If you are from Southern California…you are probably painfully (pun intended) aware of Tommy’s and Tommy Burgers. Tommy’s was started 60 years ago at the corner of Beverly and Rampart. It was, and still is, a shack with wood 2×4′s put up on the surrounding buildings to make a “bar” where you could stand and eat your Tommy’s.
Tommy’s is most known for their chili. I’ve never found any other chili even remotely like Tommy’s chili. It had this kind of greasy, congealed quality that in just about anything else would be a huge turn-off, but this stuff just tasted soooo good. My 30+ year old digestive system doesn’t tolerate Tommy’s like it did in my teens. Now whenever I eat Tommy’s I have to make sure I stay near a restroom for about a half hour afterward, cuz it truly is a gut buster. It effects Brian differently…mostly really bad indigestion. You forget all “cons” when you are stuffing your face with all that good flavor.
Since Tommy’s is only in CA, or so I thought, I went online to see if one of those “copy cat” chefs had maybe figured out how Tommy made their chili. I was successful in finding a recipe online…and had to try it out for dinner tonight to go with some hot dogs, cheese, onions, ketchup, and mustard. This chili was close, but not quite there.
While online hunting a recipe, I discovered that Tommy’s has opened two stores here in Vegas. Both in the South end of town. I have some errands to do in Henderson tomorrow, so I am off to get some Tommy’s chili and see if I can do a taste test and discover the differences.
All this so I can still have some of my favorites when I move out to my little corner of North Dakota. I’m tracking down all kinds of my favorite recipes for the move. Wish me luck.
Filed under: Recipes
