9 Juicy Lucy Cheeseburgers in 9 Hours. Which is the Best? | Bon Appétit

we're in Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes and although I've clearly found a lake already it's not what I'm looking for today I'm looking for the Twin Cities regional specialty the Juicy Lucy so what's a Juicy Lucy it's a cheeseburger of sorts but instead of the cheese going on top of the patty it goes in between two thin patties that means you don't get any cheese on the outside it all lives inside the burger so here's what I'm looking for in a good Juicy Lucy for the bun I want something simple nothing special I want it to be soft and maybe you can even throw it on the griddle get a little toast on there for the meat itself I needed to be well seasoned and I want a hard sear on both sides I also don't want the patty to be thick or too wide that's gonna mess up the ratio of cheese to meat in each bite for the cheese I'm not looking for blue I'm not looking for brief nothing fancy I want American cheese and when I bite into the sandwich the cheese should be melty enough to run all over the place overall the ratio of meat cheese and bread in the Juicy Lucy should be pretty much even I've got one day to explore Minneapolis eat these burgers and meet up with some friends along the way I'm gonna get out of this Lake and start eating some burgers [Music] [Music] we're at Blue Door pub bdp as I've been told it is called by the locals this is my first Juicy Lucy of the day I'm not doing this solo I need someone hold my hand through this experience show me the ropes a little bit so I've employed my friend Liz in Minneapolis native to help me out loved it Liz looks very clammy I'm Lois no it's good okay we're gonna warm them up with Lucia yes we are have you come to Minnesota and you don't get a Juicy Lucy you're not doing it right but rookie move these people when it comes right out bite right into it can't do that molten lava burn your oh you don't want to mess up the whole eating experience all over your white sheet all over the chest hair okay you don't want that this is this is my question was this a terrible move today wearing white honestly probably the worst of them you could have made but you're gonna thrive but it's gonna be like a journal entry exactly are there usually toppings on it usually it depends on where you are but most standard ones just have like the two patties with the cheese stuffed in the middle that is like the formula that's the onesie yes which is like work oh my god so good what kind of cheese goes on the Jesus we're talking American crafts single no but when you have a not real American cheese it Moulton's it's like a juice okay thus this has been an educational journey so far but I think we should eat these Cheers I don't know how I feel about choosing food it's like a Minnesota nice thing all right I'll be not Midwestern nice yeah sure Cheers cool burger medium-rare you got that pink Center you see that mmm that it's a heavy oh my god yeah it's really good this is really good as a woman ever made you feel this excited very rarely on the show every place everything we eat gets a nickname you get to decide what the nickname of this Juicy Lucy is I think this is the Longfellow legend why is this called the Longfellow legend why is it her into this name so we are in the Longfellow neighborhood okay one of my favorite new roads here okay and I'm sorry but do you not think this is legendary blue dory the Longfellow legend with Liz Cheers we're at Groveland tap and I'm here to eat another Juicy Lucy let's see what's going on here Patty's looking pretty nicely sized but sear on this is really nice it's a good-looking juicy Lizzie here we go hmm in theory I understood where the term Juicy Lucy came from this is juicy as a long-held look at that the cheese is just like it's not even gooey its melty it's like liquid cheese that she's been soaking into the patty the vibe aside Groveland tap is let's say beer centric there are tons of tap handles all along the walls but this seems like truly a burger and a beer joint the Groveland tap Juicy Lucy this is the Minnehaha Juicy Lucy the Minnehaha set of waterfalls the only set of waterfalls on the Mississippi River and they happen to be in Minneapolis this juice all over the place the little mini waterfall of cheese the Minnehaha Juicy Lucy at the Grove one time we were at the Nook and I have another friend joining me for this ride he's slightly more accomplished than I am has about 12 seasons of MLB baseball on me and three all-star games I have neither of those things zero and zero Glen Perkins hi thanks for having me down in this basement yeah I understand that you hosted a pretty large scale party down here yeah when 2014 before the all-star game it was night of the home run derby I love it here I mean this is if this thing was across the street from my house I'd I think I'd be here every net upstairs there's kind of regular-sized restaurant there's a little side staircase that comes downstairs you have this cool long narrow bar filled with dollar bills there's obviously a bowling alley right next to it skee-ball machine little arcade that's just like everything you wanted in your basement as a third grader with beer so Glen what makes very good Juicy Lucy the thing I like about theirs is there's no frills this is just like as simple as it gets like soft bun just the burger with cheese in it and crush it crush it yeah well let's crush them all right cheers Cheers oh look at that that's perfection yeah they don't skimp on the Chiefs and the patties are thin mm-hmm today are it's not like too much meat so bun wise this is what I'm looking for this bun let's the burger shine it's simple it's humble it contains the cheese and the meat just get something to grip again exactly I think that the cheese is perfect for me it's melted but it's not like molten the Juicy Lucy at the Nook what's the nickname for this burger this probably is like a good end-of-the-night burger a good closer burger the nuts this is the closer with a closer [Music] [Music] we're peppers and Fries and I am eating another Juicy Lucy this has cheese on top of it and in the middle or so I'm led to believe that cheese looks like when you see an illustration of a cheeseburger and the cheese just perfectly melted around the outside double cheese going down look how pink that burger is that is a true medium-rare but more importantly look at that cheese it doesn't stop it will not stop there's so much cheese going on here and it is Wow just wrap it around the burger like that it's extremely flavorful very creamy but the meat it's well seasoned enough to support all this cheese peppers and fries this is the bleacher burger it's a real sports bar vibe in here this you want to eat in the bleachers while you're watching the game maybe sub-zero temps I hear it gets cold in Minnesota in the winter they bleed your burger needed one of these for another one of these