Umami Burger, Studio City, CA

Umami Burger

After all the hype over the Umami Burger (see the press), I jumped at the opportunity to go with my friend Barbara. First, Barbara and I worked up an appetite by hiking the trail in Wilacre Park in Fryman Canyon for a little over an hour. Usually, Barbara and I hang out only on the hottest days of the year, but this time, the weather was pretty good ;).

Umami is your fifth taste "savory"...after the usual sweet, sour, bitter, salty. The name was coined by my peeps in Japan.

We both got the popular Umami Burger $10. It has house ground beef, caramelized onions, shiitake mushrooms, roasted tomato, Parmesan cheese crisp, and house made ketchup.

Barbara ate the Smushed Potatoes $4.50 (according to the menu: dutch yellow creamers , double fried) with roasted garlic aioli, and I devoured the Sweet Potato Fries $4.00 with Umami ketchup. The fries were topped with some brown sugar...so delicious.

The Valli location has a full bar with counter seats and a row of tables. The day we went, the music was way way loud. Damn, if you go to the bathroom, it's like being in a club. 

All burgers are cooked medium rare, unless you tell them otherwise. What is funny is that Umami opened this 5th location two doors down from the popular The Counter Custom Built Burger joint. And the waiter tells you, "You can't change anything on the burger...taking some from one type to another. You can remove items, but no substitutions." In other words, we aren't the Counter!

I thought the burger was very delicious...but I probably won't eat another one for a couple years as it is a hella lot of beef. Next time, I'm going to try the portobello or turkey burger. I was very hungry from the hike and ate the whole thing in one sitting...I'm not eating beef again for a month.

I'm pulling out the weather forecast and checking to see when the next heatwave is coming...then I know it's time to visit with my friend Barbara again! :)

Restaurant:
Umami Burger
5 locations in Los Angeles