Jucy Lucy in MSP

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (MSPD)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:53:29 GMT

Well, I went to Blue Door Pub. The buns aren't as good as The Nook, toasted too long, and my cheese had mostly disappeared on the griddle. That said, it was only the 2nd time ever I've had a Jucy Lucy that had pink meat left in the middle. It is absolutely shameful that you can't get cheddar in one, considering their plethora of other cheese combinations. A serious burger joint should hand-form every burger to order, so there's no excuse in my mind.

It was a good reminder why a great, standard cheeseburger beats the hell out of a Jucy Lucy any day.

On a side note, the cheese curds are spectacular.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (AaronM)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:28:20 GMT

Davydd

[id=quote font="arial, helvetica"]quote: Originally posted by wanderingjew

I just have a hard time grasping the Jucy Lucy as a "regional speciality" from Minneapolis- To me, all it is, is a cheeseburger in disguise...

it's not something I would go out of my way to try, especially if I was short on time.

They are different than a cheeseburger. For one the cheese inside is molten and ready to erupt all over you if you are not careful on your first bite. It is an entirely different experience.

...

Agreed, eating a Juicy Lucy is entirely different experience than eating a cheeseburger. Really, one has to experience a Lucy to really understand. I can't wait for the next time I'm up in MN so I can get another one.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (AaronM)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:21:19 GMT

I've been to the Nook twice the 5-8 bar once. Tried to go to Matt's but it was closed.

I liked the Nook the best, although it takes a LONG time to get your food. The last time I was there...last summer...we waited like 30 minutes for our JL's. The place wasn't even that busy.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (tybeeguy)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:45:52 GMT

Going to MSP and not trying a Juicy Lucy would be like going to R.I. eating nothing but Johnny Cakes and Clams and skipping a N.Y. System hotdog. What a wasted trip that would be.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (MiamiDon)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:58:07 GMT

The "winning" 5-8 Club Jucy Lucy looks wonderful:

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (BuddyRoadhouse)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:34:25 GMT

Davydd, Dad and I completed the Jucy Lucy circuit last summer with a visit to the 5-8 Club. We had visited Matt's and The Nook (on your recommendation, thank you) on previous visits to the Twin Cities.

We were in agreement that both The Nook and 5-8 Club beat out Matt's version by a wide margin with The 5-8 Club narrowly taking the big prize overall. Hard to fault anything at The Nook really, we were just a little more impressed with 5-8's burger.

If you added in the ambience at The Nook versus 5-8 it would be a statistical tie.

Buddy

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (mhill95)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:46:59 GMT

Matts has served it forever, 5-8 club added it
awhile back but the Nook does a great job
with everything.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Davydd)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:32:55 GMT

joerogo

Davydd, That looks like one heck of a burger. No opinion?
You're just going to let the burger do the talkin'.

Doesn't the burger speak for itself?

As far as Jucy Lucy's go it beats Matt's Bar. I haven't had one at the 5-8 Club. My only time there I had their pork tenderloin sandwich. Jucy Lucy's have been around for years in Minnesota but I think they are kind of taking on a cult like following of late making them better known and more and more bars, pubs and restaurants are adding them to their menus in the Twin Cities.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (mhill95)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:46:57 GMT

Jucy Lucy and More
Man vs. Food visits Minneapolis

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (joerogo)

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:53:45 GMT

Davydd, That looks like one heck of a burger. No opinion?
You're just going to let the burger do the talkin'.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Davydd)

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:46:21 GMT

We went to Shamrocks Grill & Pub on West 7th St. in St. Paul, MN and I had the Paul Molitor Jucy Lucy with pepperjack cheese. The menu is the same as Casper & Runyon's the Nook.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (MSPD)

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:41:59 GMT

I can't vouch for it myself, but the folks from the Groveland Tap recently opened a place called the Blue Door Pub in St. Paul (on Selby at Prior). They specialize in Jucy Lucy variations (which they nauseatingly call "Juicy Blucys").

