Lucy’s Original

I ordered a regular Jucy Lucy ($ 6): a beef patty stuffed with American and cheddar cheese, house-​made zucchini pickles, and 1000 Island dressing on a potato bun. It comes with a bag of potato chips.
The original Jucy Lucy, originating in Minneapolis, traditionally uses just American cheese stuffed between two beef patties. Lucy’s Original includes cheddar cheese, probably because people in this area are more familiar with cheddar cheese and wanted to appeal to the masses.
This lovely burger took me back to when I had my first Jucy Lucys (two of them) in Minneapolis last November. It was a bit messy — in a good way. I liked the crunchy, tangy zucchini pickles because they provided lovely texture and flavor contrasts against the succulent beef patty. I had a couple of life-​or-​death battles with the gooey cheese as I noshed on this fantastic burger. Glad I won the war on that one!
The creamy 1000 Island dressing was an excellent condiment choice. The Worcestershire, relish, inherent sweet sugars and tangy vinegar in the dressing produced layers of marvelous flavor. Several places in Minneapolis will use 1000 Island dressing in their Jucy Lucy creations, so again, another tie to Minnesota! The soft, fluffy potato bun stayed firm enough to hold everything in place.
Unfortunately, one very small part of the burger (on the inside) remained slightly raw (no worries, I didn’t get sick or anything). Also, more cheese in the burger would have resulted in a better experience. I expected a scalding hot gooey cheese, but it was only lukewarm here. At least on the cheese temperature, that’s not necessarily a bad thing; we don’t want any injuries!
Adding bacon, avocado, onions, etc., would have taken the burger to another level. I voluntarily chose not to get them this time, but I’ll remember that for next time.
Lucy’s Original serves up a wonderful burger that Minnesotans should check out. I talked with a woman running the cart, and she is unsure as to when they will resume regular hours to the general public. Trust me, I can’t wait… simply because I want to give their other burgers a try.

If it MUST be «death by cheese burger» I want to drop eating at The Lucy’s Original floating burger bar but I just can’t. It’s sooo friggin good!

Once upon a time in the land of NoPo there existed a magical café.
An oasis of perfectly executed egg sandwiches, bike delivered Courier Coffee, random conversations with strangers, farm fresh huevos rancheros, and homemade baked goods, this little eatery transformed and inspired those who ate there and the neighborhood surrounding it. This was the LRBC (Little Red Bike Café)
Once upon a time in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes a magical new burger developed.
So named the Jucy Lucy, this burger consisted of cheese infused patties, where bits of cheddar or American were incorporated into the ground beef (as opposed to being on top), resulting in a luxurious lava like eruption upon consumption (addicting and dangerous gotta love that).
Seasons changed and despite surviving a flood and many other challenges, the time of the LRBC passed.
A story of love, food, heartbreak, and triumph recorded honest-​to-​blog by a couple (who are also a couple) of talented foodie writers. Free to roam, they traveled in search of inspiration (and some well earned relaxation).
And then there was Lucy.
Having many PDX friends from the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, seeing some cultural similarities (indie rock, bikes, etc), and finding no one already making them in Portland, the couple decide to bring the Jucy Lucy to the Stumptown masses. Thus was born Lucy’s Original.
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It took me far too long to make it here. I meant to go opening day, but months were wasted before I got my first bite of what is currently my favorite burger.
The Pineapple Express: Cheddar infused beef patty, grilled pineapple, sriracha aioli, peanut sauce, and bacon served on perfect set of buns. Sweet, savory, spicy, amazing.
Former LRBC regulars will be stoked, that in addition to some of their favorite peeps, they’ll also be able to order some of their favorite egg sandwiches like the Messenger (bacon, homemade apple butter, blue cheese/​gorgonzola spread, and a runny fried egg served on a Fleur De Lis Ciabatta!). Additionally burgers can be made in the style of egg sandwiches and vice versa.
While a new concept, some other LRBC traditions have also made it into LO, the use of ultra fresh high quality ingredients, spot on execution, sense of community, and ridiculously good baked treats (I saw a woman walk off with two massive banana cake slices because she and her spouse had problems sharing one the last time!).
[there’s even a secret menu, fans of in-​n-​outs animal style might want to whisper «So Cal» to the chef]
There’s a lot of great eateries in Portland, lots that I like, some that I love, only a handful that I actually crave. Lucy’s Original, with it’s wonderful inside out burgers and heart of gold service, is definitely the later.
for nicer images check out

I want to make love to this burger.!! Can you say fresh… fresh…fresh. Keep up the good work.

