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Just perfect---the meat to bun ratio is ideal to the last bite. I had the Manly Burger, and the porkbelly was a perfect addition. The ketchup was heavy on the anise, but the burger didn't need it. This is my favorite burger next to the one at Olives in Las Vegas at the Bellagio and the one at the Left Bank at the On The Ave hotel in NYC's Upper West Side. Umami is my new "go to" burger in LA.

Hmm. Arts is still #1, maybe Cantors.....Nate n Als? Juniors? No way...mass produced drek

I live in San Francisco. I have nothing to add. It's sad. A town steeped in a Jewish past, not one decent Jewish deli. A shanda!!!!!!!

I live in NY, and Langers is as good as anything in NY and certainly cheaper. So many of NY delis the are culinary equivilent of "I heart NY" t-shirts anyway, which is to say overpriced and uncomfortably stuffed with tourists. Langers on the otherhand doesn't suffer from too much walk in foot traffic...

What are you all, Galitzianers? The taste test for delis has always been corned beef sandwiches, but suddenly pastrami has come to the fore. When Woody Allen sent up Gentile tastes in Annie Hall, it was a corned beef sandwich he used for the gag (white bread and mayonnaise). MMinNYC is absolutely right, that the NY deli is disappearing, but a good NY deli is still head and shoulders better than an LA deli. There are exceptions, like the pastrami at Langer's, but the rest is pretty mediocre. In NY, it was always the bread and the water--and hand cutting. My last sandwich at Junior's in Westwood was inedible, so now I go up the street to the Persian restaurants. I've lived in both places for years and years, and my vote's for the Apple.

Well, I havent tried them all, but having grown up in NY, I'd say that Canters was probably the last deli I'd return to..Art's definitely nothing to write home about(or blog), Nate and Al's is better..Brents, though, definitely can compete with the best...Pastrami is delicious! I have to get downtown one day soon and check out Langers.

I'm not sure I'd pick LA over NYC but LA does have some good delis. I'm partial to Canter's myself. A lot of the other delis are overrated in my opinion - Factor's and Junior's in particular.

although i will add i only tried canters pastrami once...perhaps somehow some inconsistency? but to attest to Langers' deliciousness, not once has their pastrami been anything short of delicious.

I went last week, and whiule I was a skeptic beforehand, I'm now a believer. I think this is on the very short list for best burger in L.A (with the Kobe at Lucky Devil's being my other current favorite).

A couple of gripes:
1) As at Lucky Devil's (and Father's Office), the "pre-packaged" burgers get in the way. I frankly didn't want either the "Umami" burger OR the "SoCal" burger - but instead just a burger, medium rare, with cheese so as to be able to judge the burger on the taste of the base components, and not accessories. I felt compelled to order the SoCal burger, but next time I will request the butter lettuce, sauce, etc. to be left off. I don;t think they brought much to the table.

2) The fries, the fries, the fries. Maxcriden, your pictures indicate that at least for a little while they ventures away from the ultra-thick fries. I wish they had continued that experiment. I don't 4 or 5 "fries" that taste more like mashed potatoes with a crispy covering. This place really needs some version of traditional fries. Why is it such a problem? Not everything on the menu needs to be groundbreaking.

3) No wine and beer/corkage. I'm sorry, but the 5 dollar corkage needs to go if they're not going to have wine or beer available. If you're bringing a $40 bottle of wine to a steakhouse, which already has its own wine list, $5 corkage would seem like an excellent value, but this is a burger joint, and all I want is a glass or two of beer or wine. If I need to go across the streeet to buy a beer, I shouldn't have to pay an additional $5 to drink it. That's just ridiculous.

Great review but I disagree about the So Cal burger. My wife had the Umami and I thought my So Cal burger was way better after tasting hers. She liked mine better too. Killer onion rings, but not a fan of the house ketchup with anchovies. I think I'll sneak in some good old Heinz ketchup on my next visit!

Here are my totally amateurish pics from today's jaunt to Umami:

Umami Burger and Fries:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxcriden/3363682793/

Umami Burger, sans top bun:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxcriden/3363683063/

Mexican Coke and Abita Root Beer (both with real sugar, I think--yum!):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxcriden/3364503980/

Market Salad with Manchego (by request), Mandarin Oranges (that or baby tangerines, I don't recall which), and Chili-Chipotle Dressing:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxcriden/3363683091

Just arrived in LA for the first time in 3 years, and the first place I go? Umami Burger, just as any devoted Gambuto reader might. It was really superb.

I still say it's a regrettably named restaurant with a product that, while it may be very tasty, likely has little more umami than any other burger. It's like calling your restaurant "Glutamate Receptor-Pleasing Burger," "Delicious Burger," "Savory Burger," etc. The word "umami" is no more unique to their restaurant and burger than "sweet," "salty," "sour" or "bitter."