Mark's Watershed on the corner of Lake Lansing and Marsh Roads in Haslett.
This was our second attempt at Mark’s Watershed. A few months ago, we tried to stop in for lunch on a Saturday afternoon only to find the building locked up. We were laying around watching college football (yes, J likes to watch football and we got a double header today with MSU playing early and U of Illinois playing late) and kind of lost track of time. A little after 7:00, I asked what she wanted to do for dinner. We had a late lunch at Menna’s Joint downtown (review HERE), so a dinner after 8:00 didn’t seem that bad.
Mark’s Watershed sits on the corner of Marsh and Lake Lansing Road. Lake Lansing is just over a block away. We came from Lake Lansing road which is where the parking lot actually is. There was no doubt that they were open this time. The parking lot was packed. We made our way inside to the waiting area. There was a sign on the hostess station to seat yourself, so we stepped into the dining room to find a table. It’s not a huge space. There are less than 20 tables. There are booths along each wall. The booths are made out of wood planks and they are really high backed. There’s no worry about not having enough privacy.
After a few minutes, a waitress notices us and brings over menus. The menu isn’t quite as big as the one I could find on-line (and linked to at the top of this review), but most of the items are there. We started with an order of Shed Chips. The menu describes them as “sliced russet potatoes, seasoned, fried and served with chunky bleu cheese dressing.” I assumed they would be more like fries, but really, they were homemade potato chips and they were delicious. The bleu cheese was served on the side, wasn’t really chunky, and there wasn’t a whole lot there. The chips stood on their own. Good starter.
For dinner, J ordered the blackened chicken wrap. She gets angry when places call something blackened chicken when it’s really bronzed chicken. She used to get blackened chicken at a Creole place when she lived in Idaho Falls and she compares every attempt to that place. This passed the test. It was authentic blackened chicken. It had a great spice flavor and it was even a little hot. The wrap also contained all the usual suspects with a chicken wrap. She asked to leave the tomatoes off, but got them anyway. The waitress also forgot the side of ranch, but retrieved it from the kitchen quickly after J asked. Her wrap should have came with fries, but since we ordered the appetizer, she told the waitress she didn’t want any. At that point, the waitress offered cole slaw or potato salad instead, so she got a side of coleslaw. It was a mayo based slaw which she isn’t a fan of so she only had a few bites.
Mark's Watershed in Haslett near Lake Lansing.
I ordered the Shed burger. The burger was a 1/3 lb and it was fresh ground meat. I ordered it medium and it came out with just a hint of pink in the middle. It wasn’t a bloody pink or anything that would cause concern. It was a perfectly done medium with a lot of flavor. The burger was broiled instead of grilled so it wasn’t greasy, but still had a lot of flavor. I didn’t see the option to add cheese and I forgot to ask, so when I got the burger, it was just a burger. It was served with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle, but I took those off. My sandwich also came with the choice of fries or chips. Like I mentioned earlier, I assumed the Shed chips were more like fries so I ordered chips. I ended up eating A LOT of their chips which was fine with me. Like I said, they were really good.
Our bill was just under $25. We noticed our waitress was a little frazzled and running around a lot. When she brought the check, she thanked us for being so patient with her. One of their waitresses had a medical problem earlier in the night and they were left short handed. We didn’t really notice. There was one time I sat there with an empty glass for a while, but other than that, we didn’t notice anything that would have made us thought there was a problem. Our meal was up pretty quick and once we started getting food, our drinks stayed full.
I’m glad we went back to Mark’s. I had heard it was kind of a hidden gem in Haslett and it really is. It’s a great neighborhood bar and reminds me of a few places back home. The atmosphere is really stripped down with the exposed ceilings and a dining room that doubles as a dance floor. Mark’s is definitely worth the trip.
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Since this review was written, the name has been changed to The Watershed. The menu also looks like it has been changed. The website and menu linked above are for the new menu. If we ever get back out there, I will write a new review.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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