Better known for frigid temperatures than fast food, the Twin Cities offer at least one local delicacy for the grease-adoring masses: the Juicy Lucy. It's essentially a griddled hamburger that's stuffed with cheese and served with sliced pickles. Like Minneapolis and St. Paul themselves, the sandwich is far from exotic--just a pair of meat patties with pinched perimeters that have the potential to maim diners with a scalding, liquified interior. For safety's sake, customers are warned to wait for the cheese to cool before taking a bite, resulting in an unfortunate guessing game regarding the appropriate time to chomp: too soon means a burnt chin, too late means a cooled meat patty. That drawback aside, Juicys, or Jucys, as at least one joint spells them, are a quirky treat for those endless Minnesota nights huddled by the furnace.

Matt's Bar, 3500 Cedar Ave. S TASTE: PRESENTATION: AMBIENCE: Stuffed with traditional American cheese, Matt's Jucy Lucy is widely regarded as one of the top two on the west side of the Mississippi River. Offered with either grilled or raw onions and fried within eyeshot of the bar, the burger's pleasing aroma wafts through the air of this vintage corner saloon.

5-8 Club, 5800 Cedar Ave. S TASTE: PRESENTATION: AMBIENCE: The 5-8 Club's award-winning Juicy Lucy is a little thicker than its Cedar Avenue competitor. However, the meat on my visit to this generic roadhouse was far from succulent, probably due to overcooking, and the American cheese plopped out after one bite, perhaps because I waited too long to chow.

The Blue Door, 1811 Selby Ave. TASTE: PRESENTATION: AMBIENCE: The Blue Door's dressed-up version of the Juicy Lucy, or Blucy, is crammed with a delicious combination of blue cheese and chopped garlic. Served in a comfortably rustic watering hole on the east side of the Big Muddy, the burger packs plenty of tasty flavors in every bite.