History of the Cheeseburger

To properly chronicle the birth of the cheeseburger, we must first dig into the history of the hamburger. Have a seat kiddos because we are taking this all the way back to the 1st Century AD. The place was Rome and the dish was called Isicia Omentata – minced meat combined with pepper, pine nuts, garum and wine. Ancient Romans would chill out in communal baths with olive leaves on their heads, munching on these Roman-style burgers. And yes, I just made that last part up.

The hamburger has shown up in many other variations and locations throughout history – as Steak Tartare eaten by the Mongols in the 13th Century AD, Hamburg Sausage in London circa the 1700s, Hamburger Charlie’s meatball between bread concoction in 1885, and White Castle’s humble beginnings in the early 1900s – to name a few.

Finally, in 1925, cheese made its first known appearance as a hamburger topping (allegedly, of course). Lionel Sternberger was running his father’s diner (The Rite Spot) in Pasadena, California when the idea came to fruition. Sternberger claimed to have been the first to place cheese over a patty inside a bun – a creation he named the Cheese Hamburger.

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