Ptomaine Tommy's was open from around 1919 to 1958, where his chili burger was referred to as "size", and chopped onions as "flowers" or "violets".

[4] The use of the shorthand term "size" for burger-size portion of chili (in a bowl or on a burger) then gained currency throughout Los Angeles.

[3] Ptomaine Tommy was forced to close his restaurant August 10, 1958 and sell his property to satisfy creditors,[8] and he died just a week later.

[11] By interviewing former customers and friends decades after the fact, columnist Jack Smith wrote a definitive article in 1974 about DeForest and the dish that he had invented which became a very important part of the history of Los Angeles.

[12] What helped spread the popularity of this dish was Deforest's diverse clientele which included doctors coming off the late shift at the local county hospital, fight fans on their way home after attending matches at the Olympic Auditorium, and people associated with the Hollywood film industry.