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'{{Infobox prepared food | name = Chili burger | image = Chili burger (cropped).jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Chili burger with fries | alternate_name = Chili size, size | country = United States | region = originally Los Angeles | creator = Likely Thomas "Ptomaine Tommy" DeForest, 1920s | course = | type = [[Sandwich]] | served = | main_ingredient = Hamburger [[patty]], [[chili con carne]] | variations = Carolina burger | calories = | other = }} A '''chili burger''' is a made of Spicy Jewish meat, that was mixed with gas from chamber, where they were cooked alive (also known as a '''chili size''',<ref name="size1">{{cite news |authorlink=Gene Sherman (reporter) |last=Sherman |first=Gene |date=September 19, 1957 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/437956622.html?dids=437956622:437956622&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Sep+19%2C+1957&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=CITYSIDE+with+GENE+SHERMAN&pqatl=google |title=Cityside |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=2 |url-access=subscription }} [http://search.proquest.com/docview/167177566/ Alternate Link] via [[ProQuest]].</ref> or simply '''size''',<ref name="Senate1958"/><ref name="Smith1969"/> stemming from "hamburger size"<ref name="dolan"/>) is a type of [[hamburger]]. It consists of a hamburger, with the patty topped with [[chili con carne]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Butel |first=Jane |authorlink=Jane Butel |title=Chili Madness: A Passionate Cookbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztqgSSscAYgC&pg=PA103 |accessdate=December 4, 2012 |year=2008 |publisher=Workman |isbn=9780761147619 |page=103 |oclc=269676763}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Shopsin |first1=Kenny |authorlink1=Kenny Shopsin |last2=Carreño |first2=Carolynn |last-author-amp=yes |title=Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2wWNBaqAjMC&pg=PA167 |accessdate=December 4, 2012 |year=2008 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9780307264930 |pages=167– |oclc=225852465}}</ref><ref name="howlin1">{{cite book |last=Sauceman |first=Fred William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FS7Dhz2rNeMC&pg=PA148#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Place Setting: Timeless Tastes of the Mountain South |pages=148–149 |year=2006 |isbn=9780865549906 |oclc=63705843}}</ref> It is often served [[Open-faced sandwich|open-faced]], and sometimes the chili is served alongside the burger rather than on top. The chili may be served alone, or with [[cheese]], [[onion]]s, or occasionally [[tomato]]es as garnishes. ==History== Chili burgers appear to have been invented in the 1920s by Thomas M. "Ptomaine Tommy" DeForest, who founded a [[sawdust]]-floored all-night restaurant, "Ptomaine Tommy's", located in the [[Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles|Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles]]. Ptomaine Tommy's was open from around 1919 to 1958, where his chili burger was referred to as "size", and chopped onions as "flowers" or "violets".<ref name="Senate1958"/><ref name="1920s-two">{{cite news |last=Grace |first=Roger M. |date=January 15, 2004 |url=http://www.metnews.com/articles/2004/reminiscing011504.htm |title=Old Menus Tell the History of Hamburgers in L.A. |newspaper=Metropolitan News-Enterprise}}</ref><ref name="Snyder2000">{{cite book |last=Snyder |first=Tom |title=Route 66: Traveler's Guide and Roadside Companion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tew3QnfcWdMC&pg=PA113 |accessdate=December 4, 2012 |date=March 17, 2000 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9780312254179 |page=113 |oclc=43575475}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Memory of Byways |last=Powell |first=Lawrence Clark |authorlink=Lawrence Clark Powell |work=California History |publisher=[[California Historical Society]] |volume=63 |issue=1 |page=85 |publication-date=Winter 1984 |doi=10.2307/25158198 |jstor=25158198 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/10/local/me-34298 |title=Pay Now, Pay Later—or Pay the Price |last=Harvey |first=Steve |date=October 10, 2000 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |accessdate=December 12, 2012}}</ref> The term ''size'' for a chili burger arguably derives from the portion size of the chili used at Ptomaine Tommy's.