Born to Eat

My laziness got the best of me in years past. Sure I love food and boy do I spend most conversations and emails telling my friends about it. Well this is the day. TO-DAY, my food blog is born to account for all past and future food babies.

Umami Burger
Say what, your-mama's burger? No, not-your-mama's unless Albertson's ran out of Hamburger Helper and she had to figure out how to make burgers for the first time, but of course she layers on numerous ingredients to show her fine effort at a unique non-commercial burger. Catch my drift? Ok, let's rewind to before I even got there.

Situation: It's intersected near 2 large streets - Olympic and La Brea. Parking is terrible. Meters are filled, residential areas are permitted and parallel parking on a big street in LA is not a good time. They do have a small parking lot but if it's a busy night, good luck! But whatevers, worth it for a burger right? Except there is a reason the parking lot is filled--the restaurant is full! And mainly because it is rather small. With only 3 helping hands and a clueless/forgetful waiter, your starvation after that 3rd circle around the block for parking, gets pissy impatient. But whatevers, burger heaven right?

Food: They had about 8 burgers, which included a lamb and turkey burger. My eyes caught onto the Truffle Burger. Not saturated with toppings but a simple burger cooked in truffle oil and topped with truffle scented cheese. Decadent. Done. Then, the Umami Burger. What's that?? No description, just the "you'll want this" mystique. So, ok then, I want it! (What can I say, I live life dangerously.) The burger ended up having sauteed mini-mushrooms with homemade ketchup (made out of anchovy and whatnots), caramelized onions, oven-made tomatoes and a parmesan crisp cheese which I was most excited about.

Verdict: The Truffle was good since it was well-seasoned and the meat patty did melt in my mouth, but the "truffleness" was lacking. The bread was good because it was a bit sweet and roasted, just like the BBQ Pork Buns you'd find at chinese dim sum. The Umami. While the meat patty remains soft and the bun remains wonderful for its resemblence to Chinese "baos," nothing in-between stood out. You could not taste each topping--they all mushed together into one sloppy bite with no distinguished flavor. The parmesan crisp I was so excited about softened and lost itself against the mush. I don't even remember anything else that made the Umami Burger the restaurant's signature. Along the same lines, there is not anything about the restaurant that made it outstanding. The purple potatoe salad in garlic sauce is notable along with their garden beet salad. They also have sweet potatoe chips with sprinkled cinnamon on top which provides a good crunch against the mushness of the burger. The fries are fat and few if any.

If there is one good thing (aside the uniqueness of bun choice), I would say their portions are small which leaves you walking away feeling only semi-disgusting. Great, because the enjoyment was "fat free"/minimal anyways. Come on guys, even McDonald's Swiss Mushroom Angus Burger tastes better and comes with more fries.

850 S La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036