Pasadena Restaurant Week

​
Perhaps cocky after the city's recent historic Rose Bowl game, Pasadena has issued a challenge for its upcoming Cheeseburger Week (January 15-20): Try them all. Then vote for your favorites in each category (lunch counter, traditional, gourmet, sliders, Kobe, etc.) online.

As we posted back in November, Pasadena claims the title of inventor of the cheeseburger. According to local lore, 17-year-old Lionel Sternberger had a "grilling error" at his father's diner, the Rite Spot, in the mid-1920s that led to the inadvertent creation of the American classic.

More >>

Wendys.com Screenshot

​
Among a slew of fast food headlines in 2011, the unveiling of a new Wendy's burger, Dave's Hot 'N Juicy, had lasting effects on the future of the fast food industry. Thanks largely to the new better-quality burger, Wendy's is set to surpass Burger King next year as the second-most popular (behind McDonald's) fast food hamburger chain in America. Breaking news, right? Maybe if you're a McDonald's marketing exec.

A Financial Times article attributes the boost to American consumers' newfound pickiness when it comes to eating quality fast food. "Better burger" places like Five Guys and In-N-Out became household names and pressured chains like McDonald's and Wendy's to revamp their look and menu. But while Wendy's customers indulged in the Hot 'N Juicy stylings, McDonald's focused less on burger quality and more McCafe quality. Who needs a decent burger when they can do the McCafe Shuffle and grab a frappe?

More >>

​
In what might be another sign that Vladimir Putin is losing control of his country -- or at least its burger marketing departments -- comes a sensationally 'hip' commercial from Burger King. If Russian burger lovers were all hip-hop enthusiasts, then Burger King knows they would spin giant hamburgers instead of records, get the BK logo tattooed on their back and roll up to the club with some serious canines. See for yourself in this viral commercial produced by the Burger King chain in Russia.

They seem to be going for a wide demographic, though: in between the thug life shots, there are shots of a father and son eating together, a portly family gushing over their meal and a guy proposing to his girlfriend with a ring nestled atop a sesame bun. If you can't relate to any of these things, then it's time to get your priorities in order.

Check out the video...

More >>

Craigslist

a cheeseburger bed

​If you're the sort of person who eats out way too often at Umami Burger, frequently invokes Thomas Keller's well-documented love of In-N-Out as justification for your fast food burger fetish, and spends your weekends in close proximity to your charcoal briquets and hand-ground prime chuck, then you may to check out this recent Craigslist ad. For a mere $1,000 (that's only 83 80 Father's Office hamburgers), you could sleep on a custom-made 84 inch by 38 inch tall bed shaped like an actual cheesehamburger.

More >>