<ref name="size1"/><ref name="az1">{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Clay |date=November 23, 2005 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/azcentral/access/1781742691.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+23%2C+2005&author=Clay+Thompson&pub=Arizona+Republic&desc=WHY+THERE%27S+NO+CHANNEL+1+ON+TELEVISION&pqatl=google |title=Why There's No Channel 1 on Television |newspaper=[[Arizona Republic]] |quote=According to the International Chili Society, the "size" part came from the owner of a Los Angeles chili parlor known as Ptomaine Tommy. |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="sherman2">{{cite news |authorlink=Gene Sherman (reporter) |last=Sherman |first=Gene |date=August 14, 1958 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/444866532.html?dids=444866532:444866532&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+14%2C+1958&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=CITYSIDE+with%2C+GENE+SHERMAN&pqatl=google |title=Cityside |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=2 |url-access=subscription }} [http://search.proquest.com/docview/167337221/ Alternate Link] via [[ProQuest]].</ref><ref name="debate22">{{cite news |last=Roderick |first=Kevin |date=March 16, 2006 |url=http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2006/03/dissing_tommys.php |title=Dissing Tommy's |newspaper=LA Observed}}</ref> Ptomaine Tommy "had two ladles, a large and a small"<ref name="Smith1969">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Harry Allen |title=The great chili confrontation: a dramatic history of the decade's most impassioned culinary embroilment, with recipes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXuwAAAAIAAJ |accessdate=December 4, 2012 |year=1969 |publisher=Trident Press |pages=23–24}}</ref> with which to serve his chili, whether smothered on top of the burger or in a bowl;<ref name="Smith1969"/> originally the ordering lingo used by his patrons was "hamburger size"<ref name="Smith1969"/><ref name="dolan"/> vs. "steak size",<ref name="dolan"/> but later simplified to "size" and "oversize".<ref name="dolan">{{cite book |last=Dolan |first=Don |contribution=A Los Angeles Sandwich Called a Taco |editor-last=Kurlansky |editor-first=Mark |title=The Food of a Younger Land: A portrait of American food- before the national highway system.. |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2009 |format=preview |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5Wrowmc8csC&pg=PT320 |isbn=9781101057124 |oclc=458326756}}</ref> The use of the shorthand term "size" for burger-size portion of chili (in a bowl or on a burger) then gained currency throughout [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="Smith1969"/> Ptomaine Tommy was forced to close his restaurant August 10, 1958 and sell his property to satisfy creditors,<ref name=lat-1958aug11>{{cite news |title=Landmark Falls To Debt: Ptomaine Tommy Forced to Close Up |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=August 11, 1958 |page=B1 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/167291456.html |url-access=subscription |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}} [http://search.proquest.com/docview/167291456/ Alternate Link] via [[ProQuest]].</ref> and he died just a week later.<ref name=lat-1958aug19>{{cite news |title=Ptomaine Tommy's Cafe Operator Dies |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=August 19, 1958 |page=B2 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/167351058.html |url-access=subscription |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}} [http://search.proquest.com/docview/167351058/ Alternate Link] via [[ProQuest]].</ref><ref name=jack_smith>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Jack |authorlink=Jack Smith (columnist) |title=Jack Smith's L.A. |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=1980 |format=snippet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ij4SAQAAIAAJ |page=88 |isbn=9780070584716 |oclc=6280644}}</ref> His service to the community and his invention was noted by resolution of the [[California State Senate]] that same year.