Mid-Michigan Dining

• 310 E. Jolly Rd.
• Lansing, MI 48019
• (517) 394-3447
• No Known Website
• Menu (not everything served in bar)

The entrance for Sammy's Bar & Grill in Lansing on Jolly Rd.

After not getting service at Auggie’s Grille and Pub (review HERE), we still needed a place to get a burger.  Sammy’s is a place I have driven  by many times and always been curious about.  You can kind of see their patio from Jolly Road and it’s always looked like a fun place.  November is too cold for a patio, but usually places that put that much effort into outdoor drinking have a good indoor space as well.

Sammy’s was a little confusing.  Apparently, there’s a bar and a restaurant and they don’t serve the same things.  We entered through the bar, but right away, there’s a hallway leading back to the restaurant.  I just assumed they the same place, but the back would be more family friendly.  I wanted to watch the end of the Iowa/Penn State game so I said “let’s sit in the bar.”  After sitting for a few minutes, a waitress came over and asked about drinks.  When we said we wanted Pepsi, she assumed we wanted menus.

When the drinks came, J wasn’t quite ready to order so we asked for a few more minutes.  A few more minutes turned into quite a few more minutes. The waitress was only feet away at the bar, but never turned around to see we were ready.  Finally, she did and came over to take our order.  There wasn’t a lot that looked good to J on the menu, but she decided on the Patio Ham and Cheese sandwich.  The sandwich was a grilled ham and cheese on Texas Toast.  The sandwich was big and had a lot of ham.  She said it was a little salty.  The sandwich came with fries and they filled the plate.  They were out of the bag, but crispy.  After being a little aprehensive at the beginning of the meal, I think everything turned out ok.

The sign for Sammy's Lounge I always drive by on Jolly Rd.

I was hungry.  I had only had a few little snacks all day and I wanted a burger.  I noticed a burger on the menu called the “Big Mac Daddy.”   This burger was 3/4 of a pound with American, Swiss, and Cheddar cheese.  The menu also said “deluxe” under the description, but didn’t describe what deluxe was.  I ordered it and my eyes got wide when it was set down in front of me.  The patty was huge which I expected.  “Deluxe” meant tomato, lettuce, pickles, and onion which I could easily pick off, but it also meant Mayo.  Lots of mayo.  That’s a little harder to get off.  I got all the garden stuff off then grabbed a napkin and started wiping mayo.  Most of it came off so everything was ok.  The burger wasn’t served on a hamburger bun.  It was sliced on an angle and served on a sub bun.  This burger was so big I had a hard time getting it in my mouth.  I hate to say I almost got defeated, but it was real close.  The burger was obviously fresh and really good, but the last few bites were forced.  My pride got in the way of common sense and I kept eating until it was gone even though I was full after about 3/4 of the way.

Sammy’s was good.  It was a great space.  There’s a huge, almost figure 8 shaped bar in the middle and there were plenty of TV’s to watch a game.  The reciept said they do Karaoke on Thursday and Saturday, so I have a feeling we will be back.  Next time, maybe we’ll head into the restaurant to see what that’s like before heading to the bar for a beer or two.