So yummy! My only complaint is that there is no way I could possibly try all the burgers in one trip. I ended up starting slow with the Jucy Lucy on my first trip, but I need to make sure I get back soon to try the X-​mas and the Crickles. The burgers are made fresh to order and have deliciously crispy edges. I have no ideas where the buns come from, but they’re fantastic as well.
Plus if there’s ever a wait you can pop into Land and browse the cute shop full of local artists’ work.

Missed opportunity. Nice bun, good pickles, well sourced meat but so much cheese that it tasted like a velveeta and thousand island dressing sandwich.

So, as a fan of the now extinct, Little Red Bike Café, I secretly knew that I was going to be in for a treat. And, what a treat I found on such a dreary, wet Portland day! I went big! I ordered the Pineapple Express. With bacon, pineapple, peanut sauce and Siracha on a burger, how could you go wrong! I sat in my car savoring every spicy, juicy bite! My only complaint… The burgers are not served with a spare pair of pants! All of that juicy goodness dripped down my mouth and stained my pants. Oh well. It was worth it!

We stopped by Lucy’s Original on a whim one afternoon and found the most DELICIOUS burger I’ve had in years! I’m pretty picky and the man working there was very nice about making me the Jucy Lucy with only cheese and ketchup. I don’t eat a lot of meat but the next time I want a burger, I will definitely be back! YUM!!!
Oh, and there are delicious options for all you vegetarians and vegans out there! Try it!

I’ve eaten at Lucy’s Original twice.
When I go to a cart and there isn’t a line and the service seems attentive, I ask what I should eat. I was instructed to try the «pineapple express» and I have to say that it was the most positively unique cheeseburger experience I have ever had. The flavor was spectacular, the quality was unparalleled, and the service was smiling.
SO GOOD I WENT BACK.
Highest recommendations for Lucy’s Original.

best burger. the jucy lucy is ridiculous, so good! juicy gooey so good. i also tried the dylan thomas and so-​cal. both amazing. basically, i will be going back to try all of them.

I don’t even have time to write this review, but this burger is so good, that I have to make a little noise about it.
You can expect great service from this place. It’s just burgers, and I agree with the precedent reviews that this may be the best burger I’ve had in Portland

Ever since we enjoyed the Pineapple Express and Messenger Burger on Tuesday, we have dreamed of the burger and the next time we could go back. In fact every night it has been suggested. This is not helping my diet.
The meat is juicy, with cheese inside, the bread toasted and the unique flavors showing up on a burger are delectable!
We loved them as the Little Red Bike so we are so happy to have a taste of their delicacies. Now if we could just get them to make the biscuits and gravy and Huevos Rancheros. Even if not, we will go back for every burger.

Holy mother of all things good and beautiful, THAT was a motherfucking _​experience_​. I ate my burger over the sink and moaned the entire time. I was in a fugue state.
Caramelized, crispy edges on a soft bun. Fresh thousand island sauce — the perfect amount. I don’t care about messy fingers. Bring this shit on! The burger had crispy edges too, and you can tell when that beef is fresh. It was fresh. Ground this morning, he told us. And I believed him after taking my first bite.
And I know it’s going to be not-​cool very soon on account of Portlandia and other self-​referential chiding and mocking. I do not care. I like my hormone-​free, veg-​fed, Oregon beef.
Guys, if you read your reviews. All I ask is please don’t change after people find out about you. Please please please stick to the plan. Fresh meat, awesome details like caramelized onions and tomato compote and a crisp, cold piece of lettuce. Make people wait. Don’t skimp on what makes you good.

Little Red Bike Café was my favorite restaurant in Portland. I was sad when they closed, but when I heard that the owners opened a hamburger food cart, I had to check it out.
These are pretty unique burgers. The cheese is on the inside of the meat, which makes it melty. They have homemade versions of standard burgers, as well as inventive toppings. I tried the messenger burger, because I loved the messenger egg sandwich at their restaurant. Apple butter is one of my favorite things, but even I haven’t put it on a hamburger. But the blue cheese, bacon, hint of apple butter, and arugula all work together. I was also surprised by how big the burger was for $ 7! I couldn’t finish the whole thing.
I’ll definitely stop by again. Their location through February on Mississippi (next to Land) is close to my apartment. And I’m curious about the Pineapple Express burger (it had pineapple, peanut sauce, sriracha mayo, and other stuff I’m forgetting).

Best burger I’ve ever had. Perfect combo of meat, ground to perfection, grilled so it’s rich and juicy. We even braved 20 degree weather and a little rain. LOVED IT!

