# California burgers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290 "2004-08-24T16:14:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/21 "2004-08-25T13:21:23Z")
> [@chique](#): > > :dubious: All those spices in the meat would give the stomach of a true Minnesotan heartburn. Yes, I know, you’re from CA and I therfore forgive you. Now run out and get yourself a copy of _How to Talk Minnesotan_ before you embarrass yourself any more. > > A California burger in Minnesota nearly almost means “with lettuce and tomato”. Because you grow it out there, or something. :rolleyes: Oh, right. Sorry. Forgot about that. Pretend you’re watching _Fargo_, and insert the Marge Gunderson accent here: Waitress: What’ll it be today, Ole? Ole: I’ll have the chili. Waitress: Would you like that mild, extra mild, or North Shore? Ole: I’m feeling lucky; give me the mild. Waitress: I better get more water. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/22 "2004-08-25T13:55:22Z")
> [@](#): > > A California burger in Minnesota nearly almost means “with lettuce and tomato”. Because you grow it out there, or something. :rolleyes: Erm… This is a joke, right? :dubious: Just checking, as I feel I may have been whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/23 "2004-08-25T14:11:25Z")
> [@Toddly](#): > > Originally Posted by devilsknew > My Double Chili Burger will kick your California Burger’s ass. > Alrightty then…let’s have the recipe so we can decide ourselves. 🙂 Wasn’t deadpan serious, it’s more of a Drew Careyism. A wimpy foofoo burger with avocado doesn’t stand a chance against the manly midwestern chili burger…hehehe. 😃 A double chili buger is basically a double cheeseburger with your favorite chili mounded on to the point of overflow. A good chiliburger must a.) be very messy and B.) able to cause a heart attack just by looking at it. California burger, meet the [welfare burger](http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/14/Welfare_Burgers58306.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/24 "2004-08-25T16:39:09Z")
I’m sorry…does “manly” midwestern chili where salt, pepper, and a little garlic are considered “all those spices” really stand a chance against chili from a food culture that borrows heavily from Mexican influences? :dubious: Bring it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/25 "2004-08-25T17:40:26Z")
I can’t believe there is a special designation for a hamburger with lettuce and tomato. That’s the _default_, people! It’s just a plain old, normal hamburger! ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/26 "2004-08-25T18:50:51Z")
_ **Other distinctively Californian burgers:** _ Well, there’s also a thing I’ve seen at Marie Callendar’s and other places, called a “Frisco Burger” that is basically a patty melt using swiss cheese on thick sliced sourdough bread, and grilled with parmesean cheese on the outside. **Mrs. Bug** loves 'em. And then there’s an Ortega Burger, which is a cheeseburger with a split, deseeded ortega chile on it. I’ve mentioned the avocado-cheeseburger… And then there’s Carl’s Jr’s Western Bacon Cheeseburger, one of my favorites. It’s a cheeseburger with a fried onion ring or two, and a good dollop of barbecue sauce. Damn… it’s almost lunchtime here, and I’m salivating! ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/27 "2004-08-25T19:12:52Z")
**Bug** , my son has grown addicted to the $6 chili cheeseburger. _shudder_… I can’t even look at it without getting nauseated. Too. Much. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/28 "2004-08-25T21:04:46Z")
I’ve seen burgers made the ways stated, but in living in CA for 24 years, I’ve never heard of a California Burger as a defined style. Maybe it’s like the distinct lack of branded French restaurants in Nice. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/29 "2004-08-25T22:14:12Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Oh, right. Sorry. Forgot about that. Pretend you’re watching _Fargo_, and insert the Marge Gunderson accent here: > > Waitress: What’ll it be today, Ole? > Ole: I’ll have the chili. > Waitress: Would you like that mild, extra mild, or North Shore? > Ole: I’m feeling lucky; give me the mild. > Waitress: I better get more water. HA! You do know that the mild chili has a whole quarter teaspoon of chili powder in the pot, right? 😉 > [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Erm… This is a joke, right? :dubious: > > Just checking, as I feel I may have been whooshed. Only half. I know people who call something “Asian” because a few chow mein noodles have been sprinkled on top… > [@Aesiron](#): > > I can’t believe there is a special designation for a hamburger with lettuce and tomato. That’s the _default_, people! It’s just a plain old, normal hamburger! No. A plain old, normal hamburger is a bun and meat with maybe a little salt or pepper sprinkled on top. One can’t taste the meat when it’s drowned in “salad”. Note that I don’t subscribe to any of these notions (including the bit about spices in with the meat)…I just report 'em as I see 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/30 "2004-08-26T00:46:34Z")
I always thought that a “California burger” was a hamburger with mayonnaise on it. If you call for mayo with your burger in New York, you usually get a raised eyebrow and a “Da fuck…ya from _Callafawnia_?” ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/31 "2004-08-26T01:43:40Z")
??? EVERY SINGLE fast food place I go to in So Cal puts mayo on the burgers. I think maybe In-N-Out doesn’t, and they still put dressing on it. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/32 "2004-08-26T01:58:47Z")
For what it’s worth(probably nothing), in Wisconsin in the 1960’s-1970’s this was a burger with lettuce, tomato and “dressing.” This was from a newspaper ad in 1965. I just found another one from 1964, again in Wisconsin, and it said a “California burger” (normally 45 cents/ on special for 35 cents) was a “1/3 lb. hamburg, lettuce, tomato, choice of Catchup, Mustard, etc.” In an ad in the LA Times from 1953, there was a reference to their famous “California Burger.” No mention of what it was. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/33 "2004-08-26T02:05:08Z")
I’ve never heard the term “California burger” before now. I’ve always been disappointed that you can’t buy a hamburger in any restaurant that tastes like the ones I grew up with at home. It wasn’t just my family in Canada, people made them like this everywhere we went, from the bottom up: Bun Meat Cheese (optional) Mustard Relish Spanish onion slice Tomato with salt & ground pepper on top Lettuce Bun Is this a weird way to make hamburgers? I get extra husband points when I make burgers and fries for my American wife, because she likes them made this way so much. BTW, ketchup belongs on the side of the plate, in which to dip your fries. Is there another earthly use for it? ---
**Author:** ![V.bis\_and\_Baudhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85f322/32.png) [@V.bis\_and\_Baudhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/V.bis_and_Baudhead)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/34 "2004-08-26T02:17:27Z")
> [@bughunter](#): > > Well, before being transplanted to California, I used to think that a “California Burger” had avocado, sprouts, etc., but shortly after arriving I discovered that the _true_ “California Burger” is the [Double Double](http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/sleuth/sleuth2.htm). > > [Animal Style](http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/sleuth/sleuth2a.htm). That’s what I thought too, shortly after _I_ arrived. But the years have taught me some wisdom. I’d take a [Fatburger](http://www.fatburger.com) over a Double Double, any day. I don’t know the recipe for certain, but for what it’s worth, my over-the-counter observations would seem to indicate something along the lines of what **Ethilrist** described as a California Burger, except that they also add mayo. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/35 "2004-08-26T02:48:57Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Erm… This is a joke, right? :dubious: > > Just checking, as I feel I may have been whooshed. Nope, **Johnny** , it’s no whoosh, nor is it purely midwestern. More years ago than I care to contemplate we moved from California to Pennsylvania and I took a job in a steak sandwich place (The place I mentioned in passing in the cheesesteak thread a while back). A few weeks into the job this older gentleman ordered a couple steaks and “a California burger.” Now, we had hamburgers and cheeseburgers on the menu, but no California burger, nor had I heard of one, so when I was putting the order slip up by the grill I asked out of the side of my mouth, “What’s a California burger?” The grill girl was so shocked she almost dropped her spatula. “It’s with lettuce and tomato.” " . . . Oh." “What do you call 'em in California?” (She knew I was recently from there.) “A hamburger.” Another hamburger joint up the road had a dab of mayonnaise and sliced olives on their California burger which made a little sense, I guess. DD ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/36 "2004-08-26T08:13:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yep. The “classic” definition of a California Burger is one with avocado. > > Blech! > > Avocados belong in guacamole and that’s it! 😃 AFAIC, avacados belong on a tree. Never tasted anything with avacado that was remotely edible. Howver, if a burger doesn’t have garlic and pepper in it, it’s inedible. I get enough salt in the ketchup and pickles. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/37 "2004-08-26T12:40:54Z")
**DesertDog** : You’re making it up, and I reject you totally. 😉 Seriously, lettuce and tomato on a burger makes it a “California Burger”? The mind boggles. _Olives_ on a burger? The mind boggles again. **Ukulele Ike** : Of course a burger has mayo on it! It’s natural. Unless it has some sort of dressing on it instead. Mustard and catsup? Okay for a picnic, but if it has no mayo, then it’s lacking. **fishbicycle** : Relish? No. Not unless you’re at a picnic. Sliced dill pickles, mon! Hold the mustard, but your recipe is the kind of burger I think of as a plain old burger – except that I put the salt (preferably garlic salt) and pepper on the meat, not the tomato. Re: catsup. If you have a tomato, you don’t need catsup. That’s what the tomato is for! **V.bis and Baudhead** : Aye, mon! **Fatburger** kicks **In-N-Out** ’s ass any day of the week. And their fries are better, too. > [@Maureen](#): > > But apparently, we all put avocado and jack cheese on our burgers. Properly, an avocado burger has American or cheddar cheese on it. A guacamole burger has jack or pepper-jack. Oh, and dijon mustard (on a regluar cheeseburger – lettuce, tomato, onions) is good. And don’t forget the mayo! 😃 **bughunter** : Ortega burgers are the bomb. I used to make them when I was a kid, and I’ve often had them at restaurants. Thanks for reminding me to pick up a tin of Ortega chilis. 🙂 For those of you dissin’ avocados: What’s _wrong_ with you? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/38 "2004-08-26T14:05:01Z")
Here is the northern New Jersey definiton of a California Burger (or at least it was in the late '80s. I haven’t heard anyone use the term for a while now): A Hamburger or Cheeseburger with: Lettuce Tomatoes Onions Mayonaisse In the '80s, that precise set of ingredients on burgers just wasn’t very common around here. So instead of naming each topping, you just asked for California Cheesebuger or Hamburger and everyone knew what you wanted. Now, those ingredients are the norn so no one uses that term anymore. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/39 "2004-08-26T19:26:45Z")
Welfare burger? I call those mini-meatloaves. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290/40 "2004-08-26T21:35:54Z")
Whatever you call it besides hamburger it is the convention of the locale as to the trimmings. I understand that Aussies and Kiwis expect a slice of beet on theirs. As the farmer said when he kissed the cow, “Every man to his own taste.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-burgers/261290.md?page=3)