Jay Lucy’s: Bold Au Cheval Claims That the Burger Can’t Back Up
Burgers are something I really like but often just make at home, especially since getting a flat top grill, which has turned me into a home line cook in the sweltering Florida sun. But sometimes a restaurant burger hits differently because I would assume they have a more streamlined process and better beef than me fumbling around throwing toppings, sauces, and patties together in the most inefficient method possible on my kitchen counter.
This new place in soft opening called Jay Lucy’s caught my eye because they are making bold claims that they’re trying to emulate Au Cheval, the super popular burger establishment out of NYC and Chicago. What followed was nothing of the sort.
Single Cheeseburger Skip
I’ve never been to Au Cheval so I cannot compare the burgers even from memory, but for this single patty burger I don’t think it’ll get anywhere near the acclaim and buzz that Au Cheval generates. This could be on me for just getting the single instead of the double, but you could have told me the burger was just a greasy grilled cheese and I would have believed you. There was no beef flavor at all, very bland and underseasoned. I also don’t love being charged an extra 50 cents for lettuce or tomato, which I consider quintessential burger ingredients that shouldn’t cost extra.
Going back to the Au Cheval comparison, their burger doesn’t come standard with a sunny side up egg and bacon, those are ordered separately as add-ons, but everyone seems to default to adding them anyway. So it could be my own fault for not going with the bacon cheeseburger at Jay Lucy’s for a closer comparison, but they don’t even have eggs on the menu to fully replicate it. Even then, going off some pictures of Jay Lucy’s bacon burger, it just looks like regular thin bacon you’d find anywhere else.
I will say the buns are really good. They did a great job toasting them with a lot of butter, because that first bite had a crunch on the edge of the bun I’ve never quite experienced before.
If you do order from this place, a double patty is a must. A single patty was mostly just eating buttery bread. I also wish they had pickles or a sauce with some tanginess to balance out the oiliness.
Tallow Fries
I’m not a huge fan of french fries, which often gets me a lot of bewildered looks whenever I mention it, so I can’t be the authority here. But these were just regular shoestring fries, and I know exactly which ones because while I was eating I saw the Sysco delivery truck drop off boxes out front, one of them labeled Lamb Weston shoestring fries, the same fries on my plate.
The beef tallow they’re cooked in doesn’t add any noticeable flavor or difference compared to fries cooked in regular oil, and I find the beef tallow marketing angle tiresome at this point. I don’t think Au Cheval’s $9 side of fries is the frozen stuff from a major distributor, but that’s not something I can verify. Jay Lucy’s fries are only $4 though, so it’s got that going for it.
Nuggets Skip
The main reason I didn’t get the double patty cheeseburger is because I wanted stomach space to also try the nuggets. They’re just plain dredged chunks of chicken breast, nothing special, a bit dry and plain. This is something you’d get for your kid if they don’t want a burger.
Vanilla Milkshake Good
Milkshakes are usually a no-go zone for me even though I don’t have the healthiest eating habits otherwise, it’s almost shamefully unhealthy. I got a vanilla shake as a baseline since I prefer plain vanilla, and this was really good, by far the best thing on the menu. I don’t have a lot of milkshake drinking experience to compare it to, but this was definitely up there. Rich, creamy, thick, and sweet without tipping into cloying. Everything you want and none of what’s good for you, it brought this boy to the yard.
- ✓Great vanilla milkshake.
- ✓Buns were great and expertly toasted.
- ✗Burger and nuggets are bland.
- ✗Fries are not made in-house.
Tips for Visiting
- Get the double patty since a single is mostly just bread and butter.
- Skip the fries or at least know they’re standard Lamb Weston shoestring fries, not house-made.
- Try the bacon cheeseburger instead for a fairer Au Cheval comparison than the plain single I got.
- The milkshake is the actual highlight and worth ordering regardless of what else you get.
- Skip the nuggets unless you’re ordering for a picky kid.
Because the person making that bold claim isn’t actually a chef. It’s a desperate attempt of validation, while trying to mimick the best of the best, and will always fall short.