via Flickr
Jucy Lucy burger at 5-8 Club
The Minnesota contribution to America’s burger culture is a little thing called the Juicy Lucy. True that! This is a cheeseburger with the cheese tucked inside the beef patty, so it gets extra oozy and juicy and is an amazing contribution to cuisine, on par with the peanut butter cup. These are the best.
Matt’s Bar
The original, the first, the creator of the Jucy Lucy (yes, that’s how it’s spelled there) is the cutest little corner bar in South Minneapolis. It’s retro, it’s adorable, the burger is thin and perfect in every way, and it’s so good, President Obama had to come and eat one. If you eat one Juicy Lucy in your life, let it be at Matt’s. Pro-tip: Once you get yours, wait! Otherwise, it will be molten and you will get burned. 3500 Cedar Avenue, Mpls., mattsbar.com
The Nook
Go to the basement bowling alley at the Nook called the Ran Ham Lounge. Order the best Juicy Lucy in St. Paul. Also, get the deep-fried cheese curds, the plain ones—they are perfect and from Ellsworth, Wisconsin. If you are thinking to yourself that cheese inside the burger and also beside the burger is too much cheese, you’re wrong. Pin a lucky dollar bill to the ceiling in penance (you’ll see). 492 Hamline Ave. S., St. Paul, crnook.com
Blue Door Pub
Have fancy, gastro-pub types started innovating with our signature burger, you ask? Why yes, yes they have, and the best are at Blue Door Pub—they call them Blucys, and they’re excellent. Also, the Blue Door has the best fries in Juicy Lucy land, and some killer wings and cheese curds, too. Several metro locations, including 1514 Como Ave. SE, Mpls., thebdp.com
The Cooper
What does a French chef named Vincent Francoual, who has cooked at the side of Le Bernardin’s Eric Ripert, do when he has to stuff cheese in a burger? Why, he uses gouda and tamarind-glazed short-ribs and stuffs them in what’s called the Vincent Burger. Globe-trotting burger hounds are invited to consider whether this is or is not like David Bouley’s famed DB burger—or whether it’s a pure Juicy Lucy. 1607 Park Place Blvd. St. Louis Park, cooperpub.com
The 5-8 Club
Juicy Lucy completists will want to check out the former roadhouse, the 5-8, which also claims to have invented the Juicy Lucy, and has a number of variations, including a turkey burger stuffed with—you guessed it!—stuffing! 5800 Cedar Ave. S., 5-8club.com
