After 30 years, Tommy’s Burger is still tasty dive into the downtown Provo food scene
A Hamburger Kids Meal, a Grilled Chicken sandwich, two Texas Style Double Burgers and an order of Chili Cheese Fries are pictured outside Tommy's Burger in Provo.
A Grilled Chicken sandwich with onion rings and a Texas Style Double Burger with fries are photographed with a drink at Tommy's Burger in Provo.
A Grilled Chicken sandwich and onion rings from Tommy's Burger in Provo.
A Grilled Chicken sandwich with onion rings, a Double Burger, Texas Style, and Chili Cheese Fries are pictured outside Tommy's Burger in Provo.
A sign is pictured in the Tommy's Burger parking lot.
When it comes to the restaurant business, longevity is saying something. So the fact that Tommy’s Burger has been taking up residence in downtown Provo for over 30 years now? Yeah. That’s pretty impressive. Especially considering its … confined quarters.
I’ve expressed in articles past my extreme love for burgers, but that passion goes beyond just the meat into the toppings and the bun, which is why I took the recommendation to check out Tommy’s quite seriously.
Originally associated with the Tommy’s Burger chain started in California in 1946, the Provo Tommy’s Burger is now a standalone restaurant owned and operated by Elmer Barrientos that offers up a signature set of menu items: Burgers, Dogs, onion rings and fries, most of which are slathered with a healthy helping of house-made chili.
We took to the restaurant on a drizzly Wednesday evening, and found ourselves in line with some acquaintances of our group. They were quick to point out their favorite items, and mention just how frequently they snag food at Tommy’s, validating even further our decision to check it out.
Though an announcement was made in spring of 2017 that Tommy’s as Provo knew it would be demolished to make way for a new building and a set of apartments, our visit in early 2018 was almost certainly to the original, close-quartered digs, which offered a vintage, hometown feel and a single bar with three seats for dining in. A variety of picnic tables were available outside, but considering the winter and the rain, we opted to snag our order to go and devour our cooked-to-order goodies in the car.
One thing we caught onto quickly was that Tommy’s isn’t in the business to impress with appearances. The tiny store would definitely be closer to the casual definition of a dive — it’s small, but friendly, old but well-loved and with a loyal fan base because of great service and even better food.
The menu is pretty simple: Order a burger or a hot dog, fries or onion rings and tell them how you want it loaded. The Single Burger starts at $3 with a double priced at $4. The basics include mustard, onions, pickles, tomatoes, American cheese and chili.
Upgrade to a combo for $6.75 (Medium Single) or $7.50 (Large Double) respectively. Texas Style is 75 cents more and includes BBQ sauce, mayo, grilled onions, pickles, tomatoes, American cheese, bacon and chili.
Other entrée options include a Pastrami Burger, Chili, Chicago, Kraut or Power Dogs, and a Grilled Chicken sandwich.
Going with the “Go Big or Go Home,” mindset, our crew walked out with two custom Texas Style Double meals, a Single meal, a Kids Meal (Hamburger or Hot Dog with small fries and soda for $4 or $5, respectively), a Grilled Chicken combo and a Chili Dog to round things out.
First off, the restaurant was single-staffed during our visit, and it’s important to note the solo worker handled our decently large order like a champion. Knowing we weren’t going to be dining in, it was actually really fun to glance over the counter, and watch as he tossed buns and burgers onto the grill, and listen to the sizzle as they cooked to perfection. It offered up that hometown kind of feel that I often think is lacking in bigger cities (granted, I’m from a pretty small town). But this felt like a small-town experience in the best possible way.
The price for the amount of food we got felt fair, though it’s also good to note that there is a charge for fry sauce and ranch, as well as for soda refills. With how inexpensive they are to start with, and the fact we weren’t dining in anyway, it really didn’t feel like that big of a deal.
As the food started to roll out, that’s when we really started to notice the heavy-handed impact of Tommy’s signature chili. Focused on the meat rather than beans, the slightly spicy, tangy goodness adorned all but the Kids Meal burger and Grilled Chicken, especially considering we got an order of Chili Cheese Fries as well.
From first bite, you can’t miss the flavor of Tommy’s chili, though to us, it felt like noticing it in the very best way. It was just enough heat to make a point and elevate the food beyond basic grill fare to a signature flare that I’m sure contributes to the large, generations-old fan base that Tommy’s has locally. Combine that with the fact it’s made in house and applied to freshly grilled food and freshly prepped toppings, and you’ve got a crunchy, satisfying, winning combination that surprisingly still tasted excellent when we readdressed the leftovers a couple hours later (I’m not used to burgers still tasting good later on, and it was a pleasant surprise).
Though the Grilled Chicken didn’t have the signature chili, it didn’t need it – it was moist, tender and grilled to perfection, and moderately sized enough it was easy to take a bite out of. The flavors were almost salty sweet with the warm chicken combined with cheese and the soft bun, and I felt a little jealous it wasn’t mine to finish.
The Double Burger was a delicious mouthful, though, and even with Chili Cheese Fries on the side I didn’t tire of the chili flavor. The ample dosing of cheese on the crispy, thicker cut fries definitely helped ensure that, as did the crunchy bacon and grilled onions on the burger itself that added new flavors to each bite.
Though the Chili Dog we sampled was also good in its own right, the dog itself was a little hard to cut and bite, and may have tasted better in its original, loaded form. The original Chicago Dog also has a pretty bold foundation (relish, pickle spear, pepperoncini, onions, tomatoes, mustard and celery salt), which made us wonder if we possibly just chose wrong. Either way, the burgers were definitely the stars of our visit, outshone only by Tommy’s impeccably breaded onion rings.
The rings, which we got as a side to the Grilled Chicken, were served crisp and fresh, with even breading, and just enough frying to cook the onion inside without making it stringy. It’s always refreshing to bite into an onion ring and not have the entire onion string out of its crispy shell in the most unappetizing way. As a bonus, we also got some of the house fry sauce included with our rings, which was a perfect flavor accent to the breading and onion.
Tommy’s Burger was messy, but it was good, and really, it was nice to have a little corner in a bustling city that felt just a tiny bit like coming home.
TOMMY’S BURGER
Where: 401 W. 100 North, Provo
When: Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Sunday
Cost: $2.25 to $8.25
Info: facebook.com/Tommysburgerprovo, (801) 374-9733