Umami, Udadi!

Umami Burger, located in Costa Mesa in The Camp on Bristol street takes a new look at the classic burger joint. Opening just recently in Orange County, Umami Burger is very popular in L.A.  When we arrived at 5:30 on a Monday, the place was chaos. Our waiter told us that there would be a 20 minute wait to get seated. I felt cold, so we decided on take out.

We ordered an Umami Burger, the original, and a Manly Burger plus some sweet potato fries and a ginger beer. The Umami Burger contained parmesan crisp, tomatoes, caramelized onions, mushroom, and umami ketchup. My dad thought the mushroom added a contrasting texture. The Manly burger  came with bacon, onion crisps, melted cheese, and umami ketchup. I thought it was smokier and a touch more balanced than my dad's.

Of course, by the time we got home to eat it, nothing was hot - and the buns, while fresher than at most burger places, started to look a little soggy. They had also mislabeled our burgers. But the waiting would have been something to complain about as well. Even a to-go order at a new place has its issues: as we watched the kitchen process, we saw things packed and then unpacked, orders rejected by the waiters, and our order came about 10 minutes later than the almost identical order placed by the person after us.

Is it worth the wait? You decide. Is it worth the money? Umami Burger is pricey for what you get. Will you go for it?

great park farmer's market - food truck heaven

Everyone in the OC knows about food trucks, and we have some great ones some people might even know from TV. I should have blogged some, like the LIme Truck, and the Barcelona truck, and of course the Kogi truck - but just go find them at your neighborhood spots (check their plans on twitter).

A great spot is the farmer's market in the Great Park every Sunday (where we actually took Buster the dog up in the Orange Balloon - he liked it...); and if you don't find a food truck that makes what you like, you should definitely try this tent called STREET FOODS Co. - order the Tempura Shrimp and the Blue Crab Burrito, they are awesome!

The counter

Make your own burger at the counter! The counter serves burgers or should i say you make make the burger and they serve it. When your waiter comes you get a little pamphlet that allows you to make your burger. You can chose the size,the sides, the sauce, the cheese, and the bun. We had parmesan fries with garlic, parsley, rosemary, and parmesan. I had red onions, red peppers, sharp provalone, and corn and beans with honey mustard sauce. We both had the smallest sized burgers which were not to small. My dad had tomatoes, grilled pineapple, and coleslaw with sweet barbeque sauce(yes i know, he got the best sides and sauce and i didn't want to copy him). The fries were good but not the best. They were a big portion so we had to take them home and when we heated them up they were still very good. The burger was good but not better than any other one but i guess its nice to pick your sides. A nice outdoor seating area allowed me and my new dog (:D!) to sit outside. It has a nice atmosphere and nice indoor seating area with what do you expect?... Counters! In all this is a nice sit down burger place that allows you to make your own unique burger.

World famous pastrami

Today i just came home from a burger-sandwich place called The Hat. My dad told me that it's like an old style fast food place. I had already heard from my dad's friend that it was pretty good so that didn't worry me to much. When we got there i recognized a sort of deli. It was pretty empty so there wasn't a line. I hoped they would have a corned beef sandwhich-my favorite.They didn't. So i did the natural thing any American would do. Get a cheese burger. My dad got a pastrami sandwich. It came pretty pretty quickly. We also ordered a small fry serving and a onion ring serving. When our food came the first thing we noticed was that there were three bags. I thought that it was normal each meal getting it own bag and the sides sharing the other. But after we opened them up i realized it was the other way around! The sides were huge. The small fries took up half a bag and the onion rings a whole one! That was the only problem though. Everything else was really good adding the fact that it was fast food. My dads pastrami had just enough spice and flavor combined to make it really good. The burger was nice and juicy to with a whole lot of greens. The atmosphere was nice and talkative to. Oh yeah and by the way don't tell this to anyone who you know who ate at The Hat: my dad says (because of the huge sides) he felt like the skinniest person there! So in the end if yo are looking for a fast good place on the go, come to The Hat!