We left Las Vegas and then headed to Los Angeles for Christmas. On the way, we were excited to try Tommy’s Burgers in Barstow on Eric Jojo’s recommendation (see comments in our Smashburger post).
When we arrived, we were impressed with the history behind Tommy’s. As you see from the pictures below, Tommy’s is an historical institution. The original Tommy’s Burger opened in Los Angeles 65 years ago.
According to all of the signs, Tommy’s made a name for itself for fresh food, with all the toppings at no extra cost. Their most famous topping is Tommy’s famous chili. Here is a picture of the burger that we were hoping to get:
As you can see from the menu, Tommy’s famous chili features prominently in chili cheese fries, chili hot dogs, chili cheese burgers, just plain chili, and even chili tamale.
So we decided to order several chili burgers, one hamburger (popo does not like cheese), a breakfast sandwich (for Mina), and mommy and Karsen split a triple chili cheeseburger. As advertised, the food came out quickly. This is what it looked like.
Here is a cross section of the triple chili-cheese burger that mommy and Karsen shared:
Perhaps we have been spoiled by smashburger, but we thought the burgers tasted horrible. The meat was fine but the chili made everything soggy and messy. The buns may have been fresh (as the sign said) but fell apart while eating because of the chili. The chili looked like dog food and only mommy found it edible. Popo asked for no cheese but they gave it to her anyway. Papa was especially upset because In N’ Out was across the street. He said that all he wanted for Christmas was his calories back.
But their shakes were pretty good. Here’s a picture:
In fact, Karsen says that the best thing about Tommy’s is their shakes. And Mina was happy because she liked the sausage in her breakfast sandwich and the fries. 
We ordered two kinds of fries: plain fries, and chili cheese fries. Like the burger, the chili cheese fries got very soggy and were messy to eat.
Overall, we were completely disappointed. Karsen believes it to be the worst burger place he has ever been to.
On a scale from 1-5 smiley faces:
Anya’s Rating: 😀 😀 (2 smiley faces)
Karsen’s Rating: 1/2 😀 (1/2 smiley face)
We would not recommend going to this place again – especially if there is an In-N-Out across the street. Sorry Eric Jojo – maybe the one you went to tasted better!
Every Tommy’s Burger I have been to has been amazing. That food looks amazing!
Well, it sounds like you had an issue with the chili. If you have an issue with the chili, then Tommy’s is definitely not your place.
We did have a problem with the chili and nobody liked it.
But the chili is good.
If that chili reminds you of dog food, then Remy and Toby are doing quite well.
interesting… in the middle of the meal, i remember asking Karsen what rating he would give Tommy’s, and he said 2… but then your papa said that it deserved 0. it seems like he influenced Karsen quite a bit…
anyways, EI told me that the chili reminded her of dog food, so i’m not surprised by the rating. i can’t wait until the umami post!
Umami is next!!!!!
I think you guys didn’t have the Tommy’s under the proper setting. Some foods aren’t necessarily that perfect to eat by themselves, but put in a certain situation, they just seem more appropriate. For example, hot dogs at baseball games, or popcorn during a movie. The proper setting for Tommy’s is usually when people get older, maybe highschool or college age, going out on the town late at night, maybe to a cool concert. Having Tommy’s as a late night food in that situation is a more appropriate way to experience it, and probably more enjoyable as well.
So do you mean that we are too young to enjoy Tommy’s? Or that we should have Tommy’s when we are older? Or late at night?
Maybe we’ll enjoy Tommy’s when we are in college and it is harder to find good food (mommy and papa won’t be cooking for us). We will certainly give it another chance when we are older.