Cheeseburger Week Winners Announced

Results of Pasadena’s Cheeseburger Week contest were announced today after 1,308 people took the Cheeseburger Challenge and voted for their favorite cheeseburger. Voting was open from Sunday, January 17th through Sunday, January 20th.

The results list the top vote four getters in each category (unless there were fewer than four entries). Total votes received by each of the favorites are also listed. Not every restaurant was entered in every category and not every patron voted in each category.

Pasadena Cheeseburger Week was presented by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce as a Pasadena Restaurant Week and California Restaurant Month event.

“Pasadena is a dining destination and also a burger destination,” said Pasadena Chamber CEO Paul Little. “We are very pleased to have added so many new participants in 2014.”

“The Cheeseburger Challenge is similar to ‘liking’ a Facebook page. We don’t intend to identify the best, finest or tastiest in any category,” said Little. “Appetites and preferences vary. What I appreciate in a burger may be completely different from the person across the table from me. We don’t presume to identify one burger as being superior to another, simply the ones that garner the most fan votes.”

Here are the results of the 2014 Cheeseburger Challenge:

1. Favorite restaurant to go for a burger
a. Dog Haus (12.1% / 156 votes)
b. Big Daddy’s Fire Grill (9% / 119)
c. La Grande Orange (5.5% / 72)
d. Pie ‘n Burger/Slater’s 50/50 (4.1% / 54) (tie)
2. Favorite lunch counter burger
a. Pie ‘n Burger (20.3% / 204)
b. The Counter (18.9% / 190)
c. Clearman’s Galley /BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (10.9% / 110) (tie)
3. Favorite traditional cheeseburger:
a. Dog Haus (16.9% / 189)
b. Pie ‘n Burger (16.9% / 188)
c. The Counter (12.9% / 144)
d. La Grande Orange (7% / 78)
4. Favorite sliders
a. Dog Haus (21.1% / 228)
b. The Counter (12.4% / 134)
c. BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (7.9% / 86)
d. POP Champagne and Dessert Bar (6.7% / 72)
5. Favorite Gourmet Burger
a. Dog Haus (12.3% / 152)
b. Big Daddy’s Fire Grill (9.7% / 120)
c. La Grande Orange (6.5% / 80)
d. Haven Gastropub + Brewery (5.7% / 70)
6. Favorite alternative burger:
a. Big Daddy’s Lamb Burger (12.5% / 123)
b. Slater’s 50/50 Cheeseburger Salad (10% / 99)
c. La Grande Orange Ahi Tuna Burger (6.5% / 64)
d. Umami Burger Ahi Tuna Burger (5.8% / 57)
7. Favorite turkey burger:
a. The Counter (28.3% / 274)
b. Big Daddy’s Fire Grill (25.6% / 248)
c. Slater’s 50/50 (17.1% / 166)
d. Umami Burger (8.2% / 80)
8. Favorite sit-down/white table cloth cheeseburger:
a. Green Street Restaurant (33.3% / 250)
b. a/k/a Bistro (17.6% / 132)
c. Central Park Restaurant (14.9% / 112)
d. Vertical Wine Bistro (7.7% / 58)
9. Favorite new restaurant for a burger:
a. Du-Pars Restaurant (18.6% / 121)
b. Big Daddy’s (Orangewood Plaza) (18.5% / 119)
c. Kal’s Mediterranean Bistro (6.3% / 52)
d. ZiLin Restaurant (4.1% / 34)
10. Favorite ethnic burger:
a. El Portal / Yahaira’s (36.8% / 121)
b. Kathleen’s (Green Chile Burger) (20.4% / 67)
c. M Local Mediterranean Grill (17.3% / 57)
d. CREPE studio (15.5% / 51)
11. Favorite Kobe / Wagyu burger:
a. Toro Sushi Bar Lounge (42.2% / 131)
b. POP Champagne and Dessert Bar (30.4% / 95)
c. Vertical Wine Bistro (27.5% / 86)
12. Favorite bar burger:
a. Dog Haus Biergarten (28.8% / 278)
b. Slater’s 50/50 (16.1% / 156)
c. Kings Row Gastropub (8.4% / 81) tie
d. Haven Gastropub + Brewery (8.4% /81
13. Favorite veggie/vegan burger:
a. The Counter (26.5% / 103)
b. Slater’s 50/50 (17.8% / 69)
c. Umami Burger 16% / 62)
d. Kathleen’s (10.3% / 40)
14. Favorite draught beer with a burger:
a. Dog Haus Biergarten (13.8% / 142)
b. Slater’s 50/50 (10.9% / 112)
c. Big Daddy’s Fire Grill (10.9% / 112)
d. Haven Gastropub + Brewery (7.2% / 74)
15. Favorite dessert after a cheeseburger:
a. Pie ‘n Burger (18.3% / 166)
b. BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse (14.6% / 132)
c. Slater’s 50/50 (13.5% / 122)
d. POP Champagne and Dessert Bar (11.8% / 107)
It should be noted that not every voter participated in each category and different categories had widely divergent numbers of entries.

“The Cheeseburger Challenge is a fun way for people to support their favorite Pasadena-area restaurants,” said Mr. Little. “Some participants have gotten very good at motivating their patrons to support them in the voting.”

The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association is a professional business organization. Since the earliest days of Pasadena, the Chamber has played a major role in the development of this internationally renowned city. Since 1888, when the organization was founded as the Board of Trade, the Chamber’s primary purpose has been the enhancement of both the business climate and the quality of life in Pasadena. The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce serves 1500 members.