Maximus Kono (C’30) is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences studying biology on the premed track. Originally from Texas, he moved to DC the year before coming to Georgetown. He enjoys working out and exploring the greater DC area.
Georgetown has a bunch of dining options, but the biggest (and most iconic) is Leo’s. Leo’s has two floors. A bottom floor, which has a variety of buffet-style stations, and a top floor, which has a number of more restaurant-like stations. It’s important to note that, excluding one option, everything, top and bottom floor, requires meal swipes, which freshmen get an infinite number of.
I personally enjoy Leo’s the most out of the on-campus dining options, so I thought I should compile a list of my top eats from this week.
Whisk Chocolate Cake
I’m not a big coffee or tea guy, so when I saw the line for Whisk, I wasn’t really feeling it. However, all changed when I had this chocolate cake for the first time. This cake is probably the best-tasting sweet treat on campus. And if you’re like me and don’t order coffee, you don’t have to wait for your order, since the cake is usually pre-sliced and boxed.
Sazon 
Sazon is probably the best food spot at Leo’s. It’s tasty, has good variety and is usually pretty fast. This week I got two bowls. The first was chicken, rice and queso. This is my go-to order, and I probably get it three times a week. The second bowl included white rice, chicken, beef and corn.
The corn and beef are examples of what I call “limited edition” items, which are basically things that are rotated in and out depending on the day and time. A couple of other examples include carne asada, chipotle mayo and pulled pork.
Five Spice
If you asked me for the best spot at Leo’s, I’d say Sazón; but if you asked me for the tastiest spot at Leo’s, I’d say Five Spice. The line is long, but it’s long for a reason. I got yakisoba noodles, chicken and Korean BBQ sauce. And when I say this is good, I mean it. If the line is short or if you have the time, Five Spice is almost unbeatable.
Sushi Do
Sushi Do is the only meal exchange option at Leo’s. This means that it uses up one of a set number of meal exchanges you get a week (14 for most freshmen). Sushi Do is usually the fastest option you can get. I’m allergic to avocado, so options are limited at Sushi Do, but I do have a favorite option: the spicy salmon roll. This roll has salmon, white rice, seaweed and cucumber, and you can also get soy sauce on the side. For dining hall sushi, it’s surprisingly good and has the added benefit of no avocado, which means I can eat it worry-free.
Olive Branch
The runner-up for fastest option at Leo’s has to be Olive Branch. I usually come here when I’m low on time. The chicken shawarma is pretty tasty, but I much prefer the lamb gyro as it’s much more tender and better tasting IMO. I’d also recommend the pita and onions as they’re absolutely fantastic, though you can get several other options such as tomatoes and hummus.
Coffee Cake – Downstairs Leo’s
I’m not going to lie, I’m not a big downstairs Leo’s guy. But after my exam on Friday, I didn’t really feel like going to Epis, so I decided to try Leo’s. I got a slice of coffee cake that was pretty good. It wasn’t too dry and had a decent amount of cinnamon. I’m not a big breakfast food guy, so I can’t speak on the rest of Leo’s breakfast, but at the very least the cake is good.
National Cheeseburger Day
September 18th was National Cheeseburger Day, so Leo’s hosted a little burger event. They had three kinds of burgers: mushroom, falafel and a classic cheeseburger. There were also French fries, though they did go pretty quickly. Overall, I’d say this was a solid meal, nothing crazy, but a burger and fries is a burger and fries.
Keep in mind that this is just a couple of the options at Leo’s, which is just one of the dining halls on campus. There are a half dozen other meal exchange and dining dollars options on campus that you can enjoy. That being said, if your meal exchanges ever run dry, or if you want some variety in your life, Leo’s is always there.
