The Original Tommy’s

Posted by Edmund in Fast Food, Los Angeles, Restaurants | 0 comments

The Original Tommy’s
About $5 for the whole combo (double chili burger, with fries and drink).

Various Locations throughout CA and some in Las Vegas

I went to the one at:
1717 Colorado Blvd.
Eagle Rock, CA

Some would argue that Los Angeles is somewhat of a burger haven—and for good reason! LA is full of “famous” burger joints that have been serving for decades. Literally any style of burger can be found, with each burger joint claiming a different specialty. The supposed king of chili burgers, though, is the Original Tommy’s, a classic California fast food chain like Inn n’ Out, with really only one kind of burger (differentiated only by the number of patties and slices of cheese). I’m not really a chili fan in the least, but whenever I hear that something is the “best,” I’m immediately skeptical. So when a friend told me about Tommy’s, I had to again go and check it out.

I received something that, while not as good as the hype might suggest, still stood on its own as pretty decent fast food. Tommy’s gives an old-fashioned, very simple, classic-style burger with decent fries. All that goes on the burger is the patty, cheese, the fresh veggies, and some chili as a sauce. Still, in terms of the burger quality, it’s probably on par with Inn n’Out, though the chili, being so greasy, actually can detract from the freshness of the burger and make it a little bit too heavy and rich. The quality of the meat and cheese though, is great, and so is the chili, even though it’s so oily and a bit like slop. The problem is in the combination—just two completely different flavors clashing. The chili just doesn’t add much to the burger.

The chili cheese fries were also okay. The fries themselves were nothing special and, if plain, they’d probably lose to most fast food fries in terms of taste. However, the cheese and chili really do work. The chili can be overpowering, but overall, the cheese and chili make for a gooey, meaty, greasy mess that’s pretty satisfying, even though it’s insanely heavy and oily, to the point that you’ll regret eating them almost immediately.

Overall, Tommy’s isn’t exactly one of my favorite fast food places, but I can see why it gets the hype, since it’s one of the cheapest values in town, and the chili isn’t bad for a fast food place. Still, I’ve never been a fan of chili, and Tommy’s does nothing to change my mind.

Taste: 2.3/5.0
-          For the burger: 2.5/5.0
-          For the chili fries: 2.0/5.0
Value: 4.5+/5.0. One of the cheapest and most filling fast food meals around.
Verdict: 3.1/5.0. For a chili burger, this is probably the ideal cheap place to go to, but make sure you really like oily, greasy chili. For chili fries, head instead to The Hat.