How does everyone feel about Tommy's?

[burnnemmdownn]

I love it and i would like you guys to share your feelings :)

[upstarter]

A double chili cheeseburger, when done right at the right location, is literally perfection.

[Jase]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/601157

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/76273

[farmertomato]

The sorriest excuse for chili I ever tasted. If you don't care for chili on your burger, it's a good burger. If, like me, chili is a requirement, Fatburger is a much better choice. Actually, now that I think of it, Fatburger is better in every way. But then, I realize this is a religious discussion, so all opinions are correct.

[deepo]

I have to go to Fatburger next time I'm in LA. I didn't know it was still there. I used to work in south Central and we'd make Fatburger runs for lunch - greasy, chili, fabulous. I can smell that greasy paper bag now.

[kc girl]

Tommy's Burger chili is really unique. Not your regular stuff. It's even a tiny bit creamy, like there's a little soft chorizo and cream cheese in the mix. I LOVE IT !

[Hoc]

The chili is perfect. If I'm having a burger, I don't want a lot of meat in my chili. That's redundant. Fatburger's chili is great for the chili cheese fries (some of the best I've had, in fact), but it has too much meat to complement a burger. Tommy's meat is also high quality, with not a lot of gristle ground into the meat like at most other places.

My perfect fast food meal would be Tommy's burger, Fatburger's chili cheese fries, and an In-N-Out Chocolate shake.

[Midlife]

You DO realize that chili is really supposed to be all meat, spices and tomatoes? So, you want what? .................. tomato sauce with spices on your Tommy's burger? :o)

[WildSwede]

I love Tommy's - although I have found I cannot eat it as often as I did in my teen years. I have found, though, that when I order the #2 (chili cheese burger combo) the best thing for me is to order it always no tomatoes, easy onions and pickles - chili on the side. That way, I can put whatever chili I want on the burger AND have chili fries and not have to pay extra (unless I ask them to put cheese on the side of chili). YUMMMMMMMMMM..............................

[Hughlipton]

When I went there in my lawschool days many years ago, ordering without the tomatio was called a sissy burger and if your teens are far enough behind you, you will remember they had no napkins.

[WildSwede]

Yeah. I am glad they have them now! That is the exact reason I get them sans tomato! ;-)

[CailleachBeara]

Yeah, Hughlipton! Those were the days, eh?....when clean shirt and jeans were required for a reason! These days you can run into Taco Bell, kitty corner, to get your sissy napkins! :)

[SoCal Foodie]

Love it too - all the combined ingredients make it a heavenly mess!

[Ogawak]

Tommy's is a divisive subject on this board. as a high schooler, I remember the Original Tommy's on Beverly and Rampart as the ultimate in efficiency. There was always a long line no matter what time of day (open 24 hours). But the line also went very fast. I would say that the time between when they took your order and the time you got your burger took maybe 1 minute tops. They were making so many burgers at a time that your burger was cooking before you ordered it. Also no fries in those days; They took too much time. Potato chips. And the price included the tax, so no fiddling with a lot of change. I always thought Tommy's hamburger was the perfect combination of meat, chili and tomato. In my youth I used to order three burgers. Things are a little different now, but I still love my Tommy's every so often.

[Hughlipton]

But how about Pete's Grandburger on Wilshire next to Woodbury College. Another great chili cheeseburger.

[deepo]

Is that still there? Woodbury moved (I went to the Wilshire location in the 70s). Pete's was a lunch standard. Loved that place. If it's still there, I'm hitting it up next time I'm out!

[OCAnn]

The one on Rampart & Beverly is the one I'll ever go to, and only for nostalgia.

[burnnemmdownn]

I live near this Tommy's and went there today lol

[samtron608]

love it about once a year....maybe twice...
to compare i can eat in and out every few weeks without thinking twice.
fatburger with chili and egg i can have once or twice a month no problem.
but tommy's...as great a tradition it is...once or twice a year at best. and for some reason all the tommy's NOT on beverly and rampart taste different....dont know why, maybe just the ambiance of eating outside or on your car hood..memories!

[CailleachBeara]

LOL! Yeah, the hood of the car across the street...the one with all the pigeons!....and being a kid and seeing the adults dip into the death jar of hot peppers, but us being able to dip into the cooler and pick out our own exotic flavor of Mexican soda pop in a bottle! Ya boy!...Rampart division. And what insane moron would go across the street and sit down in the sit down Tommy's restaurant?? Talk about sissies!

[schrutefarms]

Love-the combo of chili and pickles is heavenly.

[wienermobile]

I love it but if I eat there more than twice a year it will kill me.

[JAB]

Never could understand the hype.

[CailleachBeara]

I'll never be able to explain the blues to you then, either...alas.... :(

[WildSwede]

;-)

[JAB]

No explanation necessary. Eating Tommy's = Blues.

[heckonwheels]

Tried the chili burger there several times. It's OK, but doesn't hold a candle to others such as The Hat or Cleaman's Galley (The Boat) in San Gabriel.

[annapurna7]

Tommy's is not a burger that I crave. I can't say they are bad burgers, but if I never had one again, I wouldn't miss it.

