Tom's Burger's #11 (South Gate)

                                                                                  

   South Gate Eatery #1

As far as I'm concerned, South Gate has slim pickings when it comes to food.  Up until now, I have pretty much scoffed at the idea of dining out in the city that I see as being devoid of any culinary creativity or inspiration.  Bottom line; Nothing enthuses me here.  As anybody that knows me can attest, I can be stubborn.  Yet, when it comes to food, I'm wide-the-hell open.  So why then, had I turned my back, for the most part, on my hometown's offerings?  Was I so set in my ways that I refused to eat anything in South Gate?  It sounds immature when I think about it.  Conversely, maybe there were [and still are] legitimate reasons for why I have felt this way about South Gate my entire. life.

I am on a mission; to find out, firsthand, if I am correct in my assumption that South Gate is indeed a generic gastronomic abyss...or if I have been completely askew about my initial thoughts about my stomping ground.  For as long as it takes me, with an open mind and an empty stomach, I will try to eat my way through the entire city of South Gate (major chains excluded).  I hope to discover a few gems but I fear I will encounter more fugazis.  We shall see.                 

You would think that the restaurant I have frequented the most in the last couple of years would be amongst one of my all-time-favorites.  Well, it's not.  Tom's Burger's #11 just happens to be located a couple of street lights away from me.  The food is okay, relatively cheap and the portions are usually enough to fill me up. 

My go-to meal here is usually a plain ole burger and fries combo with a bag of pickled carrots and banana peppers.  The burger is nothing spectacular.  In fact, the patty is thin, not very beefy and at times dry.  What I do like about these fast food joints is that the patty is actually charbroiled or grilled rather than microwaved (or whatever it is that they do at major fast food chains).  I like the flavor it imparts and what can I say, I'm a sucker for grill marks.  Anyway, I've also had their chili cheese fries but I get tired of them pretty quickly.  Additionally, I have also tried a few breakfast items as well as their fried chicken dinner that comes with bread, re-fried beans, onion rings and a cheap-ass side salad of lettuce and tomatoes.  Again, the portions are big enough for a hungry guy to be satiated.  Most females, on the other hand, will probably get full and still have plenty for leftovers.     

This is a no frills restaurant and that's okay with me.  I much prefer to support this kind of establishment rather than major fast food chains.  Aside from my yearly McDonald's Fries fix, this is the sort of fast food that I prefer to eat when I get hungry and have little or no time to prepare a meal or think about which restaurant to go to.     

   

To-Go Bag.

Cheeseburger & Fries.

Cheeseburger Close-up.