Lucy's Original

Lucy's Original is a food cart located in Portland, Oregon. For much of the year, they could be found on N Mississippi Ave., but they have been exclusively doing private events since August 2011. I was fortunate to catch them at the Portland Art Museum in downtown Portland last Saturday.

Limited menu (8/27/11)

Based on online photos, Lucy's Original usually has a menu of six to seven burgers. But on this day, they only had their regular Jucy Lucy for sale -- although one could have customized their burger with extra toppings for a bit more cash.

I just went with the 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.

Jucy Lucy w/bag of chips

Another shot of the Jucy Lucy

There is cheese in there, trust me

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 anyway) in Minneapolis last November. It was messy -- in a good way. My personal favorite was the crunchy, tangy zucchini pickles providing 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. 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. I've seen various Jucy Lucy creations -- including a vegan option -- on their expanded menu, so non-meat-eaters would also be able to enjoy the food at this cart. 7.25/10