It's Friday night. I'm on Interstate 10 in Southern California. I'm hungry. I'm also determined to stop my I'm-in-California-or-Vegas-so-where's-the-In-n-Out? habit.

Next thing I know, I'm eating my first chili burger.

Welcome to Original Tommy's World Famous Burgers.

Bear spotted Tommy's at the Valley Boulevard exit. It's a nostalgic spot for him because it was a favorite eatery of his late father in Al's early years. We had to stop.

Tommy's, a 24-hour restaurant in many locations,has a faithful following and is known to some for being where you can find a good brawl and where dudes outnumber the ladies. I didn't see a fight, but I counted the gender ratio at about 10-to-1.

I had one of the combos, which included a 22 fat-gram, 490-calorie chili burger; an order of thick-cut fries and a Diet Coke (gotta watch those calories, ya know?). Burger: perfectly cooked medium-well. Chili: rich. Chili's grease quotient: impressive (see photo).

Diners also can find hot dogs and tamales on the menu.

On cups and signage, you'll find many declarations that "If you don't see the shack, take it back!" The shack logo pays homage to the eatery's early days, when the first store opened in an unassuming edifice at Beverly and Rampart boulevards in 1946. McDonald's was best known as the subject of a song about a farmer then.