we're at the 5-8 club kinda out near the airport right next to the highway the juicy Lucy's are starting to starting to take their toll my body is realizing what's going on it's like dude too much red meat too much salt too much cheese eat a salad but we have more of these deep so let's check this one out buns looking real good soft not a fancy bun I think this might be the biggest patty that we've had so far today pretty substantial in size 5 8 for the fifth let's do it it's a very cheesy patty but it's spread out across that big patty so you get meat and cheese with each bite the salt on this is really nice not overly salty but definitely properly seasoned there is a lot of bun to this patty though it's a doughy Juicy Lucy this the 5-8 club this is the Pillsbury Lucy you know why is that little Doughboy started right here in Minneapolis this is a doughy burger [Music] so when people talk about the history of the Juicy Lucy its origin story the name that comes up is Matt's and that's where we are you might notice there's two burgers on the table that's because I have another guest with me my friend Brian Merkel Brian is a bit of a meat guy in Minneapolis yeah I just ate guy I feel like it's fitting that I'm eating a burger with a butcher this is the only Juicy Lucy I will eat in town so just take a look at these guys proper meat bundle ratio as I like to say what makes a good Juicy Lucy a good jazz music I like authenticity and I think Matt's is the authentic Juicy Lucy I know that Matt's is using fresh burgers because they're selling like a thousand pounds of them a week and that's why this is exciting for me here let's go for let's eat em hmm oh it's sweet gooey satisfactory I feel like the fact that you have to slurp with the burger tells me something about this burger that cheese is like perfectly runny you have the texture from the sear on both sides simple textural contrasts yeah if you will I appreciate that that griddle is tiny right and it's just behind the bar there's no kitchen it's sitting right there no and you're sitting at the bar drinking your beer you can hear the sizzle going always when we walked in here basically every table was full mid-afternoon on a Tuesday it's just one dude I have a grill there's no team there's no like huge assembly line for these it's one guy just pumping them out okay Brian what is the nickname for Matt's Juicy Lucy I think we need to call it the old standby it's gonna be the same every single time there's not 50 different cheese options or stuffing it with god knows what it's just the classic Juicy Lucy the old standby matze this is the old standby it's not going to change anytime soon and it definitely doesn't need to we're in an actual restaurant and by actual restaurant I mean a large restaurant there are many people eating here right now and this is served on a real plate we're in Hell's Kitchen right now the name of the restaurant not my actual scenario I've eaten a lot of burgers kind of hellish is how I'm feeling right now but I'm about to eat this one let's check it out there's a lot going on here not just patty and cheese pickles we have onions tomato and lettuce okay so first thing I notice about this the cheese distributions a little bit off it's all kind of in the center there's this pretty thick band around the outside that's just beep and that also makes it harder for all of the cheese to melt if there's a big bunch of it in the middle and it's not spread evenly her out this is kind of like the opposite of what we hadn't met that's was the simple burger this I think at Hell's Kitchen this is the overachiever just doing a little too much pushing it a little bit too far it's gotta go back to its roots go back to the real Juicy Lucy identity the overachiever [Music] time for another Juicy Lucy at the 508 barn restaurant I'm the nice little side patio right now more fresh air got to keep this day moving I can't be falling asleep look at that there's bacon on this one we haven't had bacon yet this looks like a pretty thick patty we're going like height-wise here and then there's some pickles and shredded shredded lettuce on the bottom I'm ready to eat this let's do it seasoning to be pretty good so far those are the most nervous I've been with wearing this white shirt which again I think was ill-advised for today this is also I think maybe the biggest burger that we've had so far it was a lot of meat on here the bun itself pretty big the 5:08 Juicy Lucy this is the Twin Cities burger two identical slices of bacon two identical pickles and there's enough here probably for two meals the Twin Cities burger and 508 tastes a nice [Music] the last Juicy Lucy of the day at the crooked pint first appearance is cheese on top looks like it's pretty well melted the meat itself fairly well seasoned the bun is exactly how I like the bun simple not trying to prove anything letting the patty and the cheese take the forefront this is obviously a messy burger and you may or may not know this but the famous cartoonist Charles Schulz the guy who created the peanuts he's from Minneapolis so this in honor of him and the messy situation I'm dealing with right now is the Pigpen I'm gonna be a little dirty after eating this one okay I've definitely enough juicy Lucy's today I think I have my top three up here but just to make sure everything checks out I'm gonna sleep on it give it some time until you guys who the champion is tomorrow morning Cheers [Music] so what are the three best juicy Lucy's in Minneapolis sitting at three is the Groveland tap that Juicy Lucy had a beautiful sear on both sides melty cheese throughout and you know I kind of just wanted to sit there and drink beer for the rest of the day that spot was red sitting at number two I'm gonna maybe take a little bit of heat for this one but Matt's the legendary the original the Juicy Lucy that served from behind the bar the sear on the outside of that one was fantastic the cheese is super melty the bun was humble and the vibe in there was truly a neighborhood dive bar I get why everyone says its number one but for me the best Juicy Lucy that's made in the Twin Cities it's made at the Nook I was thinking about that burger for the rest of the day after I ate it the cheese so melty the beef well seasoned and seared and the bun simple soft wasn't trying to steal the show plus the vibe inside of that place the next time I'm in the Twin Cities that's gonna be my first stop the bar downstairs the bowling alley the skee-ball everything I want in a laid back bar it's at the Nook including the best Juicy Lucy in town but that's just my opinion I want to hear what you guys think did I miss anything any of your favorite spots let me know in the comments below thanks for hanging out and thanks for the twin cities for serving up such delicious juicy Lucy's all day I'm Alex Delaney bone Appetit for the patty itself I want a hard sear on both sides that gives some nice Tex a butterfly