I plan on getting over there soon to try a cheeseburger and will report.

www.thebluedoorpubmn.com

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (mncorn)

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:21:14 GMT

Yes, The Nook. Great place. Next to CDH where Matt Birk and Joe Mauer went to High School. It is a small dive with great food. I stop there when I go to CDH for consulting. They have lots of pictures on the walls with celebs that ate there. Do find time to stop there.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Davydd)

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:26:36 GMT

Just an update to this topic. There is actually a website on the Jucy Lucy. I guess you can find anything on the internet sooner or later.

http://www.jucylucyrestaurants.com/

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (tylerfiedler)

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:26:57 GMT

my name is tyler fiedler and my mother is mary beth fiedler maiden name mary beth massie her father robert j massie (who passed away on sep 18 2001) was the founder of juicy lucy's and the cofounder of country kitchen i thought i would let you all know that the burger was named after the way it was loose and juicy just thought i would let oyu all know that

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Davydd)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:42:58 GMT

I'm in Minnesota. I'll stick with Walleye. If I ever had lutefisk it had to have been 26 years ago at the Sons of Norway Lodge annual Christmas White Dinner. Everything on the plate had to be white.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (wanderingjew)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:46:35 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

I'll stick with that old Minnesota standby, lutefisk. Why, did you now that Madison, Minnesota is the Lutefisk Capital of the World. And here in Ohio all we have is Port Clinton, the Walleye Capital of the World.

You're right- I can't forget a big ol' plate of that luscious lutefisk!

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Michael Hoffman)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:40:11 GMT

I'll stick with that old Minnesota standby, lutefisk. Why, did you know that Madison, Minnesota is the Lutefisk Capital of the World. And here in Ohio all we have is Port Clinton, the Walleye Capital of the World.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (wanderingjew)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:16:04 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Brad_Olson

quote:
Originally posted by wanderingjew

Personally I'd rather have a plate of Walleye with a cup of Cream of Wild Rice Turkey Soup on the side! or Perhaps a Plate of Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries...

Just curious, but did you mean to say meatballs and not pancakes? I've never seen them that way, but I guess it's not all that different from cranberry sauce on turkey...

Brad

Yes, it seems the meatballs are traditionally served with Lingonberries.

http://www.tasteofscandinavia.com/store/home.php?cat=7&sort=orderby&sort_direction=0&page=2

Although, now that I think about it, I can go with the Swedish Pancakes too, or perhaps wild rice pancakes, or maybe a wild rice omelet. While I'm at it I'll go with some lefse and maybe a tater tot or tuna hot dish and some swedish potato sausage- sorry, I would go with these things first before considering a juicy lucy.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (ScreamingChicken)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:41:31 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by wanderingjew

Personally I'd rather have a plate of Walleye with a cup of Cream of Wild Rice Turkey Soup on the side! or Perhaps a Plate of Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries...

Just curious, but did you mean to say meatballs and not pancakes? I've never seen them that way, but I guess it's not all that different from cranberry sauce on turkey...

Brad

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (BuddyRoadhouse)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:47:06 GMT

Davydd,

Since this thread has been reopened, let me chime in briefly. Based on your recommendation we visited The Nook on our last trip up your way. It was vastly superior to Matt's, which we had tried previously. The quality of the burger itself was better, the size was bigger, the cheese inside was more plentiful and, the ambiance was amazing.

Nothing against Matt's; we enjoyed our visit to that classic bar as well. The Nook was just better on so many levels. Thank you Davydd for sending us there!

To wanderingjew, I understand how you might perceive the Jucy Lucy as nothing more than a "cheeseburger in disguise", but once you've had one you will realize it is so much more. The melding of cheese and beef in the Jucy Lucy is sublime. I'm not sure I would make a special trip to the Twin Cities just for a Jucy Lucy, but if you're ever in town anyway, it is not to be missed!

Buddy

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (saps)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:32:00 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Davydd

saps, Walleye is a revered fish in Minnesota and a fried walleye sandwich in just about uniformly in every restaurant in Minnesota that serves a fish sandwich. You cannot even say that for Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. They all have walleye but they all have a higher percentage of other local fish to fry so to speak. That is the main difference.

I'm aware of that, seeing that I lived there for a while, my wife is from Bloomington (St. Thomas grad), and I graduated from the U of M. I used to go to Scanlan's before it became Tavern on Grand. I think walleye is a regional specialty, as is the Jucy Lucy, as is the steamed cheeseburger in Connecticut. Looking back at my post, I didn't do a very good job of clarifying my stance.

I still hate the Vikings, however, although they do look pretty good right now (I'm a Bears fan; the team with the bad Adrian Peterson).

