LAist Is On The Hunt For SoCal's Best Cheeseburger: Nominate Your Fave Now

Have you nominated your favorite SoCal cheeseburger in the LAist’s Tournament of Cheeseburgers? The nomination round is now open!

It’s only been 48 hours since we opened the nomination window as we search for the best cheeseburger in SoCal, and we’ve already seen some great numbers. But we want more.

Let’s double — nay — triple those nomination numbers before the weekend — just like your favorite burger stack — to make it count.

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Who’ve we heard from so far?

Earlier this week, I had the honor of kicking off the tournament on AirTalk on LAist 89.3 with host Larry Mantle and my colleague Jon Cohn, LAist’s executive director of live programming and events.

Listeners were asked about their favorite spots to get a cheeseburger. Man, did you deliver! Here are some highlights:

• Domingo from Koreatown nominated George’s Burger Stand in East Los Angeles: “It’s crisp, and the bun is perfectly toasted, with a grilled patty. They layer it perfectly. It’s a little mom-and-pop joint.”
• James in Long Beach said his favorite place for a cheeseburger is “The Boat, at Clearman’s Galley in Rosemead. It’s a great chili burger with Thousand Island dressing, lettuce, and tomato. It’s messy and sloppy, gets everywhere, and is the best thing you’ve ever had.” 
• Ian from Pasadena said, “Pie ‘N Burger in Pasadena and Irv’s Burger in West Hollywood, especially when Sonia makes a plate for you.”
• Jennifer from Burbank nominated “The Great White Hut on the Glendale Community College Campus. It’s a charred bun with two slices of American cheese … the burger patty is perfectly cooked with tomato and shredded lettuce, and it’s amazing. And it’s on a California community campus and we’ve got to support those as well.”

For those of you who are just joining us and have no idea what I’m talking about, let’s review.

Why are we doing this?

LAist is teaming up with Smorgasburg Los Angeles to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the cheeseburger, an iconic American favorite with close ties to SoCal.

In 1924, according to local lore, a Pasadena roadside stand owner named Lionel Sternberger was looking to drum up business and set himself apart from the other nearby burger spots. So he slapped a slice of cheese on a burger and served it, and customers loved it.

These days, you can find a sidewalk plaque on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena commemorating this magical moment and the location where the drive-up roadside stand called the Rite Spot once stood.

To honor that entrepreneurial spirit, we’re searching for the best cheeseburger in Southern California, and we need your help.

The old Rite Spot road stand in Pasadena: Legend has it that the cheeseburger was born on this very spot.

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Courtesy of the Archives, Pasadena Museum of History (JAH Rite Spot 11-06-1933)

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Where you come in:

We aren’t simply looking for any ‘ol burger.

We want to know about your favorite independently-owned burger establishments. It can be a renowned restaurant, a hidden gem, or a pop-up. If they're making mouthwatering burgers in SoCal, they're fair game for a nomination.

And you can nominate right here:

Can I self-nominate? Or nominate the place where I work?

Yep. If you have a restaurant or pop-up that makes a great cheeseburger or work at a place that makes a great cheeseburger, this is a chance to let the rest of Southern California know about it.

Visit LAist.com/Burgervote to ensure your favorite burger spot makes it to the top 32 for a chance to win the top honor. The voting will begin once the nominations are in, so keep checking back for details.

The top vote-getters will be announced at a free event on July 7 at Smorgasburg at ROW DTLA, when we’ll crown the first, second, and third-place cheeseburgers.