131 Sportsbar & Lounge
1123 129th AvenueEveryone has to work a couple of holiday’s every year.
My work is pretty good about dividing up the holiday shifts. At minimum, everyone has to work at least one of the “summer” holidays and one of the “winter” holidays.
I put my first preference to work July 4th. It was the middle of the week this year and I’d rather have the long weekends at Memorial Day and Labor Day.
I had a pretty simple day working out of the Grand Rapids office on the 4th. I had a quick turnaround though due a sick call for the overnight shift on the 5th. I offered to take it so I could get off by about noon on Friday and spend the rest of the weekend at the lake.
I didn’t want to put a lot of thought in to dinner because I was pretty much going to have to drive back to Kalamazoo, go to bed, and then drive back to Grand Rapids at 2:30 in the morning.
I knew there wasn’t going to be a lot open and I didn’t want to put much effort in to it. But I knew Gun Lake Casino would be open so I decided to eat at one of their restaurants.
My pick was 131 Sportsbar & Lounge inside the Gun Lake Casino on 129th near the US-131 interchange near Wayland Township. The casino itself is actually on the Match-E-Be-Nash-She Wish Band of Potawatomie Reservation but that reservation is surrounded by Wayland Township. The restaurants are all off the casino floors but there are signs on the side of the building facing 129th Avenue advertising what’s hiding inside. There is a small parking lot in front of the building and I got pretty lucky finding a spot open right in front of the main entrance. Otherwise, there are valet and parking ramp options.
The 131 Sportsbar and Lounge is one of five dining options in the casino. The sports bar is on the west side of the main casino building. When you enter through the front entrance off 129th Avenue, you’ll go to your left and find a pretty impressive entrance to the restaurant. There’s is a large bar that has gaming machines on the side still on the casino floor and a wall of TV’s above it.
There was a little bit of a wait on the hostess who was seating people inside the restaurant. There is a rather large dining room with more large TV’s. I was planning to ask to just sit at the bar but the purple lighting in the space really bothered me.
I asked if I could sit outside on the patio. It was a nice night and the lighting was much more tolerable. The host took me to a table to a really great, relaxed patio area with metal furniture and lawn games to pass the time. The TV’s out here weren’t tuned ot any sporting events. They mostly just played ads for the casino. This is much more of a hangout with friends space than a dine alone space but the purple lights inside were really off putting. Since this was an option, I was just the weird guy who dined alone outside.
It took the server a few minutes to get to me but I was her only table outside. When she came over, I put in an order for a Two Hearted right away. It was definitely a sip a beer on the patio kind of night.
The menu is typical sports bar. Wings, burgers, pizzas, etc. I was leaning towards wings but then went with a burger when it came time to actually put the order in.
I picked the Texas Two Step. The presentation on this burger is something to see. The sandwich is a special blend burger patty topped with pulled pork, bacon, BBQ sauce, and two giant fried onion rings. I actually felt a little bad about wasting the onion rings on this burger because they looked delicious…but I don’t like onions. I ordered this burger because it was the same price as adding bacon to the All-American burger plus I got pulled pork and BBQ sauce instead of a garlic mayo. I knew I wasn’t going to eat the onion rings. I also didn’t know there were two of them. I just put them to the side and picked up what was left of the sandwich. It was way better than I was expecting for a casino meal. Typically, meals at casinos are made quickly and cheaply then overpriced. That was not the case. This burger was right up there with any burger I’ve gotten from a comparable sports bar. The meat was tender and juicy (both the burger and pork) and the bacon was super crispy. Definitely a solid burger…I just wish I didn’t waste the two onion rings.
The sandwich came with some heavily seasoned thick cut fries. These were really good also. Definitely not the typical frozen restaurant supply fry. They had a really soft, light, fluffy inside and a crispy, salty exterior. I’ve made these kind of fries at home by blanching the potato in water with baking soda then frying it. Not sure if that’s what’s done here but they were also very tasty.
It was a holiday and I was still kind of thirsty so I ordered a second Two-Hearted when the waitress came over to check on me. Seriously, it was a really great night to sit out on the patio in Allegan County.
The cost for my meal, with two beers, was just a little over $30.
I was really surprised at how much I liked 131 Sportsbar and Lounge. It has been years since I’ve been to Gun Lake Casino…I’m not a gambler. The last time we ate there was way back in 2012 not long after the casino opened. We ate at the now closed Sandhill Cafe. There’s been sooooo much work done to the place since then. It’s almost unrecognizable from when it first opened. I really enjoyed my meal and now really want to get back there and try some of the other restaurants. 131 Sportsbar and Lounge is definitely a place to find in this area. You don’t have to gamble nor do you have to deal with smoke at the casino anymore. It’s an enjoyable place to relax with a beer and a solid meal.
SW Michigan Dining 