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Davydd)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:06:27 GMT

saps, Walleye is a revered fish in Minnesota and a fried walleye sandwich in just about uniformly in every restaurant in Minnesota that serves a fish sandwich. You cannot even say that for Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. They all have walleye but they all have a higher percentage of other local fish to fry so to speak. That is the main difference.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (saps)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:51:04 GMT

I'd have to consider it a regional specialty just as much as I would a steamed cheeseburger in Connecticut. If you want to set tight parameters, walleye is readily fished and eaten in Canada, Wisconsin and Ohio as well Minnesota, and maybe other places as well.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (wanderingjew)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:35:43 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Davydd

quote:
Originally posted by wanderingjew

I just have a hard time grasping the Jucy Lucy as a "regional speciality" from Minneapolis- To me, all it is, is a cheeseburger in disguise...

it's not something I would go out of my way to try, especially if I was short on time.

They are different than a cheeseburger. For one the cheese inside is molten and ready to erupt all over you if you are not careful on your first bite. It is an entirely different experience.

They may not be solely unique to Minneapolis/St. Paul but the name probably is and the company in Florida obviously and unoriginally via a Minnesota connection copied and adopted the name but not the sandwich. Also, there is a pretty good local rivalry between Matt's Bar, The Nook and the 5-8 Club as to who has the best Jucy Lucy which makes for a lot of local discussion.

Davydd,

I'm not doubting that the concept could perhaps be unique to Minneapolis St Paul, my reference to a cheeseburger in disguise was referring to the ingredients itself- which appear be be inside vs outside!
Personally I'd rather have a plate of Walleye with a cup of Cream of Wild Rice Turkey Soup on the side! or Perhaps a Plate of Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries...

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Davydd)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:24:05 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by wanderingjew

I just have a hard time grasping the Jucy Lucy as a "regional speciality" from Minneapolis- To me, all it is, is a cheeseburger in disguise...

it's not something I would go out of my way to try, especially if I was short on time.

They are different than a cheeseburger. For one the cheese inside is molten and ready to erupt all over you if you are not careful on your first bite. It is an entirely different experience.

They may not be solely unique to Minneapolis/St. Paul but the name probably is and the company in Florida obviously and unoriginally via a Minnesota connection copied and adopted the name but not the sandwich. Also, there is a pretty good local rivalry between Matt's Bar, The Nook and the 5-8 Club as to who has the best Jucy Lucy which makes for a lot of local discussion.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (wanderingjew)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:17:16 GMT

I just have a hard time grasping the Jucy Lucy as a "regional speciality" from Minneapolis- To me, all it is, is a cheeseburger in disguise...

it's not something I would go out of my way to try, especially if I was short on time.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (MetroplexJim)

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:44:56 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Davydd

Buddy,

I doubt any of these places have a thing to do with the Florida Juicy Lucy, Inc. That Florida company probably stole the name from these independents and marketed it unsuccessfully evidently. They obviously didn't have the real goods.

They didn't.

The founder of Juicy Lucy's was the late Bob Massey who was a principal in Country Kitchen before they sold to the Carlson Group. Bob was from Minneapolis and had a franchise there. He told me that the franchise "Juicy Lucy" took the name because our burgers were hand pattied from fresh ground beef and thus when cooked, were "loose and juicy" as opposed to the hockey pucks McDonald's serves.

We did not serve any sandwich that was fried with cheese inside.

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (Davydd)

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:00:52 GMT

I went out for lunch today with some of my former co-workers. I had promised I would drive downtown to Minneapolis to show them how I now live the good retirement life with my Sprinter Camper Van. Since I couldn't find a suitable place to park on the street I picked them up and gave them a rare noontime luncheon treat--a trip out of downtown to south Minneapolis and Matt's Bar at 35th and Cedar. Matt's is the claimed home of the Jucy Lucy in that it has been served there since 1954. So much for those Florida claims. Ft. Meyers had to be a tiny burg back then.

There is not much of a menu. There is a regular hamburger, a chicken sandwich and a Jucy Lucy. The Jucy Lucy is an unpretentious burger served in a wrapper in a plastic basket. It is not overly huge or special looking. This place is a neighborhood bar, not a fern, yuppie place. When you bite into it you have to start by nibbling around the edges. If you take a big bite the hot cheese and hamburger juice will squirt out onto you and down your hands. You have to eat leaning over the table. The Jucy Lucy was delicious, not because of the cheese juice but because it just seemed right in taste and hit the spot. Here's the Jucy Lucy. Like I said, not much to look at...

RE: Jucy Lucy in MSP (2005Equinox)

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:03:21 GMT

I have made this kind of burger before. Its not really hard. They are especially good if you mix the meat with some onion soup mix. This is making me hungry for some. I have never seen it in a restauraunt around here though.