A Jucy Lucy (sic) or Juicy Lucy is a cheeseburger that has the cheese inside the meat patty rather than on top. A piece of cheese is surrounded by raw meat and cooked until it melts, resulting in a molten core of cheese within the patty. This scalding hot cheese tends to gush out at the first bite, so servers frequently warn patrons to let the burger cool for a few minutes before consumption.
Two bars on the same street in South Minneapolis both claim to have invented the sandwich: Matt's Bar and the 5-8 Club. They differ in how they spell it; the former omits the letter "I" in "Juicy", while the latter uses the standard spelling. Shirts worn by staff at the 5-8 Club have the motto "if it's spelled right, it's done right" while advertising for Matt's Bar says, "if it's spelled correctly, you're at the wrong place."
Reinterpretations of the Lucy at other area restaurants are encouraged, rather than quashed. For example, the Groveland Tap in neighboring St. Paul serves a "Cajun Lucy" featuring jalapeño peppers floating in pepper jack cheese. St. Paul has the The Nook which serves a "Juicy Nookie" and The Blue Door Pub which has the Juicy Blucy, which consists of bleu cheese and finely chopped garlic. Another variation has fried bacon as well as cheese in the middle, referred to as a "Mary Shelley" (Author of Frankenstein) when the bacon is visibly poking out from the sides of the burger. At Doug's Downtown Grill in Garden Grove, CA you can get the west coast rendition. In Lebanon, Roadster diner has also attempted its very own cheese stuffed patty in which they call the "Cheese-At-Heart". Unlike the traditional Lucy, the patty is stuffed with Swiss cheese and topped with cheddar cheese, lettuce, and potato chips.
In 2009, the Jucy Lucy was brought to Barcelona, Spain from Minnesota. The Barcelona variety consist of a filling of blue cheese, bacon, and sauteed mushrooms.
In 2012, after three Minnesotans met in Barcelona, the juicy lucy was subsequently introduced to France with a Roquefort cheese center.
On 19 Nov 2012, a Minnesotan discovered the Juicy Lucy on a menu in London. Market House in Brixton features a Juicy Lucy with Philadelphia Cream Cheese and mature cheddar. http://www.market-house.co.uk/
Famous quotes containing the word lucy:
“She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and oh,
The difference to me!”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)