The cheeseburger is the most American of foods, and one of its most enduring origin stories is Californian. The invention is disputed, but it is often traced to Lionel Sternberger, a teenager working at his father’s sandwich stand, The Rite Spot in Pasadena, who is said to have laid a slice of cheese on a frying beef patty in the mid-1920s.
California didn’t just add the cheese; it industrialized the burger. McDonald’s began as a single San Bernardino drive-in in 1940, and In-N-Out opened in Baldwin Park in 1948, both helping turn the cheeseburger into an American habit.
Simple cheeseburger: grill a beef patty and melt a slice of American cheese over it, then build it on a toasted brioche bun with mayonnaise, ketchup, leaf lettuce, tomato, and onion.
Sources and notes: The cheeseburger’s invention is disputed; the Pasadena claim credits Lionel Sternberger at The Rite Spot in the 1920s. McDonald’s opened in San Bernardino in 1940 and In-N-Out in Baldwin Park in 1948. (Wikipedia, Cheeseburger; In-N-Out Burger; McDonald’s.)
Burger Party Reel
Some Scrabble letter fun!
Burger party set
Closeup of party food with fairy light bokeh.
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Part of the Food of California series by Judy Doherty Studio, a Southern California food, beverage and CPG photography studio. See our food photography or book a free call.