I’ll always remember my first encounter with Juicy Lucy.
It was September in Minnesota, which truly is a beautiful time to be out there as the humidity has subsided and the mosquitoes no longer pose such a threat. Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis was where we met, your typical dark and otherwise standard neighborhood dive bar.
Wow, it’s been over six years ago now, but to be honest it seems like a lifetime.
I was getting married that week to my Tall Leggy Blonde. Life was good. I was young, attractive, tan, in good shape with great hair and was about to marry the woman of my dreams.
I bought the ticket and was ready to take the ride. I was never happier.
On that particular day the girls were busy with pre wedding activities: hair dos, last minute shopping, lingerie pillow fights and lesbian make out sessions (or whatever it is the lady folk do when left alone). Basically, the boys were not welcome. We were left to our own devices, in a foreign city, with a rental car and nothing but time on our hands.
Sounds like the start of a Hunter S. Thompson novel…
My best man Matt, who will always be Opie to me, had decided he needed to visit Matt’s Bar in order to pick up some swag. A bar with his name attached, sure, reason enough to head out together for the day for a couple beers. Being each other’s wing man was second nature for both of us, with 15 years of bromance logged in the books.
Finding adventure was always easy for us, staying out of trouble, well that always proved to be the more difficult task. The groundwork for my life of debauchery was laid from our early years as friends. Yet despite our knack for always finding a good time, we had each other’s back each step of the way, and were always there to offer that word of advice that the other didn’t want to hear, but deep down you knew they needed to.
So on this warm afternoon day in September, we found ourselves perched on bar stools in what could probably be called our natural habitat. I remember our conversation from that day vividly. We discussed our future, my fast approaching wedding and our plans for Vegas. We enjoyed each other company, as we always did, and talked shit about the piss poor beers found in Minnesota.
We also encountered Juicy Lucy.
We were warned. Wait till she cools before diving in. Nobody wants to get burned, right? For once we heeded the advice.
For those not aware, Lucy isn’t a girl of low moral standards who has acquired a not so nice nickname for her female ejaculation tendencies. No Juicy Lucy is a hamburger, or maybe more aptly described: an inside out cheeseburger.
The cheese is put in the middle of the meat before it is cooked, turning it into a gooey surprise of molted magma goodness smack dab in the middle of your burger. And let me tell you, it is one hell of a burger.
It has been many years since my first Juicy Lucy. A lot of life has passed by since then and I’ve always had a hankering for another one, but never found the time during trips to Minnesota to make back to Matt’s Bar. So when I heard there was a new food cart opening featuring the Minneapolis inspired Juicy Lucy, it immediately became a place I had to try.
But could it possibly be as good as the original? Actually, it surpassed it.
The TLB went with the Blue Cheese and Bacon burger which she said was hands down the best burger she’s ever had. Mine was their version of the In’N Out burger, and you know what it was exactly that, but dare I say even better? I know that’s blasphemy, but when you both find yourself eating your meal on the staircase because your unable to pull yourself away from your burger long enough to make it to the top, well you know it’s a damn good burger.
And a connection to an important time in my life.
We left Matt’s Bar that day with a closer friendship, excitement for the future, a Matt’s Bar Juicy Lucy coffee mug and the knowledge that this week would be remembered for the rest of our lives. Sadly, the rest of his life was much shorter than any of us could have imagine.
I have the Juicy Lucy coffee cup he picked up that day. Not a day goes by where I don’t miss his friendship, his willingness to tell me the things I needed to hear, and his love.
And even though it has been 3 years since he passed, there are still days where drinking out of that damn coffee cup brings me to tears.
Damn, I still miss him. I really wanted him to know Owen Matthew.
But it is the memories I hold on to that keep him close. The times spent talking, getting in trouble, meeting girls, road trips, Spring Breaks, drinking beer, trips to Vegas and the countless adventures we packed into 20 years of friendship.
And now, each time I have a Juicy Lucy here in Portland from Lucy’s Original, it is like I’m back in Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis. Except I don’t have to bitch about the bad beer.

Oh me oh my. I have been patiently waiting, and scheming, and planning to eat at this wonderful cart. It was worth the wait!
The Yacht Burger won over my carnivore heart. Its is possibly the best veggie burger I’ve ever had. With sprouts to boot! The first bite was an awesome explosion of textures and flavors, it made my feet dance a little jig. The patty was not too gooey, not too hard — with Daiya cheese inside and thousand island dressing (arguably the king of all dressings)
I’ll definitely be back soon for the lucy’s original. Gotta feed that carnivore… keep it tame, before it gets out and hurts someone.