The Fattie Files

File #2: Peter's Gourmade Grill

2011-04-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago my editor and co-workers from Nerd Reactor invited me to check out this new burger joint in Orange County that everyone seems to be raving about. Since it was a pretty dead Wednesday night and I had nothing else to do I agreed (plus the promise of really good burgers helped too). At first I did get a bit lost and had to call up my co-workers for the directions again. But apparently it wasn't all my fault as it was built into the side of a Valero gas station. I will say that I was a bit wary about this, I mean a burger joint connected to a gas station?

But wow, after seeing one of my co-worker's protein style burger arrive (which instead of a few lettuce leaves it was pretty much a whole head of lettuce split in half), I quickly got in line. Scanning the menu I was stuck between either the ABC (Avocado, Bacon, and Cheese) Burger or the Mushroom Swiss & Bacon Burger. I decided to go with the ABC Burger (I'll get the mushroom swiss & bacon next time) with thick cut sweet potato fries, and a RC Cola (one of the few places I been to where the choice of cola was RC). After the first bite I was transported to burger nirvana where the avocados were fresh and ripened, the bacon was thick cut, the burger patties were perfectly juicy, and the cheese was melted just right. Before I knew it my burger was devoured and I was left with burger juice dripping from my chin.

ABC Burger Protein Style

My ABC Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

Lucky for me my co-workers got themselves a couple of orders of Peter's Greek Fries. Which were shoestring fries tossed with oregano, feta cheese, and topped with gyro meat, served with cucumber sauce. These too were also consumed as quickly as we got them. Throughout our adventure in gourmet burgers one of the owners checked up on us from time to time to make sure our sodas were kept filled and if we needed anything. We also learned that if you wanted to get your order in during the lunch rush or a busy night you better either get there early or be ready to wait a long time because the wait could be pretty brutal. And it's all outside dining with a few stools for patrons. And if you want you can even text them your order and have it ready for you to pick up.

Peter's Greek Fries

As we finished our meal we noticed them put up a sign, curious we moved in closer to check it out. Apparently our group ate them out of their stock of the night. Who knew a group of ten plus nerds could do that? Well maybe it wasn't that difficult.

Nerd Reactor Editor John Spartan says nerds equals gluttons.

Overall I'm gonna give Peter's Gourmade Grill 5 out of 5 explosions of flavor. Our first perfect score in this blog. I highly recommend any burger aficionados to check this place out. Next time I want to try their sweet potato gooey's (sweet potato fries with brown sugar and maple syrup topped with toasted marshmallows). My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Peter's Gourmade Grill

16851 McFadden Ave

Tustin, CA 92780

(714) 599-3866

www.gourmadegrill.com

- M -

File #1: Umami Burger

2010-04-02T04:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure to be introduced to a new burger place in Los Angeles by the name of Umami Burger (After the Monster Hunter Tri BBQ). What does Umami mean by the way? According to their website Umami is the Japanese meaning of a pleasant savoury taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. The characters making up this word literally means 'delicious flavor'. A subtle taste which blends well with other tastes to expand the round out flavors. Umami is now the commonly used term by taste scientists for the fifth taste (the first four being salt, sweet, bitter and sour). If you're still scratching your head wondering what that means, trust me you're not the only one. All I know is Umami Burger is delicious!

After meeting up with some friends and parking my car into the small parking lot next to the restaurant we waited not too long for a table to open up. Normally we were told we would've been waiting a bit longer but we arrived before the dinner rush. After taking our seats and looking though the menu I instantly knew what I wanted. The truffle burger with Italian truffle cheese and a truffle glaze. When the burger with a bun that looked a lot like Hawaiian bread arrived and I took my first bite, I was not disappointed by the taste. I had to quickly take a napkin to dab at my chin as the juices from the meat began to drip. This was the type of burger I loved, they did not press down onto the patties which in doing so would've lost much of the precious juices and cause the burger to become too dry. The outside of the patty was perfectly seared locking in all that meaty goodness which results in a perfectly cooked medium pink center. And the full bodied earthly combination of both the Italian truffle cheese and truffle glaze was just perfect. Intense but not too heavy. My only complaint was the burgers were just way too small especially for the price tag of nine to eleven dollars for each one. I could scarf down a pair of these burgers and still be hungry. We also had an order of the triple cooked hand cut fries french fries and the malt liquor tempura onion rings. The hand cut fries was just really thick cut french fries one could get pretty much anywhere but the malt liquor tempura onion rings was actually pretty good, a nice combination of the sweet and spiciness of the onion and the bite from the malt liquor. Dipping sauces were served in the types of spoons you would usually see in Asian noodle restaurants. For desert we shared two orders of ice cream sandwiches brought in from Milk on Beverly Blvd. which reminded me much of moonpies but instead of marshmallows were thick scoops of ice cream sandwiched between two macaroons and half of which was dipped in chocolate. We had an order of the vanilla ice cream and the mint chocolate chip ice cream both of which were sinfully decadent.

I would highly recommend coming into Umami especially if you're tired of your everyday burgers you get at your local greasy spoon and want to tempt your taste buds with something new. Warning, enjoying these burgers may cause you to feel like you're cheating on your girlfriend the classic American cheeseburger but it's so worth it. Also word of advice if you're looking to stuffing yourself silly bring a full wallet as it might get a bit pricey.

4 out of 5 Explosions of Flavor

Umami Burger
850 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-3000
www.umamiburger.com/

- M -

Introduction

2010-04-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

These are the records of one man's voyage in the world of gastronomic exploration. While most reports will chronicle the culinary masterpieces or catastrophes of my travels in the southern California region, from time to time if travel permits there will be special files entitled 'Michael Eats the World' editions. Each culinary adventure will be graded on a scale of 1-5 'Flavor Explosions'. What is a 'Flavor Explosion' you ask? A 'Flavor Explosion' is what I like to describe that feeling you get when you achieve that essence of flavor, the serendipity of taste. When you know what you're eating at that moment is one of the greatest things ever. It's so good that if you had THAT as part of your last meal, you wouldn't complain. The grading of each file is according to a combination of service, presentation, and taste.

By now you're probably wondering who am I? Why should you listen to me out of all the other millions upon millions of other food bloggers out there? What makes me so special? Well the fact of the matter is...I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that I like what I like and apparently other people agree with me (well most of the time). You may call me Michael and I am an adventurous diner looking to test the limits of my palate, willing to take the risks for this obsession of mine and expand my curiosity of the flavors of the world. I'm based in Los Angeles, California and have a wide array of interests (some say too much) which includes the culinary arts, designing, and photography. I hope you enjoy these articles and that they inspire you to go out and begin your own culinary journey.

- M -