For our second day of cheeseburger week coverage, we visited Magnolia House on Lake Avenue, reportedly near where Albert Einstein had his apartment when he taught at Caltech.
As you know, the 2025 Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Cheeseburger Week and Cheeseburger Challenge begins this Sunday, so we’re just getting you all ready. And hungry.
We approached our visit Friday with some trepidation because neither of us was a great big fan of mushrooms. And Magnolia House was featuring their Holy Shiitake mushroom burger for cheeseburger week. And those burgers feature great, big mushrooms.
What to do?
We agreed that we would slice both in half and we would each share both. To be honest, Einstein could not have made a smarter decision.
Magnolia House’s cheeseburger comes on a sesame bun, with two stacked Wagyu patties, porcini rub, New American cheese, confit shiitakes, pickled Cippolini onions (which we left on the side), a secret sauce, arugula, and an option for some french fries.
The house burger features a thick beef patty with New School American cheese, a dill pickle remoulade, applewood smoked bacon, and bourbon onions. You can also get a sunny-side-up egg on it.
Both of us chose to bite into the Shiitake mushroom burger first. It was pretty extraordinary. The mushrooms add a perfect combination of taste and texture, a bit like dipping your burger into a hot bowl of mushroom soup —surprisingly delicious. The Wagyu patties are exceptionally flavorful, the bun was soft and steaming with a crunchy edge, and overall, this might have been one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had.
But, as Albert would say, it’s all relative.
Magnolia House’s traditional cheeseburger was delicious as well. Just delicious different. The applewood smoked bacon did its job perfectly, and along with the steaming paper bag full of hot french fries, made a perfect almost-spring afternoon, even more perfect.
Magnolia House. Mushrooms. Cheeseburgers. Go. Eat. Vote. Be happy.
Magnolia House is at 492 S. Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA. (626) 584-1126.
