UMAMI: Japanese for “damn, this is a tasty burger”

This fancy burger joint has been hotter than Megan Fox on the Yelp charts for the last two months.

My foodie friend from NY came down a month ago and had read all about this place (even across the country), so we decided to come down on a Friday and grab lunch.

Down the 10 and off on La Brea and.. there it is! Just past the giant stuffed tiger shop on the right. I turn into their parking lot and there’s just absolutely nowhere to go, so this helpful Korean lady from the copy shop comes out to help us double park behind another car. Thanks! I hope you know we’re not here to come to your store.

Already I’m a little peeved because of the traffic and hard parking. I’m thinking to myself, why would I come back here? This place isn’t even big enough for all the hype. And then, after a wait, comes the food…

UMAMI! It is a Japanese word used to describe taste. While it has no direct English translation, it’s reserved for things tasty and great. The Japanese also have another word “umai”, which means delicious. They’re so close, that both would be acceptable to use in this restaurant.

We split three burgers in two: Socal Burger, Umami Burger, and the Blue Cheese.

I had the Socal burger, and at first bite, i thought it tastes very similar to an In-N-Out cheeseburger. It has all the ingredients–3/4 pound patty, lettuce, cheese, a thousand island dressing based sauce, and all sandwiched by fresh buns. Each ingredient is a major upgrade from In-N-Out. Their cheese is all made in-house. Their burger patties are incredibly savory and tasty. Their buns toasted slightly crispy on the edges but soft and spongy throughout. In fact, my friend could not stop raving about their buns.

The Umami burger was probably my favorite. Grilled mushrooms and tomatoes lend some sweetness to complement the savory meat. And the two contrasting tastes are divided by a crispy cheese chip. It’s like a ref holding two boxers back in the ring known as your mouth as they battle each other for taste supremacy.

Blue cheese can be overpowering, so unless you’re a huuuge fan of blue cheese and are eating with someone that doesn’t mind the smell of it, I would try a different burger.

For sides, the onion rings were fantastic. We skipped the fries from all the reviews saying they just don’t give you enough.

Unfortunately they were out of the pork burger that day (which seems to happen alot), so I made a separate trip to get one to go later on. It is just as marvelous as their beef burgers. Also recommended is the truffle burger. Oh, that makes another note… given that their parking sucks and the store is small, I highly recommend just getting your burger to go and eat it at the beach, park, or even your cubicle. I brought it back to my office in Hollywood and EVERYONE hated me.

This is the best burger I have had in my short time in LA, and probably deserves a spot in the perpetual debate of burger supremacy. Everyone should come here and try it at least once.

Umami Burger
850 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036

*All food photos taken by Alex. He wishes he took the one of Megan Fox.