Burgers with Buck: Leon's

DECATUR, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Ryan and Mark Gallagher are not from Atlanta, but they get it.

LEONs Full Service, their Downtown Decatur GastroPub, is not named after either of them or a long lost family member. It is named for the unique way in which Atlanta natives pronounce the name of the street on which it sits. Ponce de Leon.

While the road may be named for the Spanish explorer and conquistador from the 15th and 16th centuries, Juan Ponce de León (commonly pronounced pons day lee-un), the Atlanta pronunciation is, let’s just say . . . unique. In Atlanta, that important artery that links Atlanta, Decatur, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain is commonly pronounced Ponce Duh Lee-ahn, and it is in honor of that bit of local flavor that the name LEONs was born. And from this Atlanta native, kudos to the Gallagher brothers for acclimating.

Sidebar, it is also acceptable to refer to it as simply Ponce, and in certain situations, even PDL works.

Now that we’ve gotten the educational part of the segment out of the way, let’s talk about the star of the show, LEONs Burger. There’s only one on the menu, and when you taste it you will know why.

It’s a steakhouse-style burger that starts with Painted Hills, pasture raised, grass-fed beef that is seasoned with salt, pepper and a dusting of paprika. They grill it to perfection, add black pepper mayo, caramelized onions, and sautéed mushrooms. Then they put all of that on a delicious Alon’s Bakery fresh baked bun and serve it with their Belgian style frites with 12 different sauce options.

It’s delicious! And messy.

Enjoy! I certainly did.

For more information on LEONs Full Service, including the menu and hours of operation, go to their website, https://www.leonsfullservice.com/ . And, as always, if you have a favorite burger that you would like to see featured on, tell me about it on https://www.facebook.com/BuckFOX5 or https://twitter.com/BuckFOX5, and don't forget to use the hash tag #BurgersWithBuck and/or #BWB.