Name: Original Tommy’s Hamburger

Location:  Beverly and Rampart. 2575 Beverly Blvd.

Prices: You can get a full meal for under $10!

Ambiance:  Unless you go to the original location, it’s going to seem like a run-down fast food joint.  I’ve been to three different Tommy’s and none of them are something to talk about.  The original location, however, really feels like something special.  When you arrive there it’s almost as if you’ve traveled back in time 15-20 years ago.  Everyone is eating in front of their cars, and it has a great down-to-earth feel.

Burgers: The star here is the chili, which overpowers everything.  But to be honest, who cares?  People go here for the world-famous chili.  Hands down, it’ll be like nothing you’ve ever tasted.  A less chunky-type of consistency, its great on your burger, its great on your fries, its great on anything.  I’d put it on a doughnut and I bet it would still taste delicious.  It’s a chain, so you can find the same quality chili all over, but go to the original location.

Burger Accessories: What better to go with your chili burger than chili cheese fries? Again, the chili overpowers all other flavors.
Final Rating: 7/10.  No matter how good the chili is, it’s hard to give it a higher rating.  You can’t really talk about the patty, the bun, the fries, or anything else because the chili is like Jenna Maroney on 30 Rock.  Hogs the limelight and its hard to pay attention to anything else.

Tommy's Chili = Jenna Maroney

Six Taste brings a brand new series: The Best Burger Quest.  Follow us as we try and find the best burger joints in Los Angeles.

Name: 8 Oz. Burger Bar

Location:  Middle of Melrose near West Hollywood. 7661 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

Prices: Fairly standard for a sit-down burger joint.  A little more pricey than usual because of the ‘construct-a-burger’ concept.

Ambiance:  Darkly-lit, filled with a lot of the younger, trendy bar-going crowd.  Friendly service and usually quite busy.

Burgers: Not the tastiest patty in the world, but some of the sauces are great.  Great selection of cheese beyond your usual cheddar, and the size is enough to fill you up.  You can’t really go wrong with any combination.  However, I highly suggest adding the House Cured Bacon.  Incredibly crispy and adds a whole level of texture complexity to your burger.

Burger Accessories: GET THE TRUFFLED POTATO-SKINS!  Don’t get anything else.  In fact, don’t even get a burger.  Just order a giant mount of truffled potato-skins.  These things are delicious.  Crispy, but thick enough to have a soft center.  Seasoned perfectly, not too salty, and with a good kick of cheese flavor.  Not too greasy, and a great compliment to both the burger, and a tasty beverage.

On that note, also get a beer.  Great selection of both heavy and light and all of them don’t overpower anything you’re eating.
Final Rating: 7/10.  Solid showing but the burger isn’t the focus on this place…it’s really all about the truffled potato-skins.  Also, while the sauces are good, the taste of the patty itself was a little bit lacking.  All in all, worth trying once or twice.

Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-hour week and leading the lifestyle design movement, is a pretty awesome guy. Alex and I both love...