Inmate: Mathison, Clifton C.

Inmate number: 2526-134

Location: Shakopee County Prison, Minnesota

Crime: 12 counts murder first degree

Up in Minnesota, where I’m from, we do 3 things right: malls, having lakes, and juicy Lucy’s. For my last meal on death row, then, I decided to get a juicy Lucy at a little joint called Indigo Palette on 4th Street in Sioux City, Iowa. A lot of folk around town said that it was like a small little coffee shop that sells artwork out of it but had a few pretty good food items, so I decided what the hell, it can’t be that bad.

The joint was in the heart of Sioux City’s little hotbed for restaurants and bars. Without the art in the window, it’d be kind of easy to miss. When you first walk in, you don’t really notice that it’s a place to eat; all you see are paintings, a little gift shop counter, and a bar and a few tables. Walking towards the back, though, where we sat was the kitchen window and a stage area set up for live music and open mic nights. The atmosphere definitely felt coffee shop-esque, but it was far different than any Caribou or Tim Hortons.

Artwork for sale at Indigo Palette

I sat down at the table and looked over the beer menu and was surprised to see they had a pretty decent selection. I saw a Founder’s Dirty Bastard on the menu and thought I’d give it a try. My last victim called me a dirty bastard so it brought back fond memories. It was a scotch ale with a nice bold almost porter-like flavor.

Dirty Bastard

I gave a good look at the lunch menu and was sort of shocked to see they had a fair variety of sandwiches and dishes. I saw the Indigo Burger, which is essentially a juicy Lucy or a burger with the cheese and toppings in the middle of the burger, and felt right at home. I ordered it with feta cheese and mushrooms and a side order of onion chips.

The waitress, who seemed like she was the mother of the other two waitresses, seemed friendly enough. When I got my burger and bit into it, though, I noticed that I did not get what I ordered. The relatively undercooked burger contained cheddar cheese instead of my feta and mushrooms. It tasted very generic and lacked efficient toppings, especially onion. This was pretty disappointing, especially considering it was the last meal of a fierce killer. Although I’m ruthless and have nothing to lose, I decided to spare her because the onion chips were tasty. The breading was done very well. It was a nice golden brown, well seasoned, and had just the right amount of grease. I had ranch dipping sauce to go with them (though I could tell it was from a hidden valley packet) and sucked them up. They were so tasty that I ordered another side of them.

The burger that I didn’t order

Fortunately, the price was fair because the food was pretty generic. The atmosphere was nice and you could buy cool artwork there, but overall it was just average.