Savory Eats

January is one of the tastiest months of year to savor Pasadena's culinary bounty. The 10^th annual California Restaurant Month is taking place now and Pasadena Cheeseburger Week are part of the statewide celebration. The best way to show your love for the Golden State? Get feasting!

Food-lovers have an abundance of opportunities to treat themselves to special prix fixe menus, Instagrammable dishes and all kinds of dining deals this month. Pasadena's diverse, globally inspired cuisine scene features more than 650 restaurants, and several leading establishments participate in theses limited time dining promotions. There's truly no better time to check out new eateries, Michelin-endorsed plates, buzzed-about hotspots and classic local favorites. Read on to find out exactly what's on the menu. Your palate (and wallet) will thank you!

dineLA Restaurant Week takes place twice a year. Two dozen Pasadena restaurants are offering dineLA menus during the two-week period. The 2-course lunch menus and multi-course dinner menus reflect savings of at least 20 percent off regular prices, making it an especially opportune time to try higher-end restaurants you might typically save for a special occasion. Lunch prices range from $15 to $35, while dinners start as low as $29 and go up to $99+.

Splurge on the elaborate 6-course Alexander's Steakhouse menu ($119), with optional upgrades including wine pairings ($55), caviar ($38) and bone marrow ($10). Treat your date to historic ambiance and refined fare at The Terrace at The Langham, Pasadena ($35 lunch/$49 3-course dinner) and Raymond 1886 ($20 lunch/$49 3-course dinner). Savor scrumptious Southeast Asian flavors at Bone Kettle ($20 lunch/$49 5-course dinner) and crowd-pleasing sushi at Sugarfish ($20 lunch/$39 5-course dinner) or Sushi Roku – Pasadena ($35 lunch/$49 3-course dinner). From Argentinian, Mexican and Italian to French, Hawaiian and Vegan, 18 additional restaurants invite you to get in on the good values during dineLA.

Pasadena's own Cheeseburger Week ups the decadence factor even further January 26-31—at very reasonable price points, no less! More than 40 restaurants participate in our city's tribute to the origin of the cheeseburger first created right here in 1924. Teenager Lionel Sternberger was the first known person to top a hamburger with cheese while working at the Pasadena Rite Spot. The restaurant is no longer there today, but his legacy and contribution to culinary greatness lives on with a plaque marking the "rite spot" at 1500 West Colorado Boulevard.

Part of the fun of Cheeseburger Week is the sheer variety of delicious ways the humble, all-American classic can be interpreted and elevated—be it fast casual chains like The Stand and The Counter or go-to bars like Lucky Baldwins and Edwin Mills by Equator. Some of the less expected spots to get a burger include Mi Piace. Purists won't want to miss Pie 'N Burger, which has been serving up some of the best cheeseburgers in the USA since 1963. And health-conscious eaters can beeline to the wholesome True Food Kitchen.

Plot a cheeseburger crawl to try as many signature burgers and special cheeseburger-inspired concoctions as your stomach can handle in a week. And please don't forget to vote for your favorites as part of the "Cheeseburger Challenge" that goes live online January 26. Bon appetit!