Is This the Best Burger in America?.

It's half beef and half beyond belief.

I researched and found that this is a modest but ever expanding four-shop Umami Burger chain, has rethought every element of the hamburger experience. The Umami Burger, is Adam Fleischman's cross-cultural merger of Japanese ingenuity and American know-how.The bun. The meat. The ketchup. The toppings. Even valet parking. At the original Umami Burger joint on La Brea, 900 square feet of utter simplicity across the road from a Goodwill store, every burger comes with parking, the ultimate in West Coast customer service.

If you are one of many people who have never heard of Umami, here is a brief definition of how this so called "fifth taste" is all about.

What exactly is umami? Taking its name from Japanese, umami is 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.

Umami increases palatability, salivation, and can reduce considerably the use of salt without compromising taste acceptability. It can be especially useful to improve the palatability of foods low in fat or rich in vegetables. Moreover, recent research suggests that umami substances can improve protein digestion and absorption of essential amino acids. Some population groups, such as the elderly, whose taste and smell sensitivity is impaired by age and multiple medications, may benefit with umami. The loss of taste and smell can contribute to a poor nutritional status increasing their risk of disease. This may be the next way of helping our aging Baby Boomers to still have the appetite they need to assist them maintain good nutrition.