Channel: Bon Appétit

Views: 2,536,794

Rating: 4.8551245 out of 5

Keywords: burger, cheeseburger, hamburger, minneapolis, jucy lucy, alex eats it all, jucy lucy cheeseburger, jucy lucy minneapolis, best jucy lucy, juicy lucy, juicy lucy burger, jucy lucy burger, juicy lucy burgers, minneapolis food, minneapolis burger, juicy lucy recipe, jucy lucy recipe, minnesota, minnesota food, best cheeseburger, what is jucy lucy, what is juicy lucy, best juicy lucy, juicy lucy minneapolis, alex delany, best burgers, food, bon appetit

Id: UYmjwE5D1h4

Length: 17min 36sec (1056 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 12 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Becangle]

TL;DW

• The Blue Door Pub
• Groveland Tap (#3)
• The Nook (#1)
• Peppers & Fries
• The 5-8 Bar
• Matt's Bar (#2)
• Hell's Kitchen
• 508 Bar and Restaurant
• Crooked Pint Ale House

​

[u/4grams]

I will watch the whole thing but I admit I skipped to the end to see the results and I gotta say, I agree. My favorite place won.

But let's be honest, the real winner is all of us because we get to have so many f'ing good Jucy Lucy places in our state.

[u/ThanHowWhy]

He gives the number 1 and 3 best burgers in "Minneapolis" to places in St. Paul BUT NEVER MENTIONS ST. PAUL BY NAME. COME ON MAN.

Reminds me of when I saw Green Day at the Xcel Energy Center and Billy Joe Armstrong kept calling out "HELLO MINNEAPOLIS!!!"

ALSO CHARLES SCHULZ GREW UP IN ST. PAUL.

I'm a boy from St. Paul who's sick of having our beautiful city called by it's neighbors name.

[u/rightious]

Nook is great but I am still very partial THE BLUE DOOR.

[u/mikevanatta]

I'm feeling super lazy today. Anyone got a TL;DW recap of the list and which they call the best?

[u/hamlet9000]

Oscillating between "BURN IT DOWN!" and "Guess I should check out the Nook".

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BURN IT DOWN!

[u/QuestionMarkyMark]

Safe to assume 5-8 came in last?

[u/SchlongConnery6969]

Hey I have been go most of these places and they are all good. I may not agree with his rankings but I think we can all agree as long as the cheese isn't still congealed and the cheese is still in the burger and not seeped all over the flat top then it will be a no diggity

[u/TheKodachromeMethod]

There are a lot of good Lucys out there, but I have to say Matt's or GTFO.