Tommy’s Hamburgers & Sandwiches

When this was Tommy’s, the only cool thing about it was they delivered free to nearby offices. Now it is a Prince’s Diner and it rocks.

Sometime needs to update the information — What once was the mediocre Tommy’s Hamburgers is now the French Press Café.
Previously, the menu consisted of typical hamburger joint/​diner fare, with the food all brought in frozen by Sysco or other vendors and deep fried or microwaved. Unimpressive and limited. With a new owner and new chef, the menu is slowly but surely turning the page to fresh, hand made, thoughtfully prepared food.
David, who is now in charge of the menu transformation, suggested I try the French Press Burger. Grade A ground beef, with shallots and thyme fried in bacon fat, with spices and a bottle of rolling rock thrown in, for good measure. I topped mine off with Provolone, Ketchup, and veggies. It was easily the tastiest burger I’d had in a long time, highly, highly recommended.
The staff were friendly and the food came out quick. No complaints there. The new owner is a nice guy, and David is always willing to chat and answer questions about the food. If you’re there in the morning, try a drink from the brand new espresso bar, and grab some breakfast tacos while you’re at it. Hours are limited to breakfast and lunch for now, but plans are to keep it open late for sporting events and alcohol.
Now, be warned, some of the menu is still leftover Tommy’s stuff, and isn’t bad, but definitely isn’t what French Press Café is, or will be, all about. Next up are going to be brand new gumbo and fresh made Lasagna. Can’t wait to try it. For now, though, go with the burger, you won’t be disappointed.

Met up with a few fellow Unilocalers for a lunch bunch on a sunny & warm day a couple weeks back. Always up for a burger, I was very pleased when Gretchen P. chose Tommy’s Hamburgers & Sandwiches as the place to meet. The place was easy to find but has a very small (albeit very well planned) parking lot. The interior is typical hole-​in-​the-​wall: not much on decorating, tables scattered about and an uneven floor which I found hard to navigate on wearing clogs. At least the place was clean (including the bathrooms).
Orders are taken at the counter and since I perused the menu online I was ready to order. However, once it was my turn I was talked into ordering the special burger with special seasonings which the counter lady said everyone liked «a lot». I also ordered the cream cheese stuffed jalapenos. The order was up quickly. The burger is served «bare» and they have a condiment station that is supplied with the usual burger toppings. To my dismay the jalapenos were deep fried. For some reason I figured they would be pickled jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and served «as is» like Luby’s use to offer.
OK, back to the burger. The burger was hand formed and had a nice texture. It was cooked medium, juicy but on the salty and surprisingly spicy side. I guess that’s what the counter lady meant when she said special seasonings. Overall, the burger was just average. I wish I stuck with my guns and ordered the regular burger. The jalapenos were way below average. Over fried, hard and no discernible flavor except for fried crust-​stuff.
I will give this place another go as it is convenient to work and now I am very curious of what their regular burger is like.

I strayed… again. I knew precisely what I wanted, then was swayed by the cashier’s suggestion. The reason this happens is that when ordering food, my judgement is wrong 75% of the time. My understanding of the item description is not what is delivered. In these cases, the cashier or waiter is correct.
Not this time. How was she to know I’m not a burger eater, don’t like pools of grease collecting on my burger, hamburger buns toasted with butter, or sodium? She suggested what the pickup truck driving cowboys who often dine in the area prefer, a hearty hand formed burger loaded with seasoned salt. I should have just stuck with my guns and gotten the bison burger with feta.
Beyond my aversion to sodium and fatty meat, I liked the burger. It was spicy, but in a low key way. If you eat hot sauce with everything (that would be me), you won’t be phased by the burger. It’s no Christian’s Totem, but they have a drive thru and make milkshakes from scratch. Really, I should have just 86ed the burger idea and gotten a shake… or gone to Prince’s and gotten a fat free shake or malted.
If I loved burgers (I only eat one every four months or so), I’d be back to give them a few more chances. Regrettably, my slow, slow, slow quest to find the perfect burger in Houston continues. Oh, and please don’t mark this place off of YOUR burger quest list, the hamburger buns were awesome… and each were toasted prior to burger construction.

I met some friends here for a Friday lunch. The place was pretty empty and I was able to get parking. I can imagine that parking can be tough on busy days. The counter staff was very friendly. I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and fries. The sandwich comes with cheese and then you put whatever fixings on top from the condiments bar. The chicken sandwich was so-​so, nothing great, and really so blah that I didn’t finish it. The fries were boring and nothing special but nothing bad. Several other people commented that the ‘special’ burger which was highly recommended by the counter staff was too spicy and too salty.
Overall, if I worked near here, I might venture in occasionally, but even that I doubt because… They only have PEPSI! Ugh, I hate Pepsi.
Overall, not worth your time or money.

Decent place to go for lunch. No frills atmosphere. The have some good brekfast tacos.

i read the previous review and since i was looking for something local to deliver this was the perfect spot! The menu has a variety of items to order at a reasonable price!!! Plus they are quick to bring your order! Granted I work just a couple of blocks down still not bad compared to other places.

Tommy’s has consistent traffic coming in and out of its doors, but it’s taken me a while to figure out their hours: 10 – 3 Monday through Friday. Tommy’s is a plain green and white building and the décor excitement level is the same on the inside. The quest for chic interiors, however, is not what brought me here. Burgers is what I crave as of late and Tommy delivered!
The menu is very expansive – so further exploration is a must. I went with a charbroiled regular. Cheese is extra, but here’s the exciting thing: American, Bleu, Cheddar, Feta, Jack, Mozzarella, Provolone or Swiss. I almost wept, the options look so beautiful. It got better though – Beer Battered Fries. I love Beer food. Love it!
Both items are, slap the cook, good. The fries steal the show though. You might need some time to recover from their deliciousness. So crispy, so flavorful! The burger is nice and juicy, but not much is done with the seasoning. The minimal seasoning, however, doesn’t stop it from being a good burger. The burgers are served Texas style, mustard – no ketchup, as my sister noted. I grabbed a sample of her meal;she had the Bison burger. It’s good, but suffers from the dryness inherent to Bison meat.
Now that I think about it, the interior isn’t totally plain. If it’s not crowded, you too can sit by the John Wayne wall!