What to Know
- Pasadena Cheeseburger Week 2024 sizzles from Jan. 21 through 27
- Eateries around the city will participate with deals, special cheeseburgers, and more
- Lionel Sternberger invented the cheeseburger, coming up with the culinary Eureka! moment at the Rite Spot in 1924
It's true that Pasadena, being a nicely seasoned city, age-wise, has been bestowed with some catchy nicknames over the decades, including the Crown City.
Strike that: Centuries, not decades, for the venerable town got its storied start in the late 1800s.
But the city wasn't done with storied starts, for the first cheeseburger hit the griddle in Pasadena in 1924; soon after, it would become a crowning cuisine for the Crown City.
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And, really, when you think about it, the cheeseburger wears its own brilliant bready topper, the sort of culinary crown that helps to keep the patty and condiments in tasty place.
To honor the cheeseburger's Crown City legacy, there is Pasadena Cheeseburger Week, which will ladle on the mayo and mustard from Jan. 21 through 27, 2024.
Lionel Sternberger is the young culinary legend who dreamt up this bun-patty-slice celebrity back in 1924, at the ol' Rite Spot diner. Soon, the Aristocratic Burger, a melted-cheese-meets-meat tummy filler, had melted the hankering-filled hearts of discerning foodies around the area.
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A century later just about every diner in existence, in Southern California and far beyond, has a cheeseburger on its menu, or some decadent dish that takes inspiration from the meal's classic ingredients.
It is in cheeseburger-obsessed Pasadena, though, that Cheeseburger Week comes to zesty flower each January. And you can bet the occasion, which has been observed for several years, will be especially piquant in 2024.
Look for deals, limited-time cheeseburgers, special events, and more, including a passport program. The Cheeseburger Challenge has long been an appetizing offering of the popular dine-out week, giving cheeseburgerists the chance to honor those eateries that do right by the Rite Spot-started superstar.
By the by, there's a commemorative plaque where this hallowed invention took place, so look for it the next time you're calling upon the western edge of the city. The City of Pasadena placed the marker in 2017, because the civic-minded supporters of the Crown City's culinary cred know a crown-rocking icon when they see one.
That is, of course, the can't-be-topped cheeseburger, a filling and famous favorite rolling into its centennial year.
Watch this page for details about the 2024 event, a savory celebration years in the meaty making.
