One morning, while browsing Yahoo! front page, I came upon this article: Is this the Best Burger In America?. By the end of the article, I was drooling and a coworker confirmed, it really is THAT good. So of course, I had to go try for myself…
Umami Burger
Must Have!! The heavenly Truffle Burger. |
There are several locations in the LA area, the one I went to was in plain LA, and there are other locations in Santa Monica, etc. The LA location was surprisingly small, can probably only fit about 15 parties max, and I’m already overestimating. Good thing my friend and I came here at around 9 PM, so there was no wait at all. There aren’t too many different burgers on the menu and indecisive me already knew what I wanted at first glance: Truffle Burger.
I don’t know if it was the trifecta effect going on that night …
1) I just came from the gym,
2) I love truffle anything, and
3) Umami serves one of the best burgers in the world
…but this burger just blew my mind. This $11 burger has no frills, no distracting veges or extra ketchup, mustard or mayo to disguise the flavor. As you can see, this burger’s a simple cheeseburger. The bun was fluffy and light, the cheese was homemade with truffles, and the medium-rare patty was perfectly moist and glazed with truffle oil. Trust me, I am not a burger person so this is a rare moment for me. Only small complaint that isn’t a big deal to me at all, is the size of the burger – I can see it being“maybe I can eat two of these” small for some.
In addition to the Amazing Truffle Burger, my friend and I also shared their namesake Umami burger and two sides. I didn’t do a good job of photographing this burger, but there is a small thin crisp of fried cheese between the meat and bun which was a bit unique. I didn’t enjoy this burger nearly as much as I did the Truffle Burger, but the bun and meat were both moist and still was a good burger.
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Umami Burger, Smushed Fries and Sweet Potato Fries |
The Sides. When I read “Smushed Fries”, I don’t know why I thought it would be mashed potatoes, molded into fries, but clearly that’s not what came out. Smushed Fries is just as it sounds, smushed potatoes, fried. It was served on a bed of their Roasted Garlic Aioli. I found the side just way too greasy and potatoes too huge for my taste. The Sweet Potato Fries were a clear winner for me, served with a side of their signature Umami Ketchup, the cut was just perfect and it was fried just right. I would name this the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had. Their Umami Ketchup hinted at that mysterious fifth Umami flavor. Through some research, I found that it might be sardines. Anyway, all sides also come with a choice of extra sauce on the side (there’s about 10 to choose from), and we picked Roasted Garlic Aioli, not knowing the Smushed Fries would have it, and also Jalapeno Ranch, which I also found unnecessary. I just personally don’t prefer cream based sauce.
The Verdict: The Truffle Burger at Umami Burger might just be the best burger I’ve ever had and I would always get it with a side of Sweet Potato Fries. Also, don’t worry for those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, because guess what? Umami is opening up not one, but TWO new locations here in 2011/2012!
Chego
Scoops
My LA food tour ended at Scoops, a delicious ice cream joint with innovative ice cream flavors made with fresh ingredients, serving about 10 flavors with a daily rotating menu. A small (what you see in the picture above) gives you two scoops for only $3.50. I chose Brown Bread which apparently features Grape Nuts cereal, giving this popular flavor a fun crunch texture. My other pick was Rosewater Pistachio, which was also amazing. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I can definitely go for another round at Scoops in my next LA visit!
Thanks again to my lovely hostess, Sleepy, for a fun Gym Tan Eat LA Trip! <3
[…] time I ate the burger but it isn’t something that I’m dying to have again, unlike the Truffle Burger at Umami. However, I absolutely loved the Braised Beef Brisket and would love to try brunch here. So while […]
I'm jealous you can eat this all the time Roy! And yea, I want to the S. LA Brea one, had no clue that Dennis was so close! Carey's right by there too then huh?
York, this was DEFINITELY worth the traffic!
two of my favorite places. btw the la one (i assume you mean the la brea one) is right next to dennis' place
epic. Chego looks pretty good! also, nice new layout!
mmm…all of this food ALMOST makes LA traffic worth it!