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| - 25 years ago I first met Tommy's hanging out at the corner of Beverley and Rampart in LA. A sprawling complex, with outdoor counters along the parking lot edge from which to scarf and people watch. They had been chronicled in the Let's Go California book, along with divey food joints like Clifton's Cafeteria and Oki, all of which I had to check out.
To be honest, it was that crazy damn chili that drew me in. Sure it is a vague barely tasteless substance, but I ate paste in grade school so perhaps it was nostalgia kicking in. The fact that they didn't do fries (only potato chips !) or dogs equated with a cheeborger cheeborger aesthetic that only a minimalist would embrace.
5 consecutive meals of double chili cheeseburgers later (including breakfast), I not only hadn't gotten sick, I still wasn't sick of Tommy's! Sadly, we returned from our road trip, saying goodbye to LA with our last meal being the famous Broasted Chicken at Knot's Berry Farm. However, I vowed I'd be back...
Well I never did make it back all those years, but now that Tommy's made it to Henderson close to where my parents live, the first thing on my list was to partake of that heavenly slightly congealed glop bathing two thin patties and happily slapped between a sturdy bun and a not unsubstantial tomato slice. It did not disappoint. My dad even licked his chops as he watched me wolf that thing down. Immediately after we went to In-N-Out so they could eat their unglopped burgers and I could only think to myself, let it not be another 25 years. I'll be back.
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