Lucky’s Sandwich Company, Chicago

As far as sports bars go, it doesn’t get much better than Lucky’s, located within walking distance of Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs. There’s just something about being located in Wrigleyville that makes a sports bar that much cooler, unless of course you happen to be a fan of the Chicago White Sox or St. Louis Cardinals, who probably see nothing cool about it.

Sports-wise, it doesn’t stop at baseball. Lucky’s is also a destination for Chicago Blackhawks fans, so it does know some sports success with the Hawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup, despite being in the shadow of a ballpark where you walk in and realize just how much history hasn’t happened there (Wrigley Field was built in 1914. The Cubs last won the World Series in 1908) in its long career.

But Lucky’s is more known for its culinary success. Basically, this is the restaurant that brings the taste of Pittsburgh to the Midwest in the form of the overstuffed sandwich. For those who aren’t familiar with the Pittsburgh institution Primanti Bros., it created the overstuffed sandwich when it added fries and cole slaw to its sandwiches, giving people who needed to use one hand a chance to eat with the other by putting the sides on the sandwich.

Lucky’s got its start when a Pittsburgher came out to the Windy City and brought the food he loved to his new hometown. The result was that Chicagoans got yet another food to be proud of in a city that boasts the Chicago hot dog, deep dish pizza and the legendary pizza puff.

Like at Primanti Bros., all sandwiches at Lucky’s come with your choice of meat, along with cheese, cole slaw, tomatoes and french fries placed on the sandwich. It’s 4 ounces worth of standard deli choices, with selections such as turkey, ham, roast beef, pastrami and capicola dotting the menu, all of which is grilled before being added to your sandwich. Fish, bacon and chicken can also be had, and so can a two-bagger, which includes pastrami and corned beef.

Not only do some people swear by that sandwich, but it’s also one that isn’t on Primanti Bros.’ menu, one of the subtle differences between the original and the Midwest version. The biggest difference between the two is the type of bread they use to hold all of their ingredients together. While Primanti Bros. goes for a standard-cut Italian bread, Lucky’s opts for a thick cut of French bread, which holds the sandwich together quite well and goes very well with the ingredients.

Another small difference is the Lucky’s Challenge, created when a drunk stumbled into the building with an appetite and began consuming sandwiches. In an hour, he put down three sandwiches, and Lucky’s walls are now filled with pictures of those who have performed the same feat. I do not recommend trying this, because these sandwiches are huge. Personally, I’m just fine knocking down one sandwich, but any beyond that and I’d be in trouble. Those with smaller appetites, like my girlfriend Amy, will struggle to finish one. During our trip to Chicago in the winter, she finished about half a sandwich.

Should you decide to try it, you’d be given the option to choose whatever three sandwiches you wish, usually with an egg added to them along with the standard sandwich. I do recommend the egg, because it adds another element of flavor, and at just 50 cents for it, it’s worth the price. I’ve had the ham and cheese and the turkey and cheese, each time with the egg, and it’s definitely been a great addition.

If you want the original, you’ve still got to go to Pittsburgh. But for an imitator, Lucky’s has done quite well for itself, turning into a beloved part of its chosen city in its own right. Imitation is considered the sincerest form of flattery, and Lucky’s form of flattery does its originator justice.

Recap

Time to go: That depends on what kind of atmosphere you want. If you want it loud, busy and raucous, go on a Cubs game day. If not, check the baseball schedule first and avoid days when the Cubs are at home.

Wait during my visit: Lengthy during a visit when the Cubs played at Wrigley, minimal when I returned in January. Basically, how long you wait is determined by whether or not the North Siders have a home game.

Location: Lucky’s main location is at 3472 N. Clark Street in Chicago, specifically Wrigleyville.

Parking: Dream on. Wrigleyville does not have many places to park, as it’s a neighborhood in Chicago. Your best bet is to take the  CTA L train’s Red Line to Addison and walk to Lucky’s. It’s about a quarter-mile walk from the CTA station.

Cost: Almost all Lucky’s sandwiches are $7.50.

Website: Lucky’s

Specialty items: Overstuffed sandwiches.

Jethro’s BBQ, Des Moines, Iowa

When you think of good barbecue, you tend to think of places like Texas, Memphis, the Carolinas, St. Louis and Kansas City. You don’t think of Iowa, and you certainly don’t think of Des Moines, the capital of the Hawkeye State and a city whose name literally means “from the monks”.

