(NEXSTAR) – There are some foods so synonymous with the U.S. that it’s hard to imagine a time when they didn’t exist. Apple pie, sliced bread, frozen pizza – the list can go on.
There’s also the cheeseburger, which has evolved into sought-after fast food offerings, staples at craft breweries, and contestants in “best burger” contests.
The origins of the cheeseburger are easy to track. It’s generally agreed that Lionel Sternberger, a teenager in Pasadena, California, was the first to put cheese on a hamburger while working at his father’s restaurant, The Rite Spot, in 1924. Why he added the cheese is contested, but Sternberger is still viewed as the cheeseburger’s inventor.
The cheeseburger was (maybe) invented in Denver
Who gets credited for the hamburger, though, is vastly more complicated…