OK, so I’ve spent our day playing our new Wii. Before I knew it, it was dinner time and I had nothing laid out or any energy to actually cook a meal. I went and picked my girlfriend up from work and decided we needed a night out. I had drove by Leo’s Lodge several times and figured it was time to actually stop in.
The decor of Leo’s should be pretty obvious from the name. It’s a lodge. Very cool rustic feel with a faux log cabing design. When you walk in, you sort of walk into a small dining room connected to the bar. There are a few tables and a pool table. We started to head that way, but my girlfriend called an audible at the last minute and we went over to the other dining room which was no smoking. We took a seat right in front of a big screen TV. If we played the stock market, we could have gotten caught up during dinner as they had CNBC on that particular TV. First thing we both noticed was the chairs. It was a very cool design with a woven rope seat and back on a rustic wood frame. Very cool addition to the log cabin feel.
The waitress came over with menus and took our drink orders. After getting our Pepsi’s she came back for meal orders. The menu promises to give you a taste of Michigan’s Upper Pennisula without having to go 
there. I got the Houghton Hancock Burger (named after the cities in Michigan’s UP). The 1/2lb of fresh hamburger come topped with smoked ham and cheddar cheese on a delicious fresh bun. I took one bite, set the sandwich down and declared it the best burger I’ve had so far in Lansing. The meat was cooked perfectly medium. It was juicy and falling apart in my hands. The fresh meat makes so much difference. The ham gave the sandwich a little bit of a salty taste and the bun was flaky and delicious. When I judge “best hamburger” my judgement is based on the meat alone. The burger at Leo’s Lodge would have been good all by itself without the cheese, without the ham, and without the bun. The sandwich also came with an order of fresh cut fries. Not only did I get a top-notch burger, but they also took the extra three seconds and cut their own fries. This was one of the best meals I’ve had at a pub in quite a long time. Everything I put in my mouth was great.
My girlfriend ordered the Buffalo Chicken Wrap. The tomato-basil wrap was filled with crispy pieces of chicken, lettuce, cheddar, jack cheese, and ranch dressing. The waitress asked if she wanted it hot. Hot is the chicken pieces covered in Frank’s Red Hot sauce. She asked me if that was super hot. I said no and she ordered it hot. Her meal came with chips, but she added fries for an extra buck. The thing she was impressed with was the way the wrap actually stayed wrapped. Usually when she gets to the end of each half, the wrap starts coming undone and the fillings go everywhere. That didn’t happen with this one until she said it outloud. Then, as if on cue, the wrap fell apart. I asked about the chicken and she said it was spicy but not really hot.
We were both “starving” when we went in and both meals were enough to satisfy. She had a few fries left that I picked over. Neither of us left hungry. There are a lot of other interesting things on Leo’s menu. The venison burger jumped out at me, but I wasn’t in the mood to be adventerous. Maybe next time. The pizza’s that went out looked good and a table behind us had an order of nachos that looked mouthwatering. I think it really goes without saying that we both left really happy with our meals and with Leo’s overall. Our bill was only $15 for the two meals. I don’t know if it was a mistake or it’s always like this, but there was no charge on our bill for drinks which helped keep the overall price down. The dining room was pretty full for a Wednesday night, but the staff stayed on top of it and the kitchen kept cranking out dishes. We were probably on there for a half hour and had a delicious meal. I’m now looking forward to checking out the “brother” restaurant Leo’s Outpost on Pennsylvania.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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