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The Juicy Lucy: Molten Cheese in Minneapolis

The Juicy Lucy: Molten Cheese in Minneapolis

Headed to NACUFS or already there? Why not check out the region’s most beloved burger? We offer some suggestions of where to sink your teeth into one.

Trying a local favorite can be a wonderful part of a business trip. In between the educational sessions, the show floor and your networking opportunities at the NACUFS conference in Minneapolis, it just might be a great idea to meet “Lucy.”

The Juicy Lucy (sometimes spelled Jucy Lucy), essentially a cheeseburger with the cheese inside the burger, is a Minneapolis mainstay. How did it come about? An article about Juicy Lucys on the Serious Eats website offers this explanation:

“Decades ago, a Minnesotan, presumably suffering from cabin fever in the fifth month of winter, came up with the idea of putting cheese inside the burger rather than on top.”

So this is a burger with some molten cheese inside. Obviously you must use caution when taking that first bite. But hey, what’s a food field trip without a slight element of danger? One place that serves it, Matt’s Bar and Grill, has the slogan: “What’s more excruciating? Waiting for it to cool, or biting right in?”

It’s also delightfully sloppy. Another truism from Matt’s: “No ice. No plates. We blew the budget on napkins.”

And, if your'e a little more adventurous, there are spinoffs of the famous burger: The Saucy Sally at 5-8 Club (Lucy’s younger sister), with a secret sauce much like a Big Mac; or the Blucy (stuffed with blue cheese and garlic) at the Blue Door Pub, which also offers something called the “Bangkok Blucy,” with coconut-milk soaked mozzarella stuffed into a burger that’s topped with pickled carrots, cucumbers, red onions and ginger, served with a side of curry for “delectable dunking.” Hmmm…

Think you're ready to bite into it? Here are some local establishments that serve up the Juicy Lucy:

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