Jay Keyes
Google
I'm a fan of umami, but I'm not sure that Umami Burger is my thing.
Umami Burgers consist of a 6-ounce beef patty reportedly made from American Wagyu beef and seasoned with soy sauce, ground-up dried porcini mushrooms, and dried fish head dust. Toppings included roasted tomatoes (tomatoes slow-baked in soy sauce), shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, and a round parmesan cheese crisp (referred to as a "frico.") The burger was served on a Portuguese-style roll.
The burger tasted a bit muddled, too mushroomy initially but eventually generated a good beefy aftertaste. In my opinion, the meat was way underseasoned. Traditional cheese would work better than the parmesan frico, since traditional floppy cheese could melt a little bit and hug the burger, imparting some desperately needed salt into each bite.
Some of the toppings were more effective than others. The roasted tomato confit was good (yay! flavor!), but the caramelized onions were just barely discernable. The burger needed more browning as well. It had an airy chopped-beef texture, which is OK for tartare, but not what I expect from a hamburger.
On the other hand, the thin Truffle Fries I ordered were very tasty -- salty and crisp, smothered in melted cheese and a well-restrained amount of truffle flavor. If I found myself at the SLS late-night and hungry, I may hit up Umami Burger for the fries, but I probably would not get another burger.