During the first hour of Dan Conry’s morning show on KTLK-100.3FM this morning, talk turned to my all-time favorite burger — the Jucy Lucy (aka Juicy Lucy). EDIT: Also mentioned in a PiPress Ask the Critic column yesterday.

For those of you JL virgins, we’re talking about a Minneapolis-born burger concept featuring molten cheese cooked inside a burger patty so that the scalding cheese shoots out on your lips, chin, lap, etc. when you take a bite. Delicious!

Conversation this morning mentioned the controversy about who really invented the burger City Pages calls, “South Minneapolis’s contribution to world cuisine.”

However, whether invented at Matt’s Bar or the 5-8 Tavern and Grill — both bars claim the concept as far back as the mid-50s — what we all really care about is which locale has the best burger.

Of course, Conry isn’t the first to leap into JL judging territory. Doodledee even has breakdowns of JL’s at Groveland Tap, Minnehaha Lanes, Sweeney’s Saloon, Cardinal Tavern and more (even one in Rochester).

My fav is the Jucy Lucy at Matt’s Bar for a few reasons. It’s a simple burger on a bun with optional pickles and onions. No frills, just molten cheese burning my tongue and a can of Coke Classic. In addition, you can’t beat the authenticity of the decor (although the new flat screen TV really threw me the first time I saw it).

The 5-8’s juicy lucy is good, but the renovated restaurant, toasted buns and cheese choices (blue, pepper jack, and swiss) are all a bit much.

Which is your favorite?

Related posts:

1. Found Photo: First Jucy Lucy
2. Checking in on Dodgeball
3. The Skeptical Diner: Bulldog NE vs. Fuddruckers
4. Twin Cities snubbed by Esquire’s Best Sandwiches in U.S.
5. Bundles of Love