[CailleachBeara]

My grandmother suffered severe colitis and she lived on beer and Chicken in a Biskit because of it, but, By God, rolling thru L.A. in the early 70s you HAD to make a stop at Tommy's! No chili burger for her, no...Chili Relleno all the way mister!

[wakko11]

Tommy's is great, in my opinion.

The chili is controversial because it's almost like a beef sauce, with little discernible texture. It's not chili championship-type chili, but I love it.

Chili cheeseburger with a fried egg and no pickles...sounds great right now.

[TomSwift]

The "chili" is really a condiment, like the tomato or the pickle. By itself, it''s not very useful or reheatable or worthwhile, IMO. But toping the burger the combination of "chili" and the other fixin's is a combination that I love. And the price point can't be beat (except maybe at Costco where the HN sausage and refillable drink is a filling steal).

[monku]

You're right about it being a "beef sauce" with very little beef in it. One day I was looking at it closesly and there were bits of something in it that resembled meat. I think there's very little meat to it. Take a close look next time.

[mdpilam]

I had it first about 6 yrs ago, when a native to LA took me there (when I was still just visiting LA), and thought it was alright, but nothing special.

I will say I did like their breakfast sandwich (w/ english muffin) - good hangover remedy.

[fgrade]

the last time i had tommy's i wished i had a time machine so that i could go back 30 minutes and so i would not have had it at all

the good thing is that in the future, i will never have it again

[malibumike]

On a cold wet rainy day like today in LA nothings better that a double chili cheeseburger with extra chili and onions. Suprisingly I like carls jr chili burger, same condiments as tommys , onion, pickles, mustard, tomato, cheese and the burger but i actually like carls chili better , has more bite to it. I wonder if any of you have been able to find Tommy Jr, the original tommys son makes chili and some markets are supposed to carry it, It is also mail order but I would like to find it in the market just to try it.

[TomSwift]

check out www.tommy'schilifactory.com - the site may give clues on locations.

[TomSwift]

Oops! It's really www.tommyschilifactory.com.

[pinpei]

double cheese. no pickle. no tomato. extra onion. extra mustard. ahhhhhhhh

[Midlife]

Tommy's is a SoCal classic. I have to agree that I can't handle it as often as when I was younger, but it is truly one of the things I'd ask for as a 'last meal' (when it can't really do me any harm).

I will never forget taking the president of our company there (the Santa Ana location, as I'd moved to OC by then). We sat at a slightly tilted metal topped table outside and had to keep moving the chili fries back toward the center because the grease kept making them slide toward the edge. Man................. that's GOOD stuff!!!! Probably the messiest burger ever, but........... GOOD!!!!!!!! My arteries are clogging just thinking about it. :o))))))

[SIMIHOUND]

It's not so much the food that brings us bake but memories of past times in our lives. I recall at age 16 driving to the original location with "Stairway To Heaven" blasting on the radio doing 70 mph on Beverly Blvd. When we got out of the car we heard the click of a shotgun and realized LAPD was following our car for miles and we had not heard the siren nor seen the lights on the police car. They were pissed.

[Hughlipton]

But how was the hamburger?

[SIMIHOUND]

LOL! At the original location it's always great! It is different than any other location,

[monku]

Hate the Rampart location. Dislike standing while I'm eating and wouldn't dare mess up the inside of my car eating a chili burger in there.

[OCAnn]

If it was any other place, I wouldn't want to eat outside on a yucky corner, but for this one particular Tommy's, it's part of the appeal & charm.

[Sam D.]

I don't eat fast food very often but when I do it's either In-N-Out or Tommy's. Just the basic chili burger from Tommy's and a soda really hits the spot sometimes.

[TomSwift]

I wouldn't eat one in my car (the smell more than the fear of stains) but as pointed out below eating on the hood of the car (although not a good idea recently in LA) is part of the charm. And Beverly & Rampart does hold a certain nostalgic place in my heart that can't be matched by the tile and McD's-like interiors of the branches.

[Midlife]

Are you sure the chili wouldn't eat through the paint? :o)))))

[TomSwift]

Not positive, but that's why I take gobs of paper towels to form a little (but thick) table cloth.

[WildSwede]

That's funny! Hope you didn't get into too much trouble! After prom, after football games, after fraternity parties, after my first visit to Dorothy Chandler Pavillion... lots of memories... ;-)

[Midlife]

Chili is another one of those things that falls into the pizza/bbq/cheesesteak/bagel category of 'you love what you love' style preferences. I once had occasion to visit Cincinnati with a business associate who had been raised there.............took me to Skyline............. to each his/her own.

In LA we have Tito's and lots of other places to argue about in the 'you love what you love' wars. Tommy's too.

[CaliGrub]

Tommy's is ok to me. I prefer burgers from The Hat, especially the one right down the street from my house, man their burgers are so delicious. I do go to Tommy's now and then, I do like their burgers, don't get me wrong. If I eat there more than a few times a year, I do get very sick of it however.

[ajmojave]

I feel pretty good about it.