lunch review — tommy's hamburgers, fulton mall
i was downtown doing some business, and figured i would eat lunch before taking the bus back to the tower district. being just off the fulton mall, i figured that it would be a good lunch destination. so much variety, you can walk along and see what strikes your fancy, and so on. with all of this variety, i chose the hamburger shop. could i be less adventurous? since i had my laptop with me today, i figured i would blog about it as well.

first impressions — clean inside. smells nice, like a hamburger shop should. prices seem reasonable enough, although i could be proved wrong by portions. it's nice and cool inside, something i really appreciate on a day when it's going to be around 100 degrees outside.

counter staff — could have been a little more helpful. i sauntered up to the counter, looked over the menu, and waited for the traditional, "may i help you" type question. it never came. so, as the guy blankly stared at me, i ordered.

What i ordered:
chili cheeseburger $2.99
small chili fries $1.79
large coke $1.89
total — $6.66 — i hope this isn't an omen for my meal. order place @ 12:00 on the dot.

what's the deal on the wifi on the mall? i know i'm inside a business, but i'm just off kern, in between kern and tulare. i hoped i would have reception and don't.

food came up @ 12:07. i'm happy with the time that took. not too long, not fast food super-efficient. but if i wanted that, i would hit up mc crapals or taco bell instead of patronizing my local businesses, something i'm particularly fond of doing.

portion sizes all look good. i wish i'd asked what came on the burger, because i would have told them to leave off the tomato and onion. my fault. even though i didn't eat it, the tomato looked like good quality.

now onto the burger: good size, average looking patty and bun, cheese looks like a craft single. i'm not complaining at all. this is pretty much what i expect. but the chili, this has me impressed. it's actually pretty hearty and flavorful. i have had chili dishes at some other local establishments, and usually it's pretty watery and weak. this stuff has some meat to it, a bowl would really stick to your ribs. the combination of it all makes me rather happy with my chili burger. a tasty start.

the chili fries — bonus, although the menu just says chili, they're chili cheese fries. blessing. and the size? i ordered a small, but this is more than enough. these are thick fries. not steak fry thick, but also not those little twigs you get at mc ronalds. same hearty chili, good tasting fries, a dash of cheese and I'm very pleased.

who reviews a soda? it was cold, wet, and tasted right. good size for the price.

so, i'm pretty impressed with tommy's hamburgers. i do wonder, but doubt if there is any formal association with the great chain down in los angeles of tommy's chiliburgers. i would come back to this place for lunch, or a meal before a downtown event. i recommend you check it out.

now i'm going to stroll down the mall until I find some wifi to post this with. first attempt outside - fulton street entrance to the mall. no success. second attempt, by arco garage after crossing van ness. bingo. but weak signal. so, i walked down kern looking for better reception. i got to kern st. cafe, and had mediocre reception. but it will do. ordered an ice coffee (small, $1.60 - tastes good, it's cold and wet), and got to posting this.