burgers
Vincent, A Restaurant
Since my wife and I reside in frigid Minneapolis, I decided to make a list of some local spots to try. I constructed the list based on both recommendations and research. Not all of the restaurants are completely burger-focused, but a fair number will be.
We started with a place called, “Vincent, A Restaurant,” located in downtown Minneapolis. The place wasn’t hopping, but I didn’t expect it to be for a weekday lunch with the weather in the negatives. Knowing what we wanted, I immediately ordered the Vincent Burger and my wife ordered the Housemade Mini Pekin Duck Breast Burgers. During our short wait, we received a fresh baguette with butter. The butter was hit with a little salt which was a nice touch. The burger came out in a nice presentation. It was served open-faced with lettuce, tomatoes, and raw onions.
There was a house-made aioli that was spread on both sides of the char-marked buns. When I took my first bite, the meat took me a bit by surprise. The smoked gouda and braised short ribs listed on the menu had passed my mind until it came pouring out the inside of the meat. Minneapolis loves their Juicy Lucy’s. No complaints here, though. The meat was still cooked to about a medium, and the Gouda didn’t overpower, but created a very rich taste. The short rib added some extra fat, which certainly made it juicier that your typical 80/20 beef burger. The aioli wasn’t anything extraordinarily special, but the waiter said paprika is added to give it a little kick (to me it just added color to an average aioli). The shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and onions were the only thing that kept this burger in the generic category. Along with the french fries which were similar to those that can be found in the freezer section at your local grocery store.
The Foundry on Melrose
After researching LA’s best burgers online, one of the lists rated the burger at The Foundry on Melrose as the best in town. This rating is just from one list, but I needed to start somewhere. So after having an amazing burger at Umami, which was about number three on that same list, I figured number one wouldn’t disappoint. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, which I was very disappointed about, but I still wanted to write something about this burger.
We started out with some homemade tater-tots. These came served in a miniature cocotte with two dipping sauces, bleu cheese fondue and violet mustard. The tots were basically mashed potatoes lightly coated and deep-fried. Nothing surprising about these homemade tots, but it did the trick. The mustard wasn’t as tangy as I thought it would be and cut through the oil nicely. I thought that the bleu cheese fondue could have had a little more bleu flavor, but it was creamy and a great contrast for the mustard.
Three people at our table ordered the burger, and the presentation was something to smile at. Because I forgot my camera, I created a layout of the plate so you can get an idea of what the presentation was like.
First, I’ll describe the visual. The burger was served on four connected Hawaiian rolls, creating the shape of a square. To one side of the burger, there were three small condiment dishes, each with a little spoon. Starting from the top, we have caramelized onions, followed by apple bacon tarragon chutney, and then ending with some homemade mayonnaise. To the other side of the burger, there were handmade fried onion rings. For the burger itself, we’ll start with the meat. After talking to the waiter a little bit, he informed us the meat was mixed with a little foie gras. On the burger itself, you had arugula, small sweet and sour pickles cut lengthwise, roasted tomatoes, and melted sharp cheddar.
The presentation was nice (kind of fun, actually), but it was little overwhelming if you didn’t know what you were working with. The burger had an amazing taste to it. How couldn’t it really? Foie gras, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, and I could go on and on. The one thing our table agreed on was that the burger had a lot of sweetness coming in all kinds of direction. The apple bacon chutney, Hawaiian bun, roasted tomatoes, and the mayonnaise and onions certainly don’t scream savory. The surprising sweetness didn’t ruin it for me, but it would take more research on my part to title this best burger in LA.
Umami Burger
I just happened to be going LA when I decided I wanted to write this blog. I did a little research on some of the best burgers, then headed west. Of course I had a couple dozen places that I was told I needed to try, but even a burger eating fool like me needed to draw the line.
Umami burger was my first stop. Umami is Japanese for “delicious taste” it sometimes is referred to as "fifth taste." My buddy and I walked in expecting a crowd, but our 11:22am timing could not have been better. The restaurant had a great modern feel to it, and the location was quite small. The menu had some great creations, but I knew I had to order the Umami Burger, their signature burger.
The waitress “told” us that our burgers would be cooked medium-rare, so I didn’t argue. Ten minutes later, our burgers were in front of us. At first glance, I liked what I saw: simple presentation, beautiful bun, juicy looking burger, and a Parmigiano crisp sticking out from underneath. No, I did not order the triple-cooked, hand-cut fries (smacking myself now). I simply got a side of the roasted garlic aioli while my buddy ordered a side of the jalapeño ranch, both tasting as you’d expect.
Before going to town on the burger, I took a closer look at what was considered to be "the burger I will crave." Under the Portuguese branded bun was the following: caramelized onions, oven-roasted tomatoes, a shiitake mushroom, Parmigiano crisp, and their house made ketchup. The meat is ground and formed in-house, and judging by the amount of juice, I would say their meat-to-fat ratio is right on. While I’m sure they use a certain process and type of meat, I didn't much care about the method because to me, it had the perfect amount of meat and fat. The Umami burger was a beautiful thing, but I would have to say my favorite part was the way it was served. It wasn't served with half of the bun pathetically lying there as if to say, “Take off what you will.” It came to the table finished, telling you, "It should be done this way."
The look of this burger reflected the way it tasted. The meat was perfectly seasoned, and the flawless toasted bun only added to it. The essence of this burger was easily in the Umami toppings. As I noted before, these weren't just your generic toppings; there was a thought process behind this burger. You didn’t taste each element individually; the flavors melded perfectly, not one dominating the other.