A New Summertime Favorite

Greetings, Readers!

As I showed last week with revisiting two places that I had eaten at and reviewed previously, there is an inherent problem with this blog: While trying to bring you all fresh new experiences and sandwiches each week, I sometimes don't get the chance to repeat at some of my favorite places.

Take for example Sweetsalt in Toluca Lake. I love this place. It's fantastic, with a great atmosphere, and it's right in the middle of a lot of great shops and stops on the main street of Toluca Lake.

So on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we headed back to this quaint lunch spot.

The previous sandwich I reviewed from them, their duck confit, is still a standout sandwich, but this time around something new caught my eye. Something I've been wanting to try for quite sometime anywhere I could find one: A lobster roll.

Stacked between two halves of a brioche bun, this sandwich is packed with thick chunks of Maine lobster, topped with cucumbers, shallot, dill, and sundried tomato aioli. The creamy smooth texture of this sandwich is punctuated with the pop of lobster chunks and the crunch of the fresh, green cucumber. The lobster is smooth without an overpowering seafood flavor, and the cucumber helps to cut through all the other flavors offering a complementary taste.

The brioche bun, with its buttery flavor, held together until the end.

Overall, this was excellent and gives me hope for the future of lobster rolls to come. So if it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon (which for the next few months here in LA it will be), drive on down to Sweetsalt, pick up a cool drink and a refreshing summer sandwich like their Lobster Roll.

Until next week, Readers...


Lobster Roll
**** Stars
Sweetsalt
10218 Riverside Drive
Toluca Lake, CA 91602

A Stroll In The Heart Downtown

Greetings, Readers! And welcome back after a self-imposed exile last week. Apologies for that, I did not mean to deprive you of sandwich goodness, so let's waste no more time and get to this week's sandwich.

While recently walking through Downtown Los Angeles I stopped in at the Artisan House at 6th and Main Streets. Half market, half restaurant this place has a great atmosphere with a beautiful interior of exposed brick and a modern look.

Settling into a seat with World Cup games playing at the bar, I ordered a Snapshot Wheat from New Belgium and looked at their sandwich menu. With a bit of deliberation, I settled on The Artisan Burger. What better choice than to go with a burger named after the place?

Served on a wooden platter, the Artisan Burger is made from grass-fed beef, topped with cheddar cheese, organic wilds baby arugula, tomato, caramelized onions with aioli and dijon mustard. The burger was delicious and juicy, while cooked to a nice pink medium. The arugula and dijon mustard added a slightly peppery spice kick to complement the smooth and delicious beef. The buttery bun held together mostly until the end and the cheddar cheese was a great choose that still pushed some flavor through all of the other tasty ingredients.

If you're looking for a great place to unwind on a Sunday afternoon with a burger, a beer, and some sports on the television without being in a place that is overly noisy, The Artisan House is a great place to head to. If you're looking for a good burger to enjoy any day of the week though, you can't go wrong with the Artisan Burger.

Until next week, Readers...

The Artisan Burger
**** Stars
Artisan House
600 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA

It's Truffle Season

Greetings, Readers!

I am back after taking last week off to concentrate on my NaNoWriMo novel, which I can happily reveal I have hit the minimum goal for the month. In order to celebrate this achievement, last night I went to dinner at Umami Burger in Burbank.

Some of my long term readers may remember that I visited Umami in Los Feliz before (nearly three years ago!) but ever since this new location opened in Burbank, I've been intrigued to return mainly since there is a twist at this location.

This new Umami converted the old Papoo's Hot Dog Show that has stood on this location since 1949. Directly across from the original Bob's Big Boy and the exceptional Mo's, Umami has a lot of competition and history to stand up against.

Wanting to try the specialties of this location, I immediately settled on the Truffle Dog, a long hot dog topped with roasted garlic aioli, house truffle cheese, and truffle infused port onions. Obviously Umami was all in on the start of Truffle Season.

The hot dog had a smooth savory flavor with the casing giving a little bit of pop without being too difficult to bite down on. The garlic aioli and truffle cheese added to the savory umami flavor. The truffle infused port onions were fried and added a bit of crunch to the sandwich, while also adding to the umami flavor without the overpowering taste that onions in that quantity can bring to the table.

Looking back on my previous experience combined with this one, I think my only problem is with the bun. My initial run at Umami was sullied by the fact I wasn't a huge fan of the brioche bun, and that situation is the same with the hot dog. It isn't terrible, I'm just not a fan of Umami's brioche. It also wasn't as disappointing on the hot dog as it was with their burger son my previous trip.

Overall, the Truffle Dog is an enjoyable sandwich, and eating at this location is a great experience with excellent atmosphere in such a historic spot. With the option of trying the hot dogs, as well as their Burbank specialty burger, this location of Umami is the one to try if you haven't before, or if you're looking to try something new from this restaurant.

Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow for all you Readers here in the States. What's your favorite way to take care of leftovers on Black Friday? Obviously I love a good ol' turkey and stuffing sandwich with cranberry spread on some thick toasted bread. Share your suggestions!

Until next week!


The Truffle Dog
****
Umami Burbank
4300 Riverside Drive
Burbank, CA 91505