The Louisville Trolley is spot on to the original recipe. I once read that there was a place that sold the spice blends. There were two, one for the burger, one for the fries. That was many years ago.
John Y Brown (who built KFCs franchise business) tried to do the same with Lums and Ollies.
You might check out this place. Its in Port Richey, Fla. If this guy managed Lums, he may well have the blend. Who knows, he might invite you over to eat some burgers if you drive there!
Ollieburger Spices USA, Inc. | Bringing Lums to back to Life
Burgers, fries, dogs, chili.. They use a proprietary blend of unusual, savory spices (not hot).
Same thing with hot food. I like it...but sometimes there is this desire to make it hotter than anything else, and at that point, after 1-2 bites, your taste buds are shot...so you don't even taste what you are eating anymore, it's just way too hot.
Thanks for that link! Every 3-4 years I scour the internet looking for Ollie's info I haven't come across yet. Heard there was an ex-manager supplying original recipe spices, but no contact details. Some reviewers stated it's not exactly the same, but very close because the ex-manager never had the recipe to work from, only prepackaged bags from the company, from which he's reconstructed based on experience and knowledge and experimentation. I guess the only thing to do is buy and try for myself.The Louisville Trolley is spot on to the original recipe. I once read that there was a place that sold the spice blends. There were two, one for the burger, one for the fries. That was many years ago.
John Y Brown (who built KFCs franchise business) tried to do the same with Lums and Ollies.
You might check out this place. Its in Port Richey, Fla. If this guy managed Lums, he may well have the blend. Who knows, he might invite you over to eat some burgers if you drive there!
Ollieburger Spices USA, Inc. | Bringing Lums to back to Life
At some point Lums aquired Ollie's, but since I have never dined at a Lums after that I can't say if Ollie's foods survived the trip. Years earlier, my family used to eat at Lums and I would always order the hot dogs steamed in beer (Heineken, was it?).Never heard of Ollies, but I used to LOVE Lums. I was sad to see them bite the dust.
We appreciate the same flavors in burgers. Looks like you may not go for Ollie's burgers or fries.. as your first bite will probably result in a WOW! What's that..!? But it's a good What's that!? Very prominent, but allows the beef to peek through.I grew up on diner/luncheonette food...my family owned several of those types of establishments over the years when I was young.
...but something about a good burger, smothered with onions and maybe some mushrooms, with a side of fries and a tall frosted root beer....mmm...that's something I don't think I would ever turn down.
One thing though...I'm not big on all the "secret recipe" stuff...where they load up the beef with all kinds of spices.
To me...good beef only needs some salt, pepper...and then onions on top, but even without the onions is fine. I like to taste the beef, not some spice mix.
That said...there are times when a subtle sprinkle of certain spices can be tasty if not overdone....
We appreciate the same flavors in burgers. Looks like you may not go for Ollie's burgers or fries.. as your first bite will probably result in a WOW! What's that..!? But it's a good What's that!? Very prominent, but allows the beef to peek through.
Years earlier, my family used to eat at Lums and I would always order the hot dogs steamed in beer (Heineken, was it?).
You think it was Heineken? I would have thought they would have used something cheaper. I don't even really like Heineken, but those dogs and kraut sure were good! And it didn't hurt that they had 130 beers to choose from.
Ollie's Trolly Ollieburger Seasoning Recipe..... Maybe? Found this for ya googlin...might have to try meself!
Fortunately, enterprising cooks have devised a clever simulation. This
recipe comes from the Copycat/Restaurant Message Board at The Recipe
Link:
I have tried the recipe listed above, and it is superb. I recommend
including at least one teaspoon of ground black pepper. As the recipe
suggests, doubling all the ingredients (except the broth, which should
be halved) gives a more intense flavor, which is the way I like it.
Some children might find the doubled-ingredients burgers to be a bit
too spicy, but most adults just love 'em. I cook mine on the George
Foreman Grill, which sears in the flavor very nicely.
I was below drinking age in those days and always ate my dogs with nothing on them - just dog and steamed bun. Whatever flavor was imparted by the beer was very noticeable to me.
I'm thinking the beer was Heineken as I recall either reading it on a menu, or featured on some sort of promotion card at the table.. or being told by our waitress. I'm 98% sure I read it on their menu, but the waitress could have been the one - possibly telling us it was Heineken to impress us. Years later, when I was able to buy beer, I tried Heineken and it instantly reminded me of Lums' dogs.
Yes. There is one downtown.