun, and sprinkled with smoked salt onion strings and bacon lardons. The bun was so delicate with each bite it became one with the burger. Need I say more?

R and I gave Umami another visit this week to try more of their delicious burgers. This time we chose the Port & Stilton Burger with Stilton blue cheese and Pocas port-carmelized onions, and the signature Umami Burger with a parmesan crisp, roasted tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms and carmelized onions.

Nothing beats the Manly Burger. While the eponymous Umami Burger was good, the bun got soggy too fast, the parmesan crisp lost it's crunch, and the roasted tomatoes dominated the other flavors.

The restaurant also offers a variety of fries to accompany your burger. I tried all three versions- Hand Cut Fries (triple-cooked), Sweet Potato Fries, and Thin Fries. The Hand Cut fries were thick wedges of potato reminiscent of biting into a hot mashed potato. The Sweet Potato fries were no different then any other variety of sweet potato fries at other gourmet burger spots. The Thin Fries were too salty on both occasions. My side dish recommendation is the Malt Liquour Tempura Onion Rings. They were thick, flavorful and understated. They we consumed so rapidly by the table I did not have a second to photograph their glory.

Happy Cheeseburger Wednesday!


11 comments:

  1. Great write up! How did you like the pork burger? Those triple cooked hand cut fries look amazing...

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  2. No comment on the Stilton cheese burger? It was atrociously overcheesed and overcooked. Yet all their fries are undercookd for being "triple" fried, and indeed, too salty. Absolutely agree on the soggy bun and overwhelming toppings. There is no Umami to be found here.

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  3. You should also check out Golden State on Fairfax Ave. (across the street from Animal). They make a delicious burger, and on Thursday nights they do a lamb burger special that is simply wonderful. As an added perk, they also sell Scoops ice cream! Mmmm...

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  4. Los Angeles is turning into a great burger town. You'll have many fantastic cheeseburger Wednesdays. (If you return to Umami again, try ordering the fries without salt- they're pretty terrific when not oversalted...)

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  5. You know I was totally going to get on here and post that Tony was going to post on here and tell you how much he hates Umami. He made it VERY clear on my post back in July! (Hehe Tony, I love you! <3) Link: http://hotpinkmanolo.livejournal.com/12996.html

    But apparently he beat me to it. Damn.

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  6. Eating cheeseburgers every Wednesday? Brilliant idea! I might have to start a food-eating trend like that every week here in Seattle.

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  7. Diana: I thought the menu read PORK too, but it is a porT soaked carmalized onion they put on the burger. R and I were so confused we almost called the server over to tell her the burger was beef! It was good, but nothing special (and I hate blue cheese, but R liked it).

    SinoSoul: I agree those were definitely not fried enough! But I do love that Manly.

    Hal B: I will give it another chance and let you know how I like the fries next time.

    Hotpinkmanolo: I heart you!

    NMOS: Start your food trend and let me know how it goes =)

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  8. Ok, burgers look great, but that dog standing on the cheeseburgers is the cutest thing EVER! He (she?) looks like you just woke him (her?) up and really isn't feeling the photoshoot. I love it.

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  9. That post actually made my mouth water. I think it started with the "smoked salt onion strings..."
    Ever since I moved from L.A., eating burgers hasn't been the same.

    iamemmamusic.blogspot.com

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  10. I love this post. Since we don't have them here, my favorite is so simple. In n Out Burger! We made them here in Nashville for my birthday party. My earliest memories of childhood was a tearoom that served the best burgers. They buttered and toasted the bun and put the right amount of ketchup and mustard with pickle. It set my standard. Can't wait to hear about more burgers.

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    ReplyDelete

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