EARLY BIRD: Umami Burger

For ages, it was accepted that there were only four primary tastes on the tongue from which all others arose. Those would be sweet, sour, salty and bitter. But over the last few decades, a fifth taste called "umami" has gained acceptance among gourmands worldwide. A Japanese scientist identified it in 1908, and it can best be described as savory.

That flavor (enhanced by an all-natural umami rub made of proprietary ingredients) is the secret in the sauce at the ascendant L.A. chain Umami Burger. The first Umami Burger opened less than a year ago on La Brea; last month, a second outpost opened in the old Cobras & Matadors space on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Feliz. The second Umami has an attached Japanese-centric beer and wine bar called Salaryman (the space was formerly Sgt. Recruiter).

Owner Adam Fleischman isn't thinking about stopping there. Since the first Umami opened, he's sold about 100,000 burgers. "We create different umami extracts from different products and put them in the burgers," he says. "That, along with the umami-rich ingredients we use, creates the craving." And he's counting on that craving to support three additional Umami Burgers and an Umami catering truck.

Then there are the burgers: juicy patties smothered in fresh cheese that literally drip and crumble and bleed into their chewy buns. The flavor, that umami magic, is there, begging you to gobble it up.

There are eight burgers on the menu (though there are other options), including the signature Umami; the Manly burger with zesty beer cheddar, smoked-salt onion strings and gooey bacon lardons; the Hatch burger, which sets a pleasant fire in your mouth with four types of green chiles; and a veggie burger (Fleischman says they take an entire day to make) that is created without using grains or legumes and tastes an awful lot like fresh beef.