I missed out on Umami Burger when it was a thing in relatively recent years. Maybe someone who knows a bit more can fill in the blanks? My understanding is that it was pretty well regarded when it showed up, then it expanded into a chain largely based around California, and then just as quickly kind of disappeared. To the best of my recollection, it only exists in this one location at LAX now.
I was out of town visiting family for about a week and a half and came back last night. My flight out was very early in the morning when everything was closed, but I went by the spot just to get a couple of pictures to remember where to go after coming back (the second and third pictures you see here).
Got to hit it up after touching back down last night. I got the Umami Classic Burger (the first picture).
Thoughts: I liked it well enough, though purely on its own merits it might not be all that memorable in comparison to the plentiful other burgers we have around the county. It was tasty, and while there were more vegetables than I'd typically prefer there to be on it (you can't really see in the picture, but tomato and pickles are on the bottom), they didn't ultimately detract from it. I find that when there are too many vegetables on a hot burger, the side-by-side of hot and cold doesn't always work, but in this case it wasn't a big deal.
If it weren't just in the airport, and if it weren't priced for being in the airport, I'd probably go back. If anyone is headed to the airport and you'd like to try it, it's in the dining area right before you pass through the way to Gates 201-225 (again, the third picture). There are a number of other options right around it, like a Panda Express, a KFC, a pizza place, and some others as well. One level up is a PF Chang's (I feel like I've heard PF Chang's mentioned a good number of times, but I've never had it before).
by anony1911
Dining and Cooking