Trail Stop Tavern — Restaurant in Eagan

Happy Trails

With very little to enjoy in my little town of Rosemount, my wife and I, and most of my neighbors, venture out to find tasty food that is enjoyable and worth eating. The newest edition is a quick drive north on a trail to a happy place, the type of happy place Roy Rodgers himself might be signing about? Maybe? Probably not, but if he was alive he would enjoy the burgers coming from this place!

The trail is Robert Trail and the new establishment is Trail Stop Tavern. And yes, as I just alluded to, is serving some very delicious burgers, burgers the previous occupants couldn't deliver, that's for sure. After a co-worker told me I needed to check this place out, I took a look at the menu to see what types of food they would be serving. Burgers and Juicy's caught my eye and on Wednesday nights, you can make your own burger for seven bucks (up to two toppings and choice of tater).

I went for a spicy little number - jalapenos and cheddar cheese, served medium and with a side of fries. I'll be honest, I was expecting to receive a traditional crappy fry from a giant frozen brown bag like you'll find at most places comparable to the Trail Stop. Instead, out came a fry that could potentially compete with the State Fair French Fry. Always a positive to receive quality fries with your meal, but this is about burgers!

My creation could easily take down the competition within the Eagan, IGH, Rosemount, Apple Valley area and I think I've finally found a burger joint I can travel 5 minutes to instead of the longer commutes we typically have to, to enjoy some of our favorites. My wife on the other hand decided to go for a traditional California setup and she too enjoyed her burger. Her side was tots and lets face it, tots are tots unless you make them homemade like Lucky's 13.

Will I be going back to try their juicy's? Of course! I gotta see if they can out perform the competition in the juicy department as well. As for other dishes I'm interested in checking out; I wouldn't mind taking a stab at their wings - I was told all their sauces are homemade instead of just sing something from a bottle. Also, I think they should remove the steak sandwich and take a stab at Philly's. I haven't had the sandwich, I just think they have the potential (with their kitchen staff) to nail it!

So, until we meet again Trail Stop - Happy trails to you, I'll keep smilin' until then! Happy trails to the rest of you, maybe you'll run into your favorite foodie and we can chat about our love for foods. Check out the Trail Stop Tavern, I don't think you'll be...

Trail Stop Tavern was a big surprise when my buddy and I went there on kinda a whim (we were both driving in that area) on a sleepy Sunday night. Both of us needed a break after a long weekend, and also needed just a casual, laid-back kind of relaxing place on this night.

Trail Stop was a perfect choice for this! It was a Tuesday night, and we expected the place to be deserted, wow were we surprised! The inside bar/restaurant was jammed, and the country music was blasting. It had a great and relaxing "vibe", though "maybe" the country music might have been a "bit" too loud for my tastes (not much of a country western guy, right?).

The menu was simple bar fare, and the beer n(served in enormous 20 oz sizes) was cold and reasonably priced. We were absolutely shocked to discover that Trail Stop is open till 1 am on some nights, and even 2 am on other nights (check their schedule first). WOW, we've gotten so used to bars closing at 9 PM or maybe 10 PM during the COVID times, but not at Trail Stop. No masks were seen in the entire establishment.

We had two recommended apps with our beers - the Wisconsin deep fried cheese curds served with a wonderful jelly, and the deep fried pickles. The pickles were FANTASTIC, and came crunchy and salty and perfect with the beers. Same for the curds - golden brown and perfectly fried. No calories in either of them, too! haha, yeah right, JUST kidding.

The interior is casual, with a large center bar, and high tops all around. The ceiling was a surprise to me too - it was an old tin ceiling tiles. Really fun interior. But again, casual!

Our server and the hostess were very attentive, and helpful to us noobies. Their recommendations were spot on perfect. The beer selection is a bit "simple" for our old-age tastes, we would like to have seen a decent porter and a couple more tap lines for a few more options, but meh, the beer was cold, and that was good enough for me.

High marks for the casual atmosphere, easy access to Highway 3 in Eagan, large parking lot, simple but decent menu, and great staff. We'll be back to Trail Stop! Especially if they turn down the...

I stopped by last night around 8:15 pm. I sat at the bar. A female bartender (longer blonde hair, 30’s?) approached me with a bottle of Mich Ultra in her hand and said “I remember you, you drink Ultra” and began to put it down in front of me. I said I wasn’t sure yet and asked if there were any beer specials/late night happy hour. She put the bottle down behind the bar, wheeled around and walked away. She ignored me for a couple of minutes…during which I took out some $ to play an etab machine.

When she finally came back I told her I would take the Ultra (seemed easiest since it seemed clear she had some sort of issue with me or was having a bad day) and an etab machine. She put the beer down, grabbed my etab money and said that she remembered me because last time I was in I only left her a quarter as a tip! She said she remembered me by my WE fest shirt and quarter tip. I told her that she was wrong, that I’ve never left just a quarter tip and hadn’t been in to this bar for many months. She wheeled around, threw an etab machine in front of me and went to put my money on the machine. When she returned I tried to explain that she was mistaken, I hadn’t been into the bar for many months (and the last time I was there I had a male bartender) but she wouldn’t hear it. She was very rude and demanded that she was right.

I cashed out the money I had just put on the etab machine, paid for my beer which I had only two sips from, for some reason tipped her $1.25, and walked out. VERY bad experience totally due to the bartender!

I’ve been to this bar about 5 times since it opened many years ago. There are many bars in Eagan and based on this experience, there is no reason for me or my friends to go back...