If you travel in certain genuflective foodie circles – ever witnessed the rabid scrum of Chowhounders on a burger vs. burger comment thread, or enjoined your own lively debate about the merits of NYC’s various cow-sammies – then you’ve heard:
LA’s renowned Umami Burger has arrived, and it is delicious.
For you men who haven’t, cock an ear: the first ever UB opens in Greenwich today, and it’s dishing out the famed patties with that legendary “fifth taste,” umami.
It’s a truly tasty taste — nuanced, savory, chock full of glutamates — though grousing New Yorkers would be forgiven for suspecting it’s just a marketing gimmick.
The Greenwich Umami stands out, though, with some Big Apple-only exclusives, including a braised beef and gravy-dipped French Dip Burger and a Five-Spice Duck Patty sporting fennel-and-apple compote and Chinese five-spice powder.
Plus: a full bar slinging cocktails like the cognac-and-sweet-tea Bobcat (NYU stand up) or the 21-U Club, an Umami-dusted Bloody Mary with a secret spice blend.
Between those burgers and drinks – at least according to owner Adam Fleischman – Umami will lay soggy patty’d waste to the NYC competition.
“New York has some okay burgers,” he says, “but I’m creating a whole new genre.”
You be the judge.
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