Umami Burger, Now Open in Pasadena

Umami Burger has taken over the old Naga Naga Ramen space in Old Town Pasadena and line is already forming out the door for this walk-in only spot. After all, there aren't too many burger joints in Pasadena and Umami is inarguably an upgrade from nearby The Counter.

This location had a very different look than other Umami Burgers I have been to with its all-white interior and decoration and bright lights.

They have all the usual Umami burgers like the truffle burger ($12, pictured above), Port & Stilton, the Hatch burger with green chile, and a vegetarian burger. As an homage to the cooking school a stone's throw away, they have a special burger for this location only named Le Cordon Bleu Burger (created with the help of some people at the school -$13)

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The Real Cake Monkey: Beyond the Cakewiches

Some of you already know Cake Monkey. Some of you think you know Cake Monkey from their cakewiches and Yo-hos from Umami Burger, or their maple oatmeal cookies Li'l Merris available at Silverlake Wine. But the real Cake Monkey is even better than that.
Available by phone order are 3" individual-sized layer cakes, and these cakes are the ones raved about on Bon Appetit and LA Times.
Here's the deal: Cakes must be ordered in advance and requires a minimum order of 9 cakes total AND minimum 3 cakes per flavor ordered. Meaning for each minimum order you can only try out 3 flavors.

And with 12 different flavors offered, this is a hard proposition. And trust me, you don't need to eat 9 cakes anyway, so the best chance to order some Cake Monkey cakes is to 1) share it with at least 2 other people, or 3) splurge for a party.

I did number 1 above and picked up the cakes at their bakery in Glendale (no storefront available) and below is my loot!

Raspberry Red Velvet Cake
The same moist red velvet cake with creamy raspberry icing in between, just like its cakewich counterpart. But double stack that and instead of chocolate shell, think MORE raspberry vanilla icing that makes the cake even more moist.

Must Love Chocolate (Devil’s Food Cake with Crunchy Valrhona Chocolate Pearls and Dark Chocolate Frosting, Topped with Crumbled Honeycomb)
You really must love chocolate in order to be able to finish this, but if you do you'd love it. The intensity of the dark chocolate and the richness of the devil's food cake really get you hooked, though it's so rich and sweet that half a cake is more than enough for one sitting.

But then again, I think that might be the case for most of their 3 inchers.

Pecan Dacquoise (Brown Butter Cake with Pecan Dacquoise and Caramel Buttercream)
Perhaps my favorite with its lighter flavor. It's lightly sweet making finishing a whole cake that much easier, and the nutty, creamy pecan dacquoise takes the cake to a whole new level.

Cake Monkey
877.640.CAKE (2253)
www.cakemonkey.com