But great barbecue in Iowa is exactly what you find at Jethro’s, which operates two locations in the DSM area, one in the suburb of Altoona and one in the city on the campus of Drake University. Jethro’s has only been around since 2008, but it quickly developed a reputation for quality food and a lot of it.

Part of that was because of a stroke of luck. For those who aren’t familiar with the Missouri Valley Conference, Drake is not exactly a basketball powerhouse. The Bulldogs are known for their track program, and their basketball program traditionally lags in the basement. But the year Jethro’s opened, a little-known point guard named Adam Emmenecker rose to prominence and lifted the Bulldogs to the Missouri Valley title and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Capitalizing on his success, Jethro’s took some of Emmenecker’s favorite eats and combined them into one sandwich, known as the Adam Emmenecker challenge. It includes a pork tenderloin, an Angus burger, beef brisket, applewood-smoked bacon, fried white cheddar cheese, two buffalo chicken tenders all smothered in white cheddar sauce and served with a pound of waffle fries. Its tagline is simply: This could hurt you. The rest is history, as Jethro’s became the spot for sports in central Iowa.

But the Emmenecker and Jethro’s status would not have been possible if the restaurant didn’t know what it was doing on all of its food portions. In fact, Jethro’s is so good at what it does that it’s nearly impossible to go during the state track meet, because everyone knows about it and everyone heads there. What makes it good is that it knows how to do meat and it knows what sauces go well with each one.

Jethro’s serves six barbecued meats, a list that includes brisket, pork, ham, sausage, chicken and turkey. With each meat, there’s a sauce they suggest to go with it. Going for the brisket? Try some of Jethro’s secret thick and sweet sauce. Want to try pork? The Carolina-style thin vinegar-based sauce is for you. Want a little bit of heat, but not a lot? Try the Georgia mustard. Going for some poultry? Alabama white sauce is the sauce of choice, despite not looking a thing like barbecue sauce. Some barbecue pit bosses (mostly in Texas) believe that if people talk about your sauce, you’ve failed, but not here. Good meat is complemented by good sauce, and Jethro’s understands that very well.

As I tend to do, I went for pork and brisket, which was absolutely perfect. The brisket is just heavenly with Jethro’s thick sauce, and the pork works well with either the Carolina or original sauce. I’ve even gone with the Alabama sauce, and that has me wanting to go back to try the chicken. I’m also anxious to try their appetizer of fried white cheddar cheese, which just looks remarkable.

Along with the barbecue, Jethro’s has an abundance of quality sides, such as its mashed potatoes in a cream gravy, waffle fries and shells in white cheddar sauce. I’m not sure why Jethro’s loves using white cheddar so much, but I will never complain about that addition.

With the right ingredients and the right people putting them together, you can get quality barbecue anywhere, it seems. Clearly, you can even do it in the capital of Iowa.

Recap

Time to go: Lunch/dinner as long as there’s not a track meet going on. Jethro’s is literally within walking distance of Drake Stadium, so if there’s a meet there, it will be swarmed. Otherwise, you can get a seat.

Wait during my visit: I’ve been on multiple times, and the wait wasn’t horrible either time. You might have to wait a bit, but if it’s not a meet day, it won’t be too bad.

Location: Jethro’s main location is at 3100 Forest Avenue in Des Moines on Drake’s campus. There’s another location in Altoona at 2601 Adventureland Drive.

Parking: That depends. In Altoona, you’re fine. In Des Moines, it won’t be easy. There aren’t many places to park on Drake’s campus, although Jethro’s does have its own lot. You just have to be lucky.

Cost: Not too bad for a place like this, it’ll probably run about $10-15 a person for a very satisfying meal.

Website: Jethro’s BBQ

Specialty items: Barbecue, The Adam Emmenecker

Lynn’s Paradise Cafe, Louisville, Ky.

A giant tree in the middle of a restaurant. That was the first thing that my wonderful lady Amy McFann noticed when she saw the picture of my trip to Lynn’s, which is certainly one of the most surreal experiences you will ever have when eating, mainly because of the completely ridiculous decor. That’s the first thing you notice when you enter Lynn’s, after coming through a Cracker Barrel-type store to enter.

But the reason you come to Lynn’s isn’t what’s in the second picture, it’s what’s in the first picture. Lynn’s is famous for large and interesting breakfasts, and they don’t come much better than the creative dishes served in this Louisville breakfast haven.

Although the standard bacon, eggs and pancakes/waffles you might find at places such as Waffle House (and no disrespect to Waffle House, I would love some of their hash browns) are on the menu, that’s not what makes this place famous. Lynn’s has six omelets and scrambles on the menu, all with high-brow and high-quality ingredients. Examples include the Greek scramble, which includes sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Jack and feta cheese and Greek olives, the Kentucky Scramble of white cheddar, tomatoes and bacon, and my choice, the wild mushroom scramble.

I make no secret of the fact that I love mushrooms. At Lynn’s, that’s what you get with a whole lot of other stuff. Lynn’s combines two kinds of mushrooms with white cheddar, bacon, spinach and a horseradish dill sour cream.

A word about the horseradish dill sour cream. First, it’s going to have quite a bit of bite to it, as horseradish is famous for its kick. However, there’s also the presence of the dill. I’ve said many times that I think dill is the money herb, because pretty much anything that it gets added to instantly becomes better in my opinion. I do not intend to test that theory on my cheesecakes, but for things like this that involve creams or vegetables, dill has yet to go badly in my experience.

This is no different. The taste of the dill works against the kick of the horseradish and complements the sour cream to provide a perfect condiment for the eggs, cheese and mushrooms. The bacon and spinach are just great additions to an already excellent taste.

Besides the creative scrambles, Lynn’s also knows how to get the simple things correct. Home fries are a standard side here, and these are the legitimate breakfast potatoes, not the stringy, coarsely chopped hash browns that only Waffle House has seemed to manage to get correct. Throw in a homemade biscuit served with two kinds of butter and jelly to complement it, and you have one of the most delicious breakfasts you’ll enjoy in probably the weirdest setting ever.

I’m not really sure what goes on inside Lynn’s mind to come up with a restaurant that looks like this. But after trying a scramble, I’m totally okay with whatever it is.

Recap

Time to go: Breakfast. Lynn’s also serves lunch and is open until 10 p.m., but breakfasts are what make this place famous. They know it, too, because you can get breakfast any time Lynn’s is open.

Wait during my visit: Not bad, pretty standard for what you’d expect with a breakfast place.

Location: Lynn’s can be found at 984 Barret Avenue in Louisville, Ky.

Parking: There’s a good amount in the lot behind the giant pouring coffee mug. No, I’m not making any of that up.

Cost: This is the one downside of Lynn’s. You’re paying for an experience as much as you are a meal. It’ll be difficult to get out of here for under $15 a person.

Website: Lynn’s Paradise Cafe

Specialty items: Creative breakfasts

Horace and Dickie’s Seafood, Washington

When you think of great seafood, it makes sense to think of the Chesapeake Bay area. But that kind of seafood tends to be crabs. Not so at Horace and Dickies, where whiting is the standard seafood of choice.

Located in the northeast part of Washington (the District is divided into four quadrants of NE, NW, SE and SW, for those who have never been before), Horace and Dickie’s is known as a spot for take-out comfort food done right. For starters, they don’t waste their efforts on a large menu. Instead, they focus on the entrees that they know will be done perfectly, which include catfish, crab, shrimp and chicken, plus the staple of whitefish.

It’s the whitefish they’re known for, as they take a secret spiced breading, dredge each piece in and fry to perfection. Each piece is crispy and flavorful on the outside and has the perfect texture inside. It’s everything that a good piece of fish should be.

What makes Horace and Dickie’s different besides their secret breading is the way they choose to serve their fish. At most places, a sandwich is meat between two slices of bread with toppings. At Horace and Dickie’s, all sandwiches are served open-faced, with you having the ability to assemble it yourself if you want, or just eat your four pieces of fish and the bread separately. The result ends up being a less spicy version of the bread at Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, as the bread stays heated from the catfish, but doesn’t have the fires of hell to soak into it, leaving it a very nice finish to your meal.

Tartar sauce is another key to the Horace and Dickie’s experience. Normally, I’m not a fan of tartar sauce and tend to avoid it when I do have fish (and I have fish a lot, because I love almost all kinds of seafood), but Horace and Dickie’s has designed its breading to be perfectly complemented by the taste of the tartar sauce. It’s an excellent match, and it had me using the sauce throughout my enjoyment of the fish.

 

When it comes to sides, Horace and Dickie’s again knows what they’re doing. Comfort food staples like collard greens, baked macaroni and cheese, french fries and potato salad dot the menu. These gems tend to be made best by those who have grown up with these recipes, and Horace and Dickie’s is no exception. The restaurant has been open for 22 years, and the women behind the counter have perfected their craft long before that. The fries are cooked to a perfect coloring and texture, and the macaroni is just wonderful.

The one negative about Horace and Dickie’s is that it’s difficult to find a place to eat it. The place is carryout-only, which means that you’ve got to find some place in the District to enjoy your meal, and that can be a real chore. Really, the best way to do it is to bring a friend, have one of you drive and the other go in for your order, then either take it home or go find a park somewhere to enjoy your feast.

Whatever you decide to do, Horace and Dickie’s is an experience not to be missed. They say their restaurant is “Simplicity, Great Food, Great Experience”, and they aren’t kidding. It’s simply some of the best fried fish that you can find.

Recap

Time to visit: Lunch/dinner. Either meal is a good time for fish.

Wait during my visit: Not long, but I also got there at a less-than-busy time. The lines certainly can pile up into a lengthy wait.

Location: Horace and Dickie’s can be found at 809 12th Street in northeast DC

Cost: It’s not bad. The fish sandwich and sides can be had for about $10.

Parking: Dream on. It’s DC, which means parking is nonexistent. You don’t really need to park anyway, seeing as how you can’t eat it there. I recommend just driving and taking it somewhere else. I do not recommend doing what I did, which was taking the Metro to the nearest stop and walking a mile to the restaurant, while carrying two suitcases. Thank goodness the meal was worth it, or I’d have been very annoyed.

Website: Horace and Dickie’s

Specialty items: Fried whitefish

Matt’s Bar, Minneapolis

So if you read my recap of The 5-8 Club, you know the basics of the Juicy Lucy and that I consider 5-8 to serve the superior burger compared to its Cedar Avenue rival, Matt’s Bar. Ergo, you know that this is the runner-up in my opinion.

But that’s not to say Matt’s serves a bad burger. In fact, it’s far from it, and a lot of people swear by Matt’s as both the creator and the perfecter of the Jucy Lucy. Actually, now is the time to explain that spelling. At Matt’s, when the burger was created, it was placed on the menu without the I in juicy, and Matt’s chose never to correct the spelling, a distinction from 5-8 that remains to this day.

I believe Matt’s is the only place that spells it without the I, and the restaurant’s staff has been known to wear shirts that say, “If it’s spelled right, you’re at the wrong place.” 5-8’s staff, on the other hand, have worn shirts with the slogan, “If it’s spelled right, it’s done right.”

Regardless of how it’s spelled, where Matt’s differs from 5-8 is the way it serves its burgers and the basic menu available. You won’t find the abundance of choices that 5-8 offers here. Matt’s menu offers only 12 things, and three of them are beverages. They say it’s like going back to the 1950’s and they mean it.

Matt’s Jucy Lucy is served only one way, with American cheese. They cook it until the cheese has liquified, which results in a total mess and a burger that gets covered in the stuff. It also means that you really, really can’t bite into this thing immediately. The heat from melted cheese is bad enough if you don’t wait at 5-8. At Matt’s, with molten cheese oozing out of your burger, your mouth is really in trouble if you’re too overeager.

That can be a bit of an issue here, because the length of time that they cook their burgers means that you will be waiting a while to get your hands on a Jucy Lucy. I do not recommend going to Matt’s with an empty stomach, as you will have to wait a good while before you can actually eat.

Once you do get to eat, though, it’s a good experience. The burger is hot throughout and the molten cheese does work nicely on the burger. If you’ve ever had really good cheese fries, you know how melted cheese can make things better. The liquid cheese does the same thing, it’s just a little hotter than the melted cheese. If that’s the way you like it, you’re probably going to be very satisfied with a visit to Matt’s.

The one other thing I’m not a fan of is the drink option here. Most sit-down places offer refills in a glass, but Matt’s just goes with a can of soda. It’s served ice-cold, but it’s so little to drink when you’re going to need it to keep your mouth cool from the Jucy. That’s one example where it’d be fine to move forward from the 1950’s.

Otherwise, it’s a quality burger and solid fries to go with it. It’s not my favorite of the Juicy Lucies, but it’s still worth eating. Who knows, you might disagree with me and prefer Matt’s. That’s the beauty of trying things for yourself.

Recap

Time to go: Lunch/dinner/late night. Matt’s is routinely open past midnight. For a neighborhood bar, that’s peculiar, but I’m not going to take issue with it.

Wait during my visit: Not long to get a seat, very long to eat. You will wait a while for your meal here.

Location: Matt’s is at 3500 Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis. It’s located three miles north of 5-8 on Cedar Avenue.

Cost: It’s not too bad, roughly about $11 for a full meal.

Parking: Good luck. Matt’s neighborhood location means only street parking. Luckily, you can do that at that point of Cedar Avenue, but you need to have some luck on your side to find a spot.

Website: Matt’s Bar

Specialty items: Jucy Lucy

The 5-8 Club, Minneapolis

Most of us are very familiar with the basic cheeseburger, which is served a similar way pretty much across the country. There’s a few places that add high-brow toppings, and a few that change up the type of meat that’s used, but for the most part, a cheeseburger is standard bun, meat, cheese, toppings, condiments, done.

Venture into the Land of 10,000 Lakes, however, and you find something completely different. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are home to the Juicy Lucy (or Jucy Lucy), an inside-out cheeseburger that cooks the cheese inside the patties, giving you what looks like a standard hamburger until you actually take your first bite. Once you get in, hot cheese flows out to provide a totally different experience.

You can get a Juicy Lucy across the Twin Cities, but two places on the same street in Minneapolis claim to be the original inventor of the sandwich, Matt’s Bar and the 5-8 Club. I’m not sure which one really did invent the burger, but I’ve tried both and I’m going to start with the one I like best. I know, I just gave away any drama, but I’ve already revealed my preference last year on Facebook, and it’s not like this gets any readers besides my friends.

What makes the Juicy Lucy at 5-8 so excellent is the way that they prepare their burger and the side options. First, there’s the cheese. American has always been the standard cheese for a Juicy Lucy, but at 5-8, you can also go with pepperjack, Swiss or blue cheese. They also offer a burger called the Saucy Sally, which is filled with secret sauce instead of cheese, and then topped with the cheese. Plus, 5-8 has a promotion called “Free the Cheese”, which involves five specialty Juicy Lucies, stuffed with cheddar, mozzarella, chipotle jack and even barbecue (all separate burgers, of course). Finish all five in separate visits and you get a free shirt.

Of course, in the name of fairness, I decided I was going for the standard American, and 5-8 delivers on that burger too. They use a large amount of cheese and cook it so it’s hot, but it’s not liquid. Instead, what you get is melted goodness that works well with the burger and doesn’t create a large mess in the basket.

This also has the added benefit of reducing your wait time before biting into your burger. At most places, you start eating as soon as you receive your food. That is not recommended with a Juicy Lucy, because the temperature of the cheese can scald your mouth and leave a blister inside if you eat it too soon. When it’s brought out, they make sure you know to let the burger cool a little before enjoying it.

So instead, if you’re at 5-8, the thing to do while you’re waiting is enjoy some jojos. As some of my friends in Ohio can tell you, jojos are potato wedges that are much larger than the standard french fries. The potatoes are cut much larger than french fries and then fried, resulting in much more potato in each bite. It’s a little like steak fries on steroids, and for someone who loves potatoes as much as I do, that can only be a good thing.

It’s kind of a shame that you can only get a Juicy Lucy in the Twin Cities, because a taste this good is something that should be experienced on a somewhat regular basis. But it’s their thing in the State of Hockey, and it’s one of several things that make a visit to Minneapolis and St. Paul worth the trip, even if it happens to be during a Minnesota winter.

Recap

Time to go: Lunch/dinner or whenever you get done shopping at the Mall of America. 5-8’s Minneapolis location is less than four miles away from the famous Mall, so if you can pull away from the glut of shops and restaurants there, it’s a perfect spot to finish your day.

Wait during my visit: None, but it can get crowded.

Location: The 5-8 Club’s main location is at 5800 Cedar Avenue South. They have two other locations elsewhere in the Twin Cities, in Maplewood and Champlin.

Cost: With jojos, a Juicy Lucy will run you $9, plus drink. The cost here isn’t bad.

Parking: Not the easiest thing in the world here, as the lot is kind of small. There is a church nearby that does have a parking lot, but I’m not sure if parking there is actually allowed if you’re not going to church.

Website: The 5-8 Club

Specialty items: Juicy Lucy