The first time I went to UMAMI BURGER I was pleasantly surprised. I walked away full and chatting nonstop about the four different burgers our table had tried. I brought Umami up in conversation and urged friends to stop by. The second time — not so much. “Overrated” sprung to mind. And with my own hype, no less. Hate it when that happens. We tried to order the pickle platter. I say “tried” because the conversation went somewhat like this (or exactly like this since I like to convey conversations verbatim):
Us: We’d like the pickle platter. [Pointing to the table next to us who have just received one.]
Them: Uh…we’re not serving those right now.
[We turn to and look at the platter at the table next to us.]
Them: Yeah, I let them order those because they don’t really eat anything else. [Uh, ok. Maybe they’re vegans who wandered into a burger place?]…and we only have, like, three of them left. [Three servings? Three pickles? Unclear.]
Ten minutes later as we get our sides, the table next to us gets their meat burgers, a side of fries and a side of onion rings. So, I guess they weren’t vegans who couldn’t eat anything else. Still unclear exactly what happened.
But, let’s say I look past that little incident. All the plates and bowls were chipped. Not just the one with the beet salad. All of them. The two bowls of fries, all three burger plates. In case you’re counting — that’s 6 total. Tip to aspiring restaurateurs– get real plates before you open your second outpost. Seriously.
I could go on, but then I’d have to get into the comments on the size of the burger, why we weren’t ask how we wanted them cooked, blah, blah, blah. Who needs that? I think you’ve had enough. I have.
Umami Burger
850 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 931-3000
