Celebrate the birth of the cheeseburger in the home of the cheeseburger-Pasadena.

During Cheeseburger Week from January 7th to January 12th,  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 offers its specially created burger for Cheeseburger Week. 

Pie 'n Burger, The Counter, Dog Haus, Dog Haus Biergarten and others offer special deals for Cheeseburger Week.

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

Again in 2018, 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 7th through January 12th.

For 2018, we are 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 fifth Cheeseburger Week and Cheeseburger Challenge January 8th to 13th. 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.

Voting in the 2018 Cheeseburger Challenge opens January 7, 2018, and ends January 15, 2018.

Here are the participants for 2018 (so far, information is updated as it becomes available):

 

Check out some more of our media coverage:

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.

  •