Umami Burger

During a visit to the Nike Montalban Theater, my sister and I decided to have lunch at nearby Umami Burger. It's a trendy little place that some friends of mine think rivals Father's Office. It's a pretty bold statement. So, I had to give it a try.

I give them bonus points right off the bat for having mexican Coca-Cola. If you don't know, you better ask somebody. Mexican Coca-Cola always comes in the distinctive glass bottle. It is cola made exclusively (you guessed it) in Mexico. What makes their formula unique is that they make the soda with real cane sugar. Believe me... it makes a difference.

To be honest, I can't remember the name of my sister's sandwich. I wanna say they called it an Earth burger or something to that effect, but don't quote me on that. I call it a sandwich because it is some veggie patty concoction. Can't be a burger if there's no animal flesh. That's enough about that "sandwich".

I went with their signature Umami Burger.

When it arrived, my first impression was "fancy schmancy". It has tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and a cheese crisp (parmesan I think). I'll give them credit for the beef patty. It is cooked medium and is very juicy. The bun is lightly toasted and isn't too filling. As a matter a fact, the entire burger is on the small side. So, the whole thing isn't very filling. The Umami is a great gourmet burger, but there is one particular reason why I give my nod to Father's Office. Umami puts some sort of sweet barbecue like sauce in this burger. The sauce is a little too sweet for my taste. I personally don't like my burgers tasting like there's candy in them. But, that's just me.

Our side order was the Tempura Onion Rings. The concept sounds tasty. They were actually pretty boring. I guess I should have went with something like sweet potato fries.

So, my first impression wasn't the greatest. But, they do have a "Triple Pork Burger" on the Santa Monica location's menu. I can always dig on some swine. But for now, Father's Office remains the #1 seed on my rankings chart.

Umami Burger

Space 15 Twenty

Hollywood, CA 90028

(323) 469-3100

www.umamiburger.com

I'm from LA Trick

King's Hawaiian Bakery & Restaurant

Here's a place that my wife & I have been frequenting for years. Many Southern Californians already know this place quite well. But, if I'm going to do this blog about food with my cousin, I have to include King's.

King's has a very casual vibe. It even has this cool fish tank that you can sit around if you want.

They always start you off with the signature Hawaiian sweet rolls. This is the same bread that comes in the round tin that you've eaten for years. It's only in haole dinner roll form.

On this visit, we decided to have some fried rice. This particular fried rice has onions, eggs, char siu pork, and of course... BACON. At King's, they have two varieties... regular and kim chee. We went with the kim chee. If you haven't guessed already, this place is all about island comfort food. This particular dish has a lot of distinct flavors going on at the same time. You have smokiness from the char siu, spiciness & vinegary from the kim chee, and the goodness of that bacon.

I went with the oxtail soup for my main dish. It comes with large pieces of braised oxtail in a broth that has a soy sauce/ pho vibe. I did find some anise in the bottom of the bowl. They also throw in some napa cabbage and water chestnuts. On the side, they give some minced ginger and spicy mustard to throw in. I personally just threw in the ginger. The oxtail can be a little fatty, so be forwarned if you're some sort of pansy health-nut. The meat is really tender and delicious. I could have had two bowls if my wife wasn't there constantly reminding me about my cholesterol issues.

And with most Hawaiian dishes, it came with a scoop of mac salad and scoop of steamed rice.

The wife went with the Deluxe Saimin. This one comes in a broth that I think is similar to a typical wonton soup. It includes char siu, green onions, scrambled egg, nappa cabbage, spinach, carrots and kamaboko. Kamaboko is basically fish cake (I'm not a fan). It also comes with a teriyaki chicken skewer and the standard issue mac salad & steamed rice.

For dessert, we had the Chocolate Mac Nut Coffee and a slice of their Chocolate Dobash Cake. I asked what dobash meant or where it came from. The server didn't really know. But she did tell me that the tasty cake is a chocolate chiffon cake with chocolate pudding.

King's is also a full service bakery. If you're lucky, they might have some malasadas in stock. They sell out really fast.

If you're curious what cake to try... always go with the Paradise Cake. It has three layers: Guava, Passion Fruit, and Lime. It's amazing. It would have been our wedding cake, but they couldn't deliver our cake on our particular wedding date (It happened to be mother's day weekend).

They also have some great pies such as Mac Nut Cream Pie.

Okay, I'm getting on the phone to tell the wife we need to go back ASAP. Daddy is Hungry.. again.
Till next time kids...

King's Hawaiian Bakery & Restaurant
2808 W. Sepulveda Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 530-0055
http://www.kingshawaiianrestaurants.com




I'm from LA Trick!!!