Rusty Duck — Local services in Dexter

I should preface this review by saying it's 5:30 AM on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and I have spent 90% of the night in the bathroom.

My date and I walked into the Rusty Duck around 7:30 Friday night - surprised us to see it was far less than half full on a Friday night. Despite the lack of any crowd, it took us over 5 minutes to be seated. After being seated we sat for another 5 minutes before actually having to ask the bartender if she could possibly send our server to our table - we were hungry and thirsty.

Ordered some onion rings, a Coors Light and water for me, and my date had an iced tea. Got the onion rings before the beverages and to that our server said "The drinks should be up any time."

Really?

Do they brew the Coors Light, bottle it and then serve it? TEN MINUTES to get a water, iced tea and Coors Light. And we were literally sitting at a table right next to the bar.

We thought about walking out at least 4 times, but for some reason stayed.

I guess our mistake there.

None of the food tasted the best - I had a tenderloin and she had orange roughy. I didn't even bother trying to order another beer - as we didn't want to be there for two hours.

On the ride back to West Des Moines we both started feeling sick. That was the rest of the night. And now morning.

She called the manager about an hour after we got home. He said in no way did it have anything to do with their food. Had to be that we both drank too much. My ONE bottle of Coors Light and her iced tea must've put us over the top. What a jerk.

Guy never even apologized.

Hope he never feels this way after eating somewhere.

Obviously there is no recourse for us - with Rusty Duck management telling unsatisfied customers to go pound sand. Good thing for the internet though! Can spread my story as I lay here with a seemingly-perpetually upset stomach.

If you are thinking about driving from Des Moines over to Dexter to eat here - don't.

Spend your dining money somewhere much better in the metro and save your gas money. This place shouldn't even receive one star.

BUYER BEWARE at the...

The Rusty Duck can be an enigma, until you try the burgers. The location is in the middle of nowhere, Dexter, Iowa is a sleepy town along the forgotten White Pole highway, forty minutes from downtown. You don’t end up here by accident, you came here to find out what the hullaballo is about.

Normally a small town tavern is a quiet place, two or three couples eating at the tables and a few people watching a game at the bar. Not at the duck, unless the snow is flying, the weekend dinner hour is always packed. At least a week ahead of time, call ahead for a reservation! If you can’t get a seat, the Dexfield pub is another small town tavern about 10 minutes north of Dexter, in Redfield, and usually not as busy.

The ambiance at the Rusty Duck is dark, loud and crowded. No beers are on tap and the selection is very pedestrian, mostly American bottles and cans, but a few of the big-name microbrews like Boulevard and Fat Tire. But the full bar also offers lowbrow cocktails and a few top-shelf sippers if you ask. If you are expecting a small town diner menu, then your eyes are going to pop with $30 16oz ribeye entrees. But they also have more modestly priced sandwiches in the $10/$15 range, including the massive loaded burger. Not quite a food-challenge, this huge burger can be put down by a good sized guy, but it might be a stretch to also finish the fries. Everything we’ve had over the years was pretty darn good – maybe not the best we’ve ever had, but the Duck is worth the time and money to make the expedition to Dexter...

We traveled a bit outside of DSM for this one: The Rusty Duck - located in Dexter, just off of the historic White Pole Road.

Upon entering, they’ve got their specials on a white board. We were able to be seated right away. We started with the Breaded Mushrooms. You can tell they were hand-breaded, and the ranch that came with them was most likely homemade - and DELICIOUS 🤤 In looking at the menu, I see they have multiple de Burgo options, but with ribeye. We both got salads with creamy parm (homemade) and baked potatoes. The salad was legit - dressing was mixed in, which I love. Crunchy flat croutons reminiscent of Latin King’s salad. Normally I don’t order a baked potato, but it just felt right. I’m glad I did because there is something to be said about a good old fashioned baked potato with butter and sour cream.

Everything was fantastic, including the service. Dishes were cleared quickly, our drinks were never left unfilled - I can’t say enough about this cozy little place. If you don’t mind a bit of a drive (or an adventure, if you will) head out to Dexter for a meal prepared with love and...