By Jennifer Reese

A handful of restaurants bill themselves as the cheeseburger’s birthplace, but the title actually belongs to a defunct hamburger shack in Pasadena, Calif., where in the mid-1920s Lionel Sternberger became the first hash slinger to lay a cheese slice on a meat patty. Today, for $13 you get organic beef with Gruyere on rosemary focaccia at San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe (415-552-2522). Or for a third that price, grab an equally scrumptious cheeseburger at In-N-Out Burger, Fatburger, or Burgerville, a Northwest chain that tops its patties with Tillamook cheddar. My favorites, however, are found at homey neighborhood joints. Bill’s Place (415-221-5262, www.billsplace.qpg.com ) in San Francisco’s Richmond District has been serving succulent cheeseburgers since 1959. Over in the Mission, Joe’s Cable Car Restaurant (415-334-6699, www.joescablecar.com ) has its own devotees. The secret: Both places grind their own chuck daily.