But some people do bring out of town guests to Matt’s or the 5-8 Club, to give them a “only in Minneapolis” experience. Since I grew up in the northeast part of Minneapolis, I’m not quite as passionate about the debate as my southside brethren. To me it’s just two hamburgers with melted cheese in the middle. (Shhh…..do you hear that? That’s the sound of south Minneapolis tumblrs unfollowing me,)

Sounds like the kind of guy who says his kids could draw that when he checks out modern art. Merrill needs some palette sensitivity training.

via the good folks at Heavy Table

Cheeseburger eating challenges are hardly sustainable, but Shamrock’s sources their buns from a local bakery, P.J. Murphy’s in St Paul, and burger joints selling the Twin Cities’ famous Juicy Lucys could boast more local charm if they sourced local beef and cheese for the burgers.

It’s an interesting point, considering that many Jucy Lucy enthusiasts are also eco-conscious foodies who enjoy jucy lucys and also would like to know more about where their food is coming from. However, it’s also a blue-collar bar food item where such conversations would be ridiculed. How should one reconcile this?

Have you made your own before? If so, how did it work out for you? Do you have any tips to share?

Matt’s is leading, but St Paul’s Lucy’s from the Nook and Blue Door Pub are not far behind.

The poll can be found down the page a bit on the right sidebar. Be heard!

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.

And the Blue Door Pub is getting more attention – this time from Metromix – due to its Jucy Lucy offering, The Blucy.

At Blue Door Pub, they dare to tinker with Juicy Lucy

Groveland Tap vets Jeremy Woerner and Patrick McDonough are coming up with new ideas for the Minnesota classic — a hamburger patty with oozing hot American cheese in the middle.

When they open Blue Door Pub at the end of the month in the former Puerta Azul on Selby in St. Paul, Juicy Lucy (aka jucy lucy) fillings will include blue cheese, mozzarella and mushroom and Swiss cheese.

“The purists might be upset,” says Woerner. “But we’re just amazed no one has explored the unlimited possibilities.”

That’s great news. I wish I could say the same about the quality of reporting.

Clearly, the writer of this story is not a Juicy Lucy aficionado.

Other places already serve Lucy’s with cheese other than American, including the Groveland Tap, which offers a Cajun Lucy. The 5-8 Club offers Blue Cheese, and Bar Abilene has a Mexican style Lucy.

I wouldn’t call it a “Minnesota classic”, but a Minneapolis classic that’s increased its range to St. Paul.

Leigha Horton played the role of nay-sayer with this comment:

Am I the only one in the Twin Cities who really really wanted to like the Juicy Lucys, but was always disappointed? Cheese makes EVERYTHING better – yet, when it comes out as runny molten grease (instead of the desired thickened cheesy goo) inside a hunk of meat, I’m just not impressed.

Wham! There you have it: controversy. And then it was ON!

From there, things degraded into territorial battles over which restaurant makes the best Jucy Lucy.

Teucer tried to save it with this comment:

Apparently, cheese-filled burgers is a hot-button issue and tempers are flaring. People, please! It’s just lunch.

However, it was too far gone.

One could say that “the cheese was out of the burger” by that point.