Umami Burgers Opens in Old Pasadena to Rave Reviews

 

They came in droves and they came hungry!

Thirty minutes after opening its doors, the new Umami Burger Pasadena at 49 East Colorado Blvd., in the heart of Old Town, was jampacked with hungry customers eager to have a bite of Umami’s tasty gourmet burgers.

“This (burger) is really delicious,” said Kirsten Scott of Pasadena, one of the early diners who lined up during Umami’s opening last October 17th. She added, “I’ve heard about  Umami burger.  This one is of course closer to me and I wanted to try out their burgers. I really, really like it,” she added.

Scott also liked the two different kinds of fries offered by Umami which she described as “very good.” But what she particularly liked about Umami’s burgers is its fresher taste that she said sets it apart from other burger houses.

The company says what differs Umami’s burgers from its competitors are its many layers and the umami flavors that are infused into each burgers.

Jason Berkowitz, Vice-President of Restaurant Operations for Umami Restaurant Group, described Umami Burgers as a “burger joint for adults” with a sophisticated approach to hamburgers that combibines the sciences of making burgers and “the vibe.”

Add the human ingredient into it “and you bring it to life, and you make it pop,” he said over the din.

“The whole place is alive. The flavor pops.  The staff pops.  The shirts pop.  And it’s the idea of active.  Everything is active,” Berkowitz said.

He went on to say, “Adam [Fleischman] (the owner of Umami burger) really caught something and understood how much a concept is built and how important it is to understand a concept.  So, you deliver the food.  How’s the ambiance?  How does everything look?  How’s the temperature?  What music is playing?  How’s the staff?  What are they wearing?  So, a whole vibe is built around it.”

More than just burgers Umami also serves cocktails, beer and wine to add more flavor and fun to their diners.

Their first-day Pasadena customers seemed to love it.

Nick Cerini, another customer who lined up for the opening said burgers and beer and wine can go together well.

“It’s more of a gourmet burger than like eating at McDonald’s, right?  So, I think it’s good to actually have a glass of wine with it, definitely,” Cerini said.

Cerini, who had just finished his burger, said he was just passing in the area when he noticed the long queue outside the joint.

“It’s absolutely very tasty,” he described of the burger. He also enjoyed the minimalistic ambiance and the great food. He’d definitely be back, Cerini exclaimed.

According to Berkowitz, the idea is to let the community evolve with the burger joint and help it develop their menu.

“So if families are starting to come in and they want a little more kid-focus [menu], we’ll have fun with it.  We’ll put the Umami twist on everything,” he said. It’s like having an interactive menu to satisfy the needs of their customers.

He explained that Umami believes there is an interactive development to each community and listens to what their customers want because they really want to focus locally. Berkowitz insisted that this should be the concepts of all restaurants. To always listen to customer’s feedback.

“Listen to your customers,” he said and added, “We take the lead.  This is what we want.  This is our pop.  This is our — this is the experience that we’re looking to provide for you.  So, lead but also listen.  Listen to the customers and be able to flow with that a little bit.  It’s very important.  We keep extremely talented people around us who can have fun with it and keep it pretty active. I always questions when people are eating eats in our restaurant.”

To keep each burgers always fresh, Berkowitz explained Umami is very careful that they use only the best ingredients. And they only use all natural beef with no preservatives, antibiotics or hormones. “We are really extremely diligent that our beef comes straight from the farms. We have to ensure that our beefs are always fresh. We take nice cuts of steak and we grind them throughout the day in-house.”

Of course, the buns must be kept fresh and special too. Berkowitz explained that Umami uses Portuguese-style buns in which they add a little bit of milk and honey. They make their own buns using their recipe everyday. They also have a special way of baking their buns to give it pillowy and soft and not dry like other buns.

Umami is a  Japanese word meaning “pleasant savory taste” the same concept adopted by Umami Burgers to give their burgers a distinct flavor and taste that separates it from other joints.

Umami Burger is located at 49 East Colorado Blvd. in Old Pasadena. For more information, visit www.umami.com or call (626) 799-UMAMI.