We pulled into my new apartment, in a two-story house on Powderhorn Park I shared with two graduate students that I never saw again after I moved out a few months later. We unloaded all my personal effects into a pile in the living room. I didn’t have a bed yet; the plan was to drive to the IKEA in Bloomington and buy one there. There was two feet of snow on the ground. A neighbor wandered over to say hi, and told us about the May Day parade in the park.

Dave and I leafed through a copy of the City Pages from a nearby newpaper box to find the closest bar for dinner. It happened to be Matt’s, a few blocks away, where we each had a Grain Belt Premium and a Jucy Lucy. We told everyone in the bar I’d just arrived in town. A woman one table over told us that all the best Italian restaurants were in St. Paul, and we should go eat at Mancini’s. I still have never eaten at Mancini’s, incidentally; Dave and I both liked Matt’s so much we went back the next morning for breakfast. The same waitresses were working in the morning as from the night before, and all found our double-dipping very amusing.

That is some good Powderhorn living.

The reviewer is 12 years old, so is getting a nice early start on a long life of Lucy’s.

I agree with “The Kid” that the cans of pop are deceptively small. It’s so uncommon to drink only 12 ounces of pop in a restaurant these days that you can be caught off guard by the relatively reasonable quantity.

via Emily

Tim’s Jucy Lucy Tour! Stop One: Matt’s Bar

Lucies are our Philly cheesesteak, our Chicago style hot dog, our Cincinatti chili, our Brooklyn style folded pizza slices. For those of you that don’t know, a (traditional) Jucy Lucy is a burger that has American cheese cooked into the middle. However, one of the cool things about it is that, unlike those other local food traditions, the Twin Cities foster a spirit of experimentation with the Lucy. Different places offer very different takes, and that’s what I’m going to explore.

Good luck on your journey, Tim. We’re looking forward to your reports.

Minneapolis/st. Paul – City Pages – The Hot Dish – Man vs. Food visits 5-8 Club, Gasthof

The line was out the door, and we soon saw why: We’d blundered onto a TV shoot. Starstruck diners watched host Adam Richman ask whether the 5-8 or Matt’s was the sandwich’s true originator, joke about a threeway with a “Juicy Lucy and a Sloppy Sally” and caution a couple out on a date to beware not to get scalded on the first bite (though this last scene may not air, because it looked like the lady balked at the release form).

That hilariously douchebaggy link in the quote to [matt's bar citypages] is Kevin Hoffman’s work, not mine. For those interested in either location, here are links to the actual websites for the 5-8 Club and Matt’s Bar along with links to wiki pages for each here at Jucy Lucy Restaurants.

It’s not the kind of thing that’s going to make the cover of a glossy magazine. It’s the kind of food that’s appreciated by people who truly prefer quality food more than glossy reviews of yet another teeth whitening dentist.

How far back? 52 years ago.

- on the new MnMo, Franken and Matt’s

Living right next to Matt’s, I’ve been in the bar at all different hours of the day and have seen everyone kind of Minnesotan eating juicy lucys. So it’s no wonder every Twin Cities burger list, including MnMo, puts Matt’s on top. I’ve seen families eat JL’s on Saturdays, I’ve seen Latinos come in after long days of work, I’ve even seen two old ladies holding up a guy so old that he could hardly walk walk into Matt’s for lunch to eat a burger. It’s going to be tough to beat that.

I couldn’t agree more. Earlier this week, while dining with my wife & father-in-law, a 4′10″ 70+ year old was hovering over our table as we wrapped up our pitcher. She was securing a table for her and three equally aged and heighted friends.

It’s not uncommon to see large groups of teens earlier in the day sucking down cans of pop with their Lucy’s while going social on a few baskets of fries. Ala carte fries and group dates were made for each other.

We got served: The Nook

We actually have been to The Nook once before, prior to starting this blog, so this wasn’t really a new dining experience. I ordered the same thing I had last time, the Juicy Lucy. I just love them, so ordering anything else really isn’t an option for me. This one didn’t disappoint. As I mentioned in the Groveland Tap review, this is my favorite Juicy Lucy that I’ve had. I also liked that it came with fries! I didn’t really like the fries that much – weirdly enough. I guess Ben and I have opposite fry tastes. I thought these were really dry. I like lots o grease I guess!

We Got Served is right: The Nook rocks.

WGS previously hit The Groveland Tap and compared it to a few other Lucy serving establishments:

Groveland Tap

I thought my Juicy Lucy was average. I’ve now had a Juicy Lucy at Matt’s Bar (good), the Nook (great), and Tuggs (if you count their stuffed burgers as a form of Juicy Lucy – it was okay but way too expensive). I thought this one was better than Tuggs (in terms of value mostly), but worse than Matt’s and The Nook. I’d probably order something else if I went back. The deep fried PB&J that Ben wanted was okay, but not good enough to ever want to order again. It was mostly the novelty that appealed to him, I think.

Great work, We Got Served. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It sounds like you’re reaching Jucy Lucy Sommelier status.

Courtney from “Max & Courtney Make Monsters” shows how monsters dine on Jucy Lucy’s at Matt’s Bar.

A female monster with half a face attempts to sate her inhuman hunger on the Jucy Lucy, the legendary hamburger of Matt’s Bar is south Minneapolis. Make up based on a design by Dick Smith from his book “Dick Smith’s Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-Up.”

Check out how Courtney transformed into a Lucy dining monster step by step here.

Matt’s Bar is the kind of place where monsters are welcome. I’m sure some zombies have eaten there in the past, and I wouldn’t be surprised to run into a werewolf during a visit.

This video has some of the best Jucy Lucy action shots I’ve seen. If you haven’t had a chance to experience a Jucy Lucy first-hand, this is the closest you’ll come to enjoying one first hand. Awesome stuff.

Sam Adam’s Oktoberfest and Summit EPA were the pitchers of choice.

Kirk waited patiently for his Lucy:

Then Mike got dainty with his burger wrapper:

Kirk demonstrated the fry-poke technique where the burger is punctured at the top. I don’t fully understand the benefits of this technique and would like to hear more about it:

Tyler demonstrated a similar fry-poke technique:

I ordered fried onions on mine. Matt’s offers a few options. With or without onions. Fried or raw onions.

And a first time Jucy Lucy eater obviously enjoyed her experience:

That covers it. Thanks to Matt’s for another wonder Jucy Lucy experience.

Additional reporting on this Matt’s outing can be found on Kirk’s All Four Season’s blog.