Traildust Steakhouse Saloon — Restaurant in Lindsay

Ordered takeout for a weekday lunch because sometimes I like to treat myself to disappointment. Didn’t try the steak, so this review might get a glow-up later if that turns out to be the hero of the story.

I got the lunch shrimp special with mashed potatoes and brown gravy, plus a side of beans. The shrimp were so small I thought they might still be in training. A little overcooked too, but the seasoning had a nice kick—like they tried. They came with this mystery sauce that I wanted to like, but it was sweet in a way that made me question if I ordered dessert shrimp by accident.

Mashed potatoes were lumpy. Not just a little lumpy—like “some assembly required” lumpy. I’m a smooth mash guy, so these didn’t do it for me. Brown gravy had turned into something gelatinous by the time I got home. Not sure if it was gravy or gravy’s ghost. Again, could be on me for not eating it right away.

The beans were just kind of there. Like background actors in a movie. Present, but forgettable. For a steakhouse, I expected more bean swagger.

My wife got the chicken Caesar salad and said it was good. Chicken looked cooked right, no issues there. Shoutout to her for choosing the only thing that worked.

To-go packaging was solid—nothing leaked, exploded, or got weird in the bag. Appreciate that.

The woman at the