LA-burger maestro Umami Burger will be throwing its hat into the Bay Area burger ring in a bigger way than expected. Not only are they opening in San Francisco in a now TBD Marina location, but chef Adam Fleischman says they are also closing a deal in Oakland. Both new locations of Umami Burger should be open by summer.

Based on the markedly different interior designs at all the existing SoCal Umami Burgers, we can bet the Oakland and San Francisco joints won't look much like any of these. It's also worth noting, GQ's Alan Richman called the Umami Burger, "burger of the year" in December. The joint is well known for its Japanese-American flare and a purportedly "amazing" truffle burger. And hey Bay Area, since you're dying to know what kind of meat is used, we'll tell you it's natural beef, a Wagyu/Angus blend from several producers including Washimi and Niman Ranch. They make an "umami powder" and sauce for the burgers, and a proprietary Portuguese-style bun that's branded, literally, with an uppercase "U" stamp. Here's a picture. Does that do ya?

· Marina/Cow Hollow News: Umami Burger Move [Tablehopper]

· Burger of the Year [Esquire]

· All Previous Umami Burger Coverage [~ ESF ~]

The original Umami Burger sign at the La Brea location. [Photo: Joseph Cha]