Double Chili Cheeseburger
The same chili-soaked build with a second patty. More beef means the chili has more to cling to, and the whole thing becomes a two-handed, lean-over-the-counter meal. The order for serious hunger, ideally after midnight.
The story
Tommy’s did not invent the chili burger, and the name is a coincidence worth knowing. Los Angeles already had a famous chili-burger man, Thomas “Ptomaine Tommy” DeForest, who ran an all-night restaurant in Lincoln Heights from around 1919 and is usually credited with putting chili on hamburgers in the 1920s. When Tom Koulax opened his own stand at Beverly and Rampart in May 1946, he made the chili the centre of everything. The double simply stacks two patties under the same ladle of chili and cheese.
What’s inside
- 2 beef patties
- Original Tommy’s chili
- cheese
- bun
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Double Chili Cheeseburger yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef, chili and cheese
The Heisenberg Burger - Shares beef, chili and cheese
Spicy Chicken Burger with Beer Cheese Sauce - Shares beef, chili and cheese
Fajita Cheeseburger - Shares beef, cheese and a double stack
The Mr. Smiley Burger
The Double Chili Cheeseburger on YouTube
Everyone who has cooked, copied or taste-tested it on camera.
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Double Chili Cheeseburger.- Burger Street · beef, chili, cheese and a double stack
Chili Cheeseburger - Wayback Burgers · beef, chili, cheese and a double stack
Carolina - Tasty Burger · beef, chili and cheese
Hubba - Friendly's · beef, chili and cheese
Chili Cheeseburger
More from Original Tommy's
About Original Tommy's
Tom Koulax, the son of Greek immigrants, opened a small stand at Beverly and Rampart boulevards, just west of downtown Los Angeles, on 15 May 1946. He sold hamburgers and hot dogs smothered in chili. Business was slow at first, then it never stopped: the original stand still operates, and the family still runs the company.
Around thirty restaurants, almost all in Greater Los Angeles, plus a few in Las Vegas.
Not affiliated with Original Tommy's. Trademarks belong to their owners.