Thursday, May 11, 2006

Food: The Original Tommy's World Famous Burgers



I had a cheeseburger meal that was pretty tasty. The burger had chili in it, as does most things they serve. The fries seemed a bit too raw and they kept snapping or bending. This is a place that opens late. Our local Tommy's opens until 1 AM. The first Tommy's opened way back in 1946 and has had chili in the burger as a signature. Apparently, there have been attempts to copy it so they coined the slogan, "If you don't see the shack, take it back!" When we ordered our meal, the server asked if we wanted chili on our fries - we opted for no chili. The chili itself was a bit unusual to me - very thin and sticky. According to Michael, this is "good" chili because it is the expensive kind made with meat, as opposed to "cheaper" bean chili. I didn't know that but, I suppose it makes sense. The tomato was the most surprising part. They use fresh, really thickly cut tomatoes and it aids in creating a unique texture. The default drink size is quite massive by typical fast food standards and was welcome because the chili really made me thirsty. Bonus: They don't charge extra for extra tomatoes, pickles, etc.


SAN DIEGO
7415 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
(858) 715-0075

Update (May 15th, 2006): We went for Tommy's anniversary today and there was a sweet deal on cheeseburgers if you bought fries and a drink. Today the fries were so good and super hot and crisppy. Eric ordered the chili fries which were really good and I think I will get the chili cheese fries next time (they cost about $1.10 more than plain fries). Tommy's started to feel like it could be habit-forming but when we all got home, we felt a bit queasy and we weren't sure why.