Umami Burger – Costa Mesa

I’d heard the praises of Umami Burger for a couple of years now, but since they were in Los Angeles I never had the chance to try them, until now. Umami Burger has been going through an expansion and with their expansion they recently opened up in Costa Mesa at The Camp. What I can tell you is Umami Burger is a burger experience you have to try yourself because it’s just so damn good.

So here is what we ordered.

The Tempura Onions were pretty big and held up well for tempura, I think there was something about malt on the menu about them but can’t remember exactly. We dipped them in the Umami Ketchup. They were about average.

These “Smushed” potatoes were awesome… I could eat this double fried creamer potatoes every day and be happy. Dipped in garlic aoili for his and her pleasure.

How about the burgers? You ask. Well we each ordered our own, Mrs. DanGarion ordered the Cali Burger (butter lettuce, slow-roasted tomato, house spread, house-made American cheese, caramelized onions) for $10.

She thought it was ok but could have used more house spread. We both agreed the buns were perfect. The issue with the spread was that she really couldn’t taste it, it was overpowered by everything else.

Being that I’m a man, I had to get myself the Manly Burger (beer-cheddar cheese, smoked salt-onion strings, bacon lardons) for $11

This is the best burger I’ve had in 2012. Everything was perfect, the bun, the meat, the toppings, the LARDONS! This is what an awesome burger is about.

Overall our meal was really good and we would definitively consider Umami Burger in the future. I’m looking forward to checking out some of their other burgers, I actually almost ordered their namesake Umami Burger and also considered the Hatch Burger, I guess I’ll just have to try those next time…