Another Saturday stuck at home in Los Angeles with nothing to eat and loads of homework to do. What a great weekend. Anyway, while reading “Ask the Dust” and drinking my hot cup of green tea, my stomach growls with hunger. I look into the fridge and there was nothing that could be eaten without some sort of physical labor. So I hesitantly think of the closest fast food restaurants to my house, only two blocks away, Tommy’s Burger and Taco Bell. Although I am one to never turn down nachos with fresh salsa, I decide to relieve my hunger with a burger and fries.
My mom described the smell of their famous chili as the smell of armpits but that doesn’t bother anyone else, so why should it bother me? So while in line, I ignore the smell and look around. I see all the pictures of the famous “Tommy” and the lines that formed during the anniversary discounts. The pictures of the lines would make anyone’s jaw drop. The lines consisting of hundreds of people reaching all the way around the block, all for $.35 burgers and $.25 fries.
When I reached the cashier I ordered my usual, “Number 3 with chili cheese fries please.” “That’ll be six dollars.” I pay and the wait isn’t long. But while waiting for my food, I get my drink from their outdoor refrigerators and some of their famous ketchup and yellow chili peppers.
With my mouth burning from the heat of the peppers, I wonder, is Tommy’s was just a Los Angeles craze. There are Tommy’s Burger places in almost every major part of Southern California but for the other ones I’ve been to, there have not been as many customers as I thought. The original Tommy’s Burger had to expand and build a parking lot across the street and another cashier booth on the side. So why do the other Tommy’s Burger places have only a few customers at a time? Maybe it’s because most people would rather go to the original Tommy’s Burger or maybe because it is only a downtown, L.A. craze. So my question is, do other Long Beach people know about Tommy’s on Anaheim and Ximeno?
I definitely have to agree with you. I love the essence of the chili cheese sauce and the burgers sizzling on the grill. It’s the perfect meal for any type of the day. But honestly, sometimes it does have that armpit odor that gets quite displeasing. That’s what I miss about the L.A. nightlife, seeing people line up for their famous burgers and chili cheese fries. Whenever I happen to stop by in L.A., I wouldn’t hesitate to treat myself out with a handful of cheese fries. The melted cheese on top of the freshly cut potatoes will surely satisfy your appetite.
ReplyDelete-Stephanie Sangalang-
Interesting topic…. It’s so funny because my mom thinks the same way. She would ask whether the smell of the chili repelled us from tasting it. However, my dad, brother, sister and I think otherwise. It can be so messy to eat, but it’s absolutely delicious. I mentioned this on one of my responses on Sergio’s page, cheese fries over there is so insanely good. I like the chili cheese on the burger more than on the fries though, because it gets soggy with chili. Speaking as an LA kid, I grew up with these burgers. I grew immune to the smell and fell in love with their burgers. From my observation It doesn’t seem to attract a lot of people here in Long Beach than it does in LA. So I guess you can say it’s probably an LA thing. All I can say is that I love it. =]
ReplyDelete--staCEy e.