The Weirdest and Most Wonderful Fast Food Item in Cleveland Is Called a Peanutburger

Who in the world would put peanut butter on a hamburger? It seems blasphemous, disgusting, and downright weird, and yet, at Bearden's, a counter service joint in the Cleveland suburbs, it's been a beloved menu staple for more than 75 years.

What Is a Peanutburger?

A sweet, messy sandwich with the perfect amount of acidity, a peanutburger consists of a fresh, never frozen diner-style patty that's pulled off the griddle and immediately topped with creamy peanut butter. As the sweet, sticky peanut butter melts, the restaurant throws on about four sweet pickle slices and places it on a butter toasted bun and—boom!—peanutburger. The combination of burger and peanut butter weirdly seem to work, with both bringing their own fatty umami-ness to the field. The pickles add the perfect touch of acidity to the burger, cutting through all the richness and adding a little zip.

The History of the Peanutburger in Cleveland

For many Clevelanders, the peanutburger also tastes like nostalgia. Bearden's has been open in the same location in Rocky River, Ohio for 75 years and generations of families have gone there not just for peanutburgers but for amazing onion rings, hand-spun shakes, and to watch the model train that circles around the top of the dining room.

The peanutburger, or Peanut Butter Bear as it's now known at the restaurant, has mysterious origins, with Bearden's current owner, Jim Griffith, saying as far as he knows it dates back to the 1930s or '40s, back when the restaurant was still in its youth. "For some reason they tried the combination and it just stuck, no pun intended," he says. "To this day, the burger commands a lot of our attention and a lot of our orders, because some people are just diehards. They have to have the Peanut Butter Bear."

It's inspired and delighted acclaimed restaurateurs, too, like Andrew Watts and Vinnie Cimino, the team behind Cordelia, a fine dining spot that Cleveland Magazine named Best New Restaurant 2023. Watts, who moved to a house about a mile from Bearden's in high school, says he went to the restaurant so often that he grew to trust its menu. "I'd had so many amazing experiences there," Watts says. "They were so kind, friendly, hospitable, and their milkshakes were always on point. That being their signature burger, it's like you have to try that thing, right? I ordered it and I loved it.

"The variation of temperature, texture, and flavor with the pickles brings everything together," Watts continues. "It all combines into the perfect bite."

Cimino, who grew up in Akron but found Bearden's through his culinary road trips around town, agrees. "From a chef's perspective, what attracted me to the peanut butter burger was the natural umami you get from it," he says. "Think of the peanut butter like a satay sauce at an Asian restaurant. It just kind of makes sense, and then when you put it with the burger, it helps the patty retain moisture and adds a different dimension to the burger."

The pickles, Cimino says, “really cut through and round out a rich dish, like adding vinegar to oil to make a vinaigrette or topping a big hunk of meat with some type of salsa verde. You have to have the pickles in the peanut butter burger. It's a beautiful relationship."

It's also incredibly memorable. After all, who's going to forget—or forget to tell their friends—about the time they ate a hamburger covered in hot, melty peanut butter? It's kind of a goofy indulgence, and at well under $10, it's an affordable one.

"I'm in my mid 40s now but I can still be transported to that era or that moment when I first experienced something, like the first time I had fried chicken at a church picnic or the first time I ate a peanutburger," says Watts. "The taste just takes you to that moment and that place, and that's the best thing about food. That burger is decadent, it's wonderful, it's delightful, and it takes me back to my teenage years. In an era when so many restaurants are closing, too, and second and third generation owners are hanging up their hats, a place like Bearden's is so special. It's been there 75 years, and places like that are so very important to the texture, fabric, and culture of the cities and towns that they're in. We've got to support those places as much as we can."