The Cosmos

Stopped into The Cosmos on Saturday afternoon during a mini-roadtrip. This is a quick jaunt from the freeway that seemed to have good reviews and saw other reviewers posting a cool space mural that I was dying to gaze upon while dining. Unfortunately for me, even though the place was empty of diners, upon entering into The Cosmos staff directed us down a dark hallway (walking right past all the empty tables, pinball machines, and past aforementioned *gorgeous* space mural, down a dark hallway and into what I can only describe as a dilapidated dive bar apparently called"The Zoobies"). So easily getting a single star for atmosphere on that one. I feel like I got 'bait and switched' Dirty black stained hardwood floors, paint chipped off the yellow stained walls (I suspect the original color was white and that time has taken it), horrendously cracked vinyl booth seats with little to no survivable padding (Nothing like old cracked vinyl seats on the back of your legs while you're wearing shorts on an 85 degree day) Here's the thing: I had to give it four stars still, because the bartender at The Zoobies was an *excellent* waitress to us, and the food and drinks were delicious. But they are charging astronomical Italian Bistro prices ($18 for like 8 bone in wings, $25 for pasta) while you're afraid of touching anything in the place because it looks/feels like you're dining in a junkyard. Definitely a place better for carryout rather than dining in.

My friend found out about this piece via an Instagram post on things to do in Lansing Michigan. The pizza looked eh in the video but I said, ok. Let's try it. Glad we did. The vibe, energy, and employees were all great. For the pizza we let the chef pick, just said vegetarian. It was definitely top notch! We both got salads and they were good. Also tried the fries in duck fat. We didn't notice anything special about the taste like we thought there would be being cooked in something unique. The popcorn reminded me of what I poop at home. I use salt, pepper, and garlic. They added truffle oil. It was tasty. Took the left over popcorn home (we had good amount of food) and ate it on the way back to Ohio. So there are at least 2 rooms and a large back patio. We sat in the room by the kitchen because the other room was pretty full and loud. This filled up to the longer we were there. There was a pinball game and some old video game in the center of the room. The TV was playing old MTV music videos. Big mural on the wall next to our table. The kitchen is open. Was fun watching the people in the kitchen working away doing their things as we waited for our food. Good company. Good food. Good experience.

We came here within a week of seeing this place on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The pictures of this place inside and out make it look so much better than it is. It is run down both inside and out. However, the food is amazing and most everything is from scratch. We had the SpaceBall pizza, garlic bread with balsamic drizzle, a cherry coke (alcoholic), and a beer. The food and service were awesome. Having said that, it wouldn't be my first choice the next time we discuss getting food. The location in town is not great. It is a strange thing to say the food was great but wouldn't choose it over something else. I greatly appreciate the time in preparation for the ingredients. I loved the fact there is a lot of care for the quality of food. It was nice to be able to pay our bill immediately on out phones.