Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

Food

They Love Burgers So Much They Started A Monthly Club — Now It's 10 Years Old. Here’s How They Did It

A group of people made up of both men and women all with light skin stand together smiling in an outside environment. They are standing in front of a plaque.
Team Burger LA visits the site of birthplace of the cheeseburger in Pasadena.
(
Courtesy of Donnelle Fuller
)

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

When we announced LAist was hosting the Tournament of Cheeseburgers (read all about it here, we’re looking to crown the best cheeseburger in L.A. and we need your help) — I was so excited. Why? Because of all the cheeseburger recommendations that would be coming my way.

But something even better than a cheeseburger recommendation landed in my email last week: Reader and cheeseburger expert Donnelle Fuller reached out to tell me about her club — her burger club.

Yes, a monthly burger club affectionately titled Team Burger LA. It’s the way she and her husband get together with friends once a month and choose different cheeseburgers around SoCal.

The best part is that they’ve been doing it for a decade! In total, the burger club has held around 120 “meating” sessions. Members have consumed roughly 180 burgers in almost 10 years of the club's existence. I had to know more, especially since we here at LAist have been delving lately into the severe problem of loneliness in our increasingly device-driven and scattered culture.

Support for LAist comes from

Perhaps one solution to ponder is starting your own version of Fuller’s cheeseburger club.

I reached out to Fuller, who works in digital operations and lives in East Hollywood, and asked her to share how they did it.

A close up of a smash burger with yellow cheese melted and beige bun and fries on a blue countertop.
A single Oklahoma burger and fries from Burger She Wrote on Beverly Boulevard.
(
Brian Feinzimer
/
LAist
)

Origin story

The premise was simple: Agree to get together once a month and try different burgers around Los Angeles.

The group created a private Facebook group called Team Burger to stay organized. Members of the group would submit different burgers to try, and then the group would vote. Whichever burger got the most votes is where they’d go.

Support for LAist comes from

Team Burger LA consists of eight people; however, about four to five people usually show up to eat at monthly burger meatups. Of course, there is an IG Account. And they’ve made up shirts with their burger monikers on the back. Fuller is known as Burger Pixie because of her pixie haircut. Others include Burg Brain, T Burg, and Donut Buns.

The rules of Team Burger LA

According to Fuller, the fundamental rule of Team Burger LA is that there must be a quorum, meaning that at least three people must show up for it to be an official monthly “meating.” There aren’t geographic limits, but the group is usually within L.A. limits, including Pasadena, the Valley, and Santa Monica.

And Team Burger goes where the burgers are, whether it's a brick-and-mortar or a pop-up.

After selecting their burger destination, the group meets at the agreed-upon spot and tries a variety of burgers, usually splitting them into fours for sharing. (Unless there is only one type of burger on the menu, in which case each person will get their own). They also divide up sides and desserts so that everyone can try everything.

“It's a very collaborative meal,” says Fuller.

Support for LAist comes from

Post-burger grub, the group settles in for some burger talk, comparing and contrasting it with other burgers.

For the love of burgers

If you're looking to start a club of your own, Fuller says it’s imperative that you pick something you'll love to eat again and again, month after month, year after year.

“Do it because you love it," she advises. "Don't do it because you're trying to get some other thing out of it,” says Fuller.

That means content creation isn’t central to Team Burger LA's mission. The burgers and getting together come first, everything else second.

When asked about her favorite burgers, Fuller quickly rattled off Burgers Never Say Die, Burger She Wrote, and Love Hour. (She has good taste, I've featured those all in my Cheap Fast Eats columns.) She also likes Cassell's, Grill Em’ All, and Electric Owl.

Next up for Team Burger LA

Later, during a text message exchange, I asked Fuller if club members were planning on joining us at Tourment of Cheeseburgers on July 7 at Smorgasburg LA.

Support for LAist comes from

She responded, “Oh, we will BE THERE 💯.”

Will you?

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist