During Cheeseburger Week through January 11th,  Pasadena honors Lionel Sternberger's genius in being the first to put cheese to hamburger and serve it at the Rite Spot in Pasadena in 1924.

Forty of Pasadena's favorite restaurants, lounges and burger joints offered their signature burgers, some special creations and a deals  during Pasadena Cheeseburger Week.

Some, such as El Portal and Dog Haus have offered specially created burgers for Cheeseburger Week. 

Take the Cheeseburger Challenge here (live January 6th):

Pie 'n Burger, Dog Haus and Dog Haus Biergarten, The Stand and others have offered special deals for Cheeseburger Week.

New this year is 1919 Cafe at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens and Trejo's Cantina.

Check out all the participants and see what everyone has on the menu for Cheeseburger Week by clicking here.

Again in 2019, you can vote for your favorites in the Cheeseburger Challenge. Who makes your favorite lunch counter burger? Who serves your favorite turkey burger? Who makes your favorite veggie burger? Who serves the best beverage with a burger? You decide during Cheeseburger Week, January 6th through January 11th.

Scroll down to take the Cheeseburger Challenge. 

For 2019, we have added several restaurants. Some participants will include special menu items or deals for patrons during Cheeseburger Week.

Now, the official song of Cheeseburger Week:

Of course it is!

Let’s all salute Lionel Sternberger for his mastery, insight, pioneering innovation and daring in placing a piece of cheese atop a hamburger for the first time in recorded culinary history at his father's roadside stand, the Rite Spot at 1500 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Stop by to see the plaque honoring Lionel's culinary achievement.

Old Shop

The invention of the cheeseburger at the Rite Spot has been documented by the Los Angeles TimesTime magazine, cheese-burger.netHamburger Heaven:the Illustrated History of the Hamburger and The San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Even CNN is on the story: Click here to see Casey Wian’s CNN story on Cheeseburger Week 2012.

The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce hosts the fifth Cheeseburger Week and Cheeseburger Challenge January 6th to 11th. Once again, you’ll be able to vote for your favorites in a number of categories, from traditional lunch counter burgers to white table cloth an alternative cheeseburgers. We’ll also have an alternative cheeseburger category or two, as well.

Plan to come to Pasadena for a Cheeseburger Crawl, take the Cheeseburger Challenge and celebrate Lionel Sternberger’s culinary legacy in the city where the cheeseburger was first served.

For participant address, menu and special offer information visit www.pasadenarestaurantweek.com.

Voting in the 2019 Cheeseburger Challenge opens January 6, 2019, and ends January 13, 2019.

Here are the participants for 2018 (will be updated for 2019 as information is available):

 

Check out some more of our media coverage:

Pasadena Sinks Its Teeth into Cheeseburger Week NBC Southern California