Burger Photo Gallery (click pictures to enlarge)

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THE JOINT

Willie’s is a local burger joint located in the downtown area of Sacramento, CA. Although they serve breakfast as well, their specialty is their Tommy’s of LA style chiliburgers. The restaurant was opened over 17 years ago by Sacramento native, Bill Taylor and has been serving their famous chili burgers and cheeseburgers at the Broadway and Arden locations ever since.

I heard about Willie’s a few years ago from a friend who asked me if I preferred Willie’s or Tommy’s better. At that time, I hadn’t tried either restaurant, so my first order of business was checking out both places over the next year. I can now say I’ve tried both Willie’s in Sacramento and Tommy’s in Los Angeles, but I can’t tell you yet which I prefer :)

THE BURGER

To be honest, for the longest time I wasn’t a fan of chili burgers. I was one of those people who were afraid of chili. It’s not that I was worried about the chili coming out of a can, it’s that I thought that all chili had beans in it. I don’t like beans.  Once I learned that a lot of chili is just meat and delicious chili sauce, I quickly became a convert.

At Willie’s I order the Slammer TCC (Triple Chili Cheeseburger) and I ask them to add 2 extra slices of cheese (hence the price of $6.30 instead of the normal $5.40 price of the Slammer TCC). I must have lucked out because each time I’ve been to Willie’s, the lines have been short and the service has been fast.

The Slammer is one of those “beautiful mess” burgers that get piled in front of you in a way that is both messy and appetizing. While it may not be easy to get a good picture of a beautiful mess burger like the Slammer TCC, it’s always breeze to get a blissful bite. The generous portion of chili that tops the well done cooked burger has always been hot and fresh. The oozing melted cheese and the hearty chili is contrasted perfectly with a super thick slice of red ripe tomato that acts as a bed for the onion sweetened sandwich.  The are pickles on the burger, but you can hardly taste them over the onion, cheese, and chili flavors throughout.

THE VERDICT

If you like chiliburgers, I’d definitely recommend a stop by one of Willie’s 2 Sacramento area locations. I remember my first time there I ate my burger so fast I forgot to even take a photo.  The second time I got my food to go and I couldn’t even wait to get home to maul the mounds of chili, so I snapped a quick photo with my iPhone.

This time I had enough will power to even take this HD video for you to enjoy!

Tags: beautiful mess, chili, featured, national hamburger month, sacburgermonth