Celebrate the birth of the cheeseburger in the home of the cheeseburger-Pasadena. Every January we honor Lionel Sternberger for being the first to put cheese to burger and serve it to a customer in 1924 at the Rite Spot in Pasadena.

During Cheeseburger Week from January 10th to January 15th, 2015, 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 offer their signature burgers, some special creations and a deals  during

The Brooklyn Burger from Alondra Hot Wings
Pasadena Cheeseburger Week.

Already in 2016, Green Street Restaurant, Alondra Hot Wings, Pie 'n Burger, Lucky Baldwin's Pub (in Old Pasadena), Lucky Baldwin's Trappiste Pub near PCC and Lucky Baldwin's Delirium Cafe in Sierra Madre), a/k/a Bistro, Central Park Cafe, DusitD2 hotel constance pasadena, Dog Haus and Dog Haus Biergarten, The Walrus and the Hedgehog, and Vertical Wine Bistro in Old Pasadena and others are offering delicious burgers to celebrate Cheeseburger Week.

Some, such as El Portal, Vertical Wine Bistro, The Counter, Kings Row Gastropub have offered specially created burgers for Cheeseburger Week.

This year, Lucky Baldwin’s (3 locations) Pie ‘n Burger and El Portal offer special deals for Cheeseburger Week.

El Portal and Yahaira's Cafe offer a special Zacatecas Burger for Cheeseburger Week made with ground beef, pork and chorizo. The dustD2 constance hotel pasadena offers a specially created d2 Burger made of grass fed prime chuck, gruyere, crispy prosciutto, grain mustard aioli, caramelized onion, arugula. Pie ' Burger has a special $12 meal that includes a cheeseburger, fries and a soft drink. Lucky Baldwin's Pub (three locations) offers a special discount for Cheeseburger Week. (Visit www.pasadenarestaurantweek.com to download discount coupons for Lucky Baldwin's and Pie 'n Burger.)

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

Again in 2016, 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 10th through January 15th.

For 2016, we will be adding several restaurants. Some participants will include special menu items or deals for patrons during Cheeseburger Week.

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.

The invention of the cheeseburger at the Rite Spot has been documented by the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, cheese-burger.net, Hamburger 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 third Cheeseburger Week and Cheeseburger Challenge January 10th to 15th, 2015.

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.

Scroll down to take the Cheeseburger Challenge.

Here are our participants for last year's (2015) Cheeseburger Week in Pasadena and the gamut of burgers they each serve (click on the name to go to the web page, click on the menu item for the full restaurant burger menu):

For address, menu and special offer information click on Restaurant Participants above.

Voting in the 2016 Cheeseburger Challenge opens January 10, 2016, and ends January 15, 2016.

Check out some more of our media coverage:

Pasadena Sinks Its Teeth into Cheeseburger Week NBC Southern California

Cheeseburger Week is a Pasadena Restaurant Week and California Restaurant Month event presented by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. Cheeseburger Week is generously sponsored by the City of Pasadena, Southern California Gas Company Advanced Meter and Trusted Choice Agents of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.