Hailed as Minnesota’s burger, the Jucy Lucy (also known as Juicy Lucy – we will get to that later) is a burger with cheese cooked inside the hamburger meat instead of on top of the patty. Resulting in melted cheese oozing out of the burger when you take a bite.
The creation of the Jucy Lucy
The invention of the Jucy Lucy varies depending on who you ask. Matt’s Bar and Grill in Minneapolis is assumed to have invented the Jucy Lucy in 1954. Legend has it a customer came in and asked for his cheese to be put in between two hamburger patties. On the first bite of the burger, molten cheese came pouring out; the customer exclaimed, “that’s one juicy Lucy!” The “i” drop was an inadvertent misspelling, and the Jucy Lucy came to be. On their website, their saying is, “Remember, if it’s spelled correctly, you might be eating a shameless ripoff!”
The 5-8 Club in Minneapolis also has claims to the Juicy Lucy’s invention, spelled correctly. Though no origination story exists about creating the cheesy conception, they maintain they are “Minnesota’s Home of the Original Juicy Lucy.” Once a speakeasy in the late 1920s, 5-8 Club’s motto is, “if it’s spelled right, it’s done right.”
The rivalry has thickened further with both burgers premiering on the small screen on Travel Channel’s “Food Wars” and Adam Richman’s “Man v. Food.”
Thrillist named the Jucy Lucy, “101 Dishes that Changed America,” and Time Magazine called it one of “The 17 Most Influential Burgers of All Time.” Even former President Obama visited Matt’s Bar to chow down on one of their Jucy Lucy’s. This burger gets around.
Whatever the origins, the Jucy Lucy has made its mark in Minnesota and the National food scene, with many restaurants coming up with unique variations.
Where to find the best Jucy Lucys
I am by no means a burger aficionado. To answer where to get the best Jucy Lucy in the Twin Cities, I asked burger expert Roger of Twin Cities Burger Blog his two-cents on who makes the best Jucy Lucy.
“I always tell visitors to hit Matt’s Bar and The Nook. Matt’s cooks it well done and the cheese is very liquidy and runny, while The Nook has a little thicker cheese and it’s cooked more towards medium. I love them both. My other two favorites are the Jalapeno Popper Lucy at Jersey’s and the build your own Lucy at Village Pub. Groveland Tap has a good one as well.”
Highlighting the best burgers in the Twin Cities since 2016 in his burger blog, Roger KNOWS burgers. His mouthwatering description of each hamburger would make any cow proud.
To find your next Jucy Lucy, take a look at the Twin Cities Burger Blog for The Best Juicy Lucys. You can see where Twin Cities Burger Blog is eating their next burger by following them @tcburgersblog on Instagram.
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