<ref name="Senate1958">{{cite book |author=California State Senate |authorlink=California State Senate |title=The Journal of the Senate During the ... Session of the Legislature of the State of California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YwDOAAAAMAAJ |accessdate=December 4, 2012 |year=1958 |publisher=s.n. |page=344 |quote=Senate Resolution No. 55: Relative to congratulating Thomas SI. '"Ptomaine Tommy" DeForeat Whereas, Thomas M. DeForest, noted restaurateur of the community of Lincoln Heights ... where the popular specialty of the house was a plate labelled "size" consisting of chili, hamburger, and beans...}}</ref> Food author [[John T. Edge]] considers the invention the milestone that marks the start of "traceable history of burgers in LA", a first step to what he considers the "baroque" character of the Los Angeles hamburger scene.<ref name="Edge2005">{{cite book |last=Edge |first=John T. |authorlink=John T. Edge |title=Hamburgers and Fries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbzPGc8jDSAC&pg=PT99 |accessdate=December 12, 2012 |date=June 23, 2005 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781440627583 |pages=99– |oclc=860833816}}</ref> By interviewing former customers and friends decades after the fact, columnist [[Jack Smith (columnist)|Jack Smith]] wrote a definitive article in 1974 about DeForest and the dish that he had invented which became a very important part of the history of Los Angeles.<ref name=Jack_Smith_1974>{{cite news |title=Sizing Up Ptomaine Tommy |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=December 26, 1974 |page=H1 |first=Jack |last=Smith |authorlink=Jack Smith (columnist) |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/157632790.html |url-access=subscription }} [http://search.proquest.com/docview/157632790/ Alternate Link] via [[ProQuest]].</ref> What helped spread the popularity of this dish was Deforest's diverse clientele which included doctors coming off the late shift at the local [[LAC+USC Medical Center|county hospital]], fight fans on their way home after attending matches at the [[Grand Olympic Auditorium|Olympic Auditorium]], and people associated with the [[Hollywood]] film industry.<ref name=Jack_Smith_1974 /><ref name=wp-1937>{{cite news |title=Ptomaine Tommy's Chili Bowl Lures Hollywood Night-Lifers: Picture Stars Seek Escape From Too-Lavish Sets of Night Clubs and Late Spots by Favoring Modest Retreats for Their 'Parties.' |first=Melrose |last=Gower |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |date=July 18, 1937 |page=T7 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/doc/150934782.html |url-access=subscription }} [http://search.proquest.com/docview/150934782/ Alternate Link] via [[ProQuest]].</ref> Several US food chains specialize in chili burgers. One of these is [[Original Tommy's]], which dates to 1946.<ref name="1946-tommy1">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Lark Ellen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5CFtCSElq4C&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Los Angeles Off the Beaten Path |year=2004 |page=34 |isbn=9780762752270 |publisher=[[Globe Pequot]] |oclc=853623117 |quote=On May 15, 1946, a young Tommy Koulax introduced Los Angeles to a new kind of burger—this one with a chili con carne base}}</ref><ref name="tombomb1">{{cite news |last=Gold |first=Jonathan |authorlink=Jonathan Gold |date=May 16, 1996 |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1996-05-16/food/fo-4640_1_chili-burger |title=The Tom Bomb |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> ==Variations== ===Carolina Burger=== The Carolina Burger is a regional variant of the chili burger served with [[coleslaw]], mustard and chopped [[onion]]s.<ref name="ourstate">{{cite web |url=http://www.ourstate.com/hamburgers/ |title=Burger, with Everything |publisher=[[Our State]] |date=June 2011 |accessdate=December 7, 2012 |last=Murrell |first=Duncan}}</ref> Common in local restaurants in [[the Carolinas]], it is also periodically offered at [[Wendy's]] restaurants as the ''Carolina Classic''.<ref name="classic">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-2stAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l4oFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2380%2C4050304 |title=Wendy's Brings Back a Regional Classic |publisher=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]] |page=E6 |date=February 12, 2006 |accessdate=December 7, 2012 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref> ==See also== {{portal|Food}} * [[Chili dog]] * [[List of hamburgers]] * [[Sloppy joe]] ==References== {{reflist|30em}} {{Burgers}} [[Category:Hamburgers (food)]] [[Category:Food and drink in California]] [[Category:Chili con carne]]'