Umami Again

My cousin was in town on Saturday so we took them to Umami at Fred Segal for a Saturday lunch outside in the sun.  Since we were a larger group, we had the opportunity to try many menu items that we didn't have last time (food on the left, beer on the right).

 Most of the newcomers ordered the Umami Burger; everyone really enjoyed the different and diverse flavors of the burger:

I ordered the special turkey burger with bacon, beer cheddar cheese and avocados and my cousin ordered the manly burger, a beef patty with beer cheddar cheese, bacon lardons, and crispy sea salt onion strings.  My turkey burger was a mistake; I knew I should have stuck with real burgers at a burger place.  The patty was dry and not very flavorful and I thought they were a bit stingy with the cheese.  Manly on the left, turkey on the right:

We also tried a bunch of sides (from top: onion rings, french fries, cheesy tater tots and sweet potato fries).  I liked the light crispiness of the batter of the onion rings, but they were a little flavorless.  I liked the cheesy tater tots with the gooey cheesy center. 

A Saturday afternoon under the sun with burgers isn't complete without lots of beer.  We had the Northcoast Pranqster (again), Hitachino White Ale, Unibroue's Trois Pistoles, and a blueberry sparkling sake.  I liked the Trois Pistoles a lot, it was dark, but not too heavy with lots of flavor.  The Hitachino white was a little too light to stand up to the burger (and relative to the other beers).  The blueberry sparkling sake was prettier than it tasted; just a little too sweet.

 

Umami Burger at Fred Segal

500 Broadway

Santa Monica, CA  90401

(310) 451-1300