Matt's Bar Jucy Lucy: 100 Favorite Dishes

As a countdown to the Best of the Twin Cities 2010, coming this spring, The Hot Dish is serving up a hundred of our favorite local dishes. Send your own nominations to hotdish @citypages.com.

No. 63: Matt's Bar Jucy Lucy

Dunno about you, but doesn't it seem like every Ju(i)cy Lucy you have qualifies as the best Ju(i)cy Lucy you've ever had? It doesn't matter if you get it from the Nook, the 5-8 Club, or Matt's: Wherever you've been most recently is, until whenever you have one from one of the other places, the best one. So it's a little bit of a betrayal to the other two to say it, but lately Matt's is just seeming more and more superior. In one word, here's why: simplicity. Matt's has one jucy lucy option: American cheese-filled ground beef on a white, seedless bun. This means there is also just one price: $4.95. It's take it or leave it. Also, Matt's has no utensils. Your jucy comes wrapped in white paper, that's it. No muss no fuss. They've got a nice, manageable size -- no monstrosity, yet no slider -- and a straighforward flavor equal parts salty, beefy, and cheesy delish, enhanced by the crispy delicate char on the outside. Sometimes it's just nice to have choices made for you.

Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:

No. 100: Volcano Salad at Tiger Sushi
No. 99: Eclair at Butter
No. 98: Moussaka at Gardens of Salonica
No. 97: "Flappers" at Colossal Cafe
No. 96: Bento Box at Obento-Ya
No. 95: Sausage, salami, onion, and green olive pizza at Black Sheep
No. 94: Crab Cake at the Kitchen
No. 93: Passion fruit cake at Pardon My French
No. 92: Kafé 421 Signature Dips
No. 91: Lutefisk at Landmarc Grill
No. 90: May Day Cafe Croissant
No. 89: Dowjic at Babani's
No. 88: Osso Bucco at the Modern Cafe
No. 87: Chef Shack Hot Dog
No. 86: Adult Mac & Cheese at Good Day Cafe
No. 85: Ropa Vieja at Victor's
No. 84: French Toast of the Dead at Chino Latino
No. 83: Uni at Origami
No. 82: Bagel at Common Roots
No. 81: Jasmine Deli's bánh mì
No. 80: Pho 79's bò cuốn lá nho
No. 79: Sweets Bakeshop's Kettlecorn Cupcake
No. 78: D'Amico Kitchen's Chicory Salad
No. 77: Be'wiched Deli pastrami sandwich
No. 76: La Grassa's lima bean appetizer
No. 75: Bulldog NE Tater Tots
No. 74: Pop's Swedish Meatballs
No. 73: Hot Plate's Caramel Apple French Toast
No. 72: Grand Cafe's Ham and Cheese
No. 71: Galactic Pizza's Thailander
No. 70: Jackson's milk chocolate gelato
No. 69: Patrick's Bakery and Cafe's tiramisu
No. 68: Punch's Chopped Italian Salad
No. 67: Red Stag's Smelt Fries
No. 66: Mancini's Grilled Garllic Bread
No. 65: Uptown Bulldog's Chicago Dog
No. 64: Crema Cafe's Sorbet Spritzer