Juicy Lucy Joints
Photo by Kim via Wikimedia Commons
Seattle is the brew master of coffee, Chicago reigns supreme when it comes to deep dish pizza, and New Orleans makes a mean gumbo, but the Twin Cities is home of the Juicy Lucy. If you’ve never heard of this gift from above, it’s a twist on an old favorite: the cheeseburger. Instead of placing the cheese on top of the patty, it’s placed within it, resulting in a melted pool of yellow (or white, depending on the type of cheese) in the core of the burger. Here are some of our favorite places to chow down on one:
Matt’s Bar and Grill: One of two establishments in the metro that claims to be the home of the original Juicy Lucy, this cash-only beer and burger joint has been slinging slices of beef since 1954 and has even been visited by former President Barack Obama.
5-8 Club: The other contender claiming to be the creator of the local favorite, the 5-8 Club just south of Lake Nokomis opened its doors in 1928 and gained national attention when Travel Channel’s Adam Richman and his show “Man v. Food” stopped by to sample the eats.
Blue Door Pub: This burger bar puts a fun twist on a twist. Choosing to stuff their burger with bleu cheese and dubbing it The Blucy (which seems appropriate given the type of cheese and the restaurant’s name), this is one patty you won’t want to pass up. Luckily, with a location in St. Paul and three in Minneapolis, Blue Door Pub gives you plenty of opportunities to get a bite of Blucy.
The Nook: Home of five different types of stuffed burgers, including the Paul Molitor (an homage to manager of the Minnesota Twins) and Guy’s Big Bite (a tribute to restaurateur Guy Fieri), the humble St. Paul joint serves up generously sized patties with homemade, fresh-cut french fries, and it even houses a bowling alley in the basement.
Groveland Tap: If you’re looking to get really creative with your beef, look no further than Groveland Tap. With concoctions such as the Buffalo Lucy featuring bleu cheese, chicken fingers and buffalo sauce, and the Ellsworth Lucy with cheese curds and Tap Sauce, your taste buds won’t soon forget their visit here.
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