Great American Bites: Matt's Bar, Minneapolis

— -- The scene: Located in a residential area of South Minneapolis, Matt's Bar personifies the local eatery and is nearly identical to thousands of neighborhood watering holes across the nation. It occupies a house-like building, not much different from those around it. The only suggestion that it is anything unusual - other than the nonstop flow of patrons - is relayed by two simple messages. One is a single neon word in the window, just above a Coors Light sign, saying, "Hamburgers;" a second just below it reads "Original Jucy Lucy." This oddly-named sandwich is what has elevated Matt's from an off-the-beaten-track eatery to a dining destination and Minneapolis institution. I did not meet a single person during my weeklong visit to the Twin Cities who did know exactly what Matt's and Jucy Lucy were all about.

The interior is not much more notable than the concrete and red-wood exterior. With just two dark windows, Matt's resembles a dimly-lit bunker. It has a classic bar layout — long counter down the right side with stools and beer taps overlooking the small, open, diner-like kitchen. Booths line the left wall, Formica-topped tables fill the center and the back-room extension. Matt's is family-friendly, with many tables packed with children brought here for the burgers. Service is friendly, if brusque. With a simple menu, you are expected to know what you are having with little hesitation.

Matt's is often full, especially at lunch and dinner hours, though it turns over quickly. I visited at 2:15 on a Friday afternoon and waited in line about 15 minutes for a table. Offerings are displayed on a classic black menu board with stuck-on white letters at one end of the bar, a handwritten version at the other and paper copies on tables. Burgers and sandwiches come wrapped in wax paper, fries in a red plastic basket. There are no plates and few adornments, just red and yellow plastic squeeze bottles of mustard and ketchup on the table. Sports play on multiple TVs, and most of the décor consists of an array of "Best Burger" awards Matt's has won over 40-plus years, making it the burger king of Minneapolis.

Reason to visit: Jucy Lucy burger, fries

The food: The $5.95 Jucy Lucy is simple in theory yet remarkable in execution. It consists of two thin beef patties stacked with the edges crimped together around a filling of Kraft American cheese. The result is a burger that oozes melted cheese from its core when bitten into ("Jucy"). The Lucy part dates back to the '50s, when a customer asked then-owner Matt Bristol to put together two patties and cook them with cheese in the middle, says Tony Stanton, a Matt's cook. "The guy bit into it, and said, 'Oh, that's a juicy Lucy!' " I've seen such burgers attempted by home chefs, but never with this success. The Lucy appears to be a usual patty until bitten into; the cheese doesn't break through prematurely. One secret is that patties are pre-pressed to a wide diameter and thinness and are cooked on a griddle, which helps keep them from curling up or losing their form. But be careful: If you bite into it too quickly, you will burn your mouth. The cheese is like molten lava at first.