Tommy’s: 60 Years of Chili Nirvana

by Neil Woodburn on

Today marks the 60th anniversary of a Los Angeles culinary institution: Tommy’s.

Tommy’s is a simple hamburger shack that is legendary in LA for its chili-topped burgers.  The chili is what truly makes the burger.  The greasy sludge is foul looking and potent, but oh-so-very-delicious.

I was practically weaned on the stuff during high school where Tommy Runs were a lunchtime ritual that involved fast cars and broken traffic violations as we frantically tried to make it to the nearest location and back without being late for class.  One car load of friends crashed on the way home and while they were waiting for the police, my buddy Steve Hanna scrapped the chili off the car’s ceiling and chowed down. 

The original Tommy’s, the one celebrating its 60th anniversary today, is located on Beverly and Rampart in a run-down part of LA.  Open 24 hours (in fact, it has never closed since first opening; there isn’t even a door on the original shack) the menagerie of people on any given late night includes USC sorority girls, gang bangers, businessmen and every other slice of life imaginable. 

In celebration of 60 years of stuffing us with chili, the Beverly and Rampart location will be selling a chili cheeseburger and drink for a whooping 60 cents.  They do a similar promotion every five years and the line stretches around the block.  So, be prepared to wait it out.  Believe me, it’s worth it. 

Nifty Coffee Maker

by Erik Olsen on

Heads up on a cool little device that I’ve now used several times. Called the Brewmug, this extremely handy coffee making apparatus is easy to carry and quite ingenious. The mug was devised by Reg Lake, a pioneer of North American whitewater kayaking, who also seems to have a thing for coffee. But how do you get a coffee maker out into the wilderness? How do you pack it in your pack when space is at such a premium? Well, the Brewmug is the answer. The brewing part of the mug fits inside the mug itself when not in use, and then a thing called the JavaTube, a polycarbonate plastic tube with a conical fabric filter attached to one end, allows you to put in coffee and pour hot water to make a hot cup of Joe. Pretty nifty.

Beer Fest in Boston

by Erik Olsen on

Event alert, one that should perk up the taste buds of beer drinkers around the country. Beer Advocate, one of my favorite beverage-related on line magazines,  announces it’s annual Beer Fest, a celebration of everything sudsy, wonderful and sobriety-damaging. This year’s Beer Fest is June 16-17 in Boston, MA. A must-see, must-drink event for brewski lovers.

More on Bad Uniforms

by Erik Olsen on

OK, there I was pontificating about bad uniforms in the fast food industry, citing the folks at Hotdog on a Stick for practicing egregious, almost cruel fashion practices (the Abu Ghraib of the fast food fashion world?), and then the next thing I know, I stumble upon this wonderful series from Hotel Chatter on the worst bellman uniforms. I am generally a fairly optimistic fellow. Life takes its bad turns, but for the most part things work out OK. But let me state for the record that if my job required getting up every morning and putting on one of these uniforms, especially this one, well, I might just have to reconsider whether life is worth living after all.

Awful Fast Food Uniforms

by Erik Olsen on

Growing up I California, I long lived in fear of ending up in a job where I was required to wear a uniform. I’m not talking about military garb or even some dandy LAPD duds. That wouldn’t be so bad. No, I’m talking about my fear of waking up some day and discovering that my job entails wearing the same solid, primary colors, perhaps a visor, certainly a nametag and where I would be required to finish each transaction with the phrase “Would you like a hot apple pie with that?”

Apologies to the good folks who serve us our daily bread at fast food restaurants around the world. We mean no disrespect. But as I say, here I am in California and I have just seen the most awful uniforms in all of fast food history. Forget Taco Bell, McDonalds, 7-11…those uniforms are high fashion compared to the eye-searing uniforms of the folks at Hotdog on a Stick. Again, I understand these folks toil daily to make sure you get the finest corn dog this side of the state fair, but I would rather gag on a Burrito Supreme that ever wear one of those blue, red and yellow outfits.