Umami: Costa Mesa

And now...for something different. The local variant for Umami Laguna Beach popped up on the 100 Favorite Dishes by OC Weekly a few weeks ago, but it's almost a half hour from work, so I can't do that during the work week. However, there are two that are only about 10 or so minutes away, so...I've decided to do a quick review of all the different variants on the Umami Burger.

If you didn't know, each location has a special variation that you can't get anywhere else. This will document those variations.

First up: Umami - Costa Mesa - Samurai

Two juicy, seasoned pork patties, house teriyaki with pickled ginger, romaine, scallions, curry sauce & toasted sesame seeds.

The patties were a bit smaller than I expected as the last time I was at Umami, I got the B.U.B. burger - two patties, bacon, beer-cheddar, minced onions, pickles, mustard, Umami house ketchup, served tall with a middle bun - a Big Mac of sorts, but with actual flavor. However, what the patties lack in size, the burger more than makes up for in flavor.

The pickled ginger really gives you a nice kick in the pants when you get to the middle of the burger and the romaine, covered in curry sauce and topped with toasted sesame seeds really adds a nice crunch though with the firmness of the pork patties, it wasn't as necessary as a more meaty beef burger would call for.

The teriyaki oozes out at first bite along with the curry sauce and the pork patties were a bit less juicy than the description said, but either way, it all comes together quite nicely. It was a welcome change from the huge beef patties they use on their regular burgers and incorporated many disparate flavors together nicely.

On a side note, only one of the burgers on the Umami menu has an egg. You cannot add an egg to any of the other burgers. This is shameful.