A cheeseburger dons his pickle shield and takes his french fry spear off the wall. His slider children cry kosher salt tears as they beg their father not to go – but he must. He leaves his Happy Meal home and marches towards the ketchup-covered battlefield, for the second annual Tournament of Cheeseburgers has begun. Presented by LAist, this friendly competition celebrates the cheeseburger in all of its delicious forms – but heavily favors smashburgers. Votes were cast through the media outlet’s website and the eight finalists made their appearance at the weekly food festival, Smorgasburg LA, on July 20 where the winner would be crowned “The Best Burger in SoCal”. While the idea is fun in theory, the event itself was missing that secret sauce to make it worthy of its lofty title.
Every Sunday, Angelenos can attend this free food festival. Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
As previously stated, this event shares a space with Smorgasburg, so the Tournament itself got lost in the mix with the other vendors. The eight finalists, which include The Win-Dow, Terrible Burger and Krunch Burger, amongst five others, were just scattered across the festival grounds. Even though there were signs that designated them as part of the event, they were not only easy to miss amongst the crowds, but had the ability to trick goers into eating burgers that are not in the running – more on that later.
Surfs up on the sidewalk. Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
There were four unique activities advertised as part of the Tournament of Cheeseburgers – the first being flower crown-making with Forager Crafts. While I spied with my little eye the colors red, yellow and green, nothing about this craft screamed cheeseburger. Next, there were surf lessons provided by the Surf Bus Foundation. In spite of its popularity amongst young children and intoxicated adults, this activity also did nothing to engage with the namesake of this festival.
Then, Hedley and Bennett were giving away 800 kitchen starter bundles to those affected by the Palisades or Altadena fires. However, this claim must have all been a publicity stunt because they were handing out these swag bags to anyone who showed up. Potentially lying about charitable deeds is bad enough, but to add salt to the wound, the items were not even cheeseburger-themed. Inside these pouches were a $96 Luke Skywalker apron, a pair of Mickey Mouse oven mitts and a set of Star Wars towels priced at $28 each. While $152 of free stuff is always appreciated, this theming only applies to a very select group of individuals. If you happen to be a nerd who loves to cook, this is the greatest haul ever, but if you couldn’t care less about a galaxy far far away, then what good will any of these items do you? Also, this was $121,600 that would have been better spent actually helping those in need, as Hedley and Bennett promised.
This avocado is too cool for school. Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
For the last activity, credit must be given where it’s due because it actually fit the theme. At The Painting Joint’s pop-up, attendees were given pallets of acrylic paint to design their own cheeseburgers. Mustard yellows, pickle greens and ketchup reds were put to good use and allowed people’s creativity to flow through them as a means of celebrating what they came for – cheeseburgers.
But enough about lackluster theming and the lies of mega corporations, the 2025 Tournament of Cheeseburgers was about featuring the best burgers SoCal has to offer, so did the spots live up to the hype? Whilst I cannot speak for all eight finalists, the burger I did try did not.
At Hangaburs, looks are often deceiving. Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
The first burger I had was last year’s winner, Hangaburs. Despite the long line suggesting otherwise, their double smashburger was the most unremarkable piece of meat I have ever put in my mouth. There was nothing special about this burger other than the fact that if I finished it, I would have been sick to my stomach. The issue with smashburgers, in my opinion, is that everything is reduced to a greasy, emulsified paste. There was no flavor or textural contrast – it’s all just greasy beef and definitely not worth $13.
The Founder from Proudly Serving is a smashburger spin on a classic McDonald's burger. Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
Next came all the way from the South Bay: Proudly Serving. Disappointingly, it was another smashed burger, but this one was better than Hangaburs. I ordered The Founder (Michael Keaton movie pun most likely intended), and it had flavor and textural variation. Since the ketchup and mustard were not emulsified into a pink sauce, tasting them together yet separately was actually a welcome change. The onions were diced raw instead of griddled into the burger, so they provided a subtle crunch and pungent flavor. The Founder actually tasted like the sum of great ingredients as opposed to their squished aftermath.
Great burger. False Advertising. Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
The last burger I tried was from the Pasadena institution Pie ‘N Burger, who, despite the sign outside their truck suggesting otherwise, were not listed as a finalist on the LAist website. Why were they at the Tournament if they were not competing? Beats me. How did they get that sign? Don’t know. But what I do know is that this was a darn good burger. There was an overwhelming crunch from the iceberg lettuce; the salty juices from the patty mix with that sweet thousand island dressing and those additional veggies impart freshness to every bite. It’s a classic for a reason that proves great burgers can be as simple as a beef patty and fresh vegetables.
This is not an In-N-Out burger, but Pie N' Burger makes them just as good. Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
As for the winners of the competition, while I have not had the second and third place recipients, Krunch Burger or El Brewjo Burgers, respectively (both smashburgers by the way), I am familiar with the overall winner, The Win-Dow. It’s a New Jersey-style smashed burger that, despite being great for its $4.35 single-patty price tag, I have never wanted to revisit.
Another year, another burger crowned king. Filled with lackluster theming, corporate lies and disappointing burgers, the 2025 Tournament of Cheeseburgers left a bad taste in my mouth.
That's all, folks! Photographed by Gavin Meichelbock/BruinLife.
