Umami Burger -- La Brea

Welcome to the first of many updates. Let me start with THE BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I DREAM ABOUT THIS BURGER. I WAS HEARTBROKEN WHEN I HAD TO STOP EATING BECAUSE MY STOMACH COULDN'T TAKE ANYMORE. That's how delicious this place was.

The spot: Umami Burger

What they got: Burgers and the usual suspects

Price: $9-$11 per burger

Locations: all in LA area
http://www.umamiburger.com/

Being complete fatties and very, very hungry, Jon and I ordered THREE (yup, count 'em) burgers PLUS fries, plus onion rings for dinner. The service was cute; really laid back yet extremely friendly and helpful at the same time. Note though: their parking lot is like the size of my room (not really, but you get the picture) so they mandate valet! Better find your own parking if you don't want to shell out $3.

The first burger I tried was undoubtly the best. And yes, you guessed it, it had to do with truffles! A perfectly grilled medium-rare patty served with an Italian truffle cheese and truffle glaze. Who knew there were such things! The first bite was nothing I have ever experienced before. To be completely honest, I just kept biting and chewing, trying to figure out what was going on in my mouth. Before I knew it, the burger was all gone and my only thought was I wanted more :( Silly me forgot to save the best for last! So I had two more burgers to try and therefore, no room to order a FOURTH burger (oh but I thought about it though).

But the two other burgers were good too (though not relatively amazing -- sad). Their Umami Burger [pictured] is obviously their signature burger (and rightfully so), and their Hatch Burger had a nice, solid kick to it: four types of chilis and a house cheese.

Other things to know... their fries come in fat and skinny. And when they fat, they mean business. Their onion rings are made with a tempera batter, and they make their own house ketchup. They also have a huge selection of sodas made with real sugar, none of this US-made crap. Annndd the patty itself is delicious. It tasted so fresh it was like they had a butcher in the back. They also only do two temps: medium rare or well done. Medium rare was definitely the way to go.

Other than that, all you need to know is to get your ass here next time you're in LA!

-- fatty regina out.