Umami Burger Will Enfold New York in a Meaty Embrace

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Even though New York may not be any closer to getting an In-N-Out Burger than we were on April Fools' Day 2010, it looks like we'll soon receive another meaty Southern Californian love letter in the form of Umami Burger.

Following a Nation's Restaurant News report that his extremely popular Los Angeles-based chainlet would be expanding to cities including New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Houston, Umami founder Adam Fleischman told Grub Street that "we should be doing stuff in NYC by late 2012."

How will Fleischman's patties distinguish themselves from those served at New York's 5,000 other burger chains? With an assist from the company's namesake, the elusive but much-fetishized fifth taste.

All of Umami's burgers, its website says, were designed to showcase the "pleasant savoury taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products." This means, according to Jonathan Gold, that the burgers "are dosed with every conceivable grade of umami, from the burger glazed with Stilton to the triple-pork burger with Manchego cheese; the scallop burger that is an occasional special; to a four-onion burger; and a not-so-truffly truffle burger prepared with truffle cheese and truffle salt." And also, "enough truffle oil to float a surfboard."

Incidentally, Gold's a fan of the turkey burger, which contains Green Goddess dressing, avocado, and sprouts. Apparently, it tastes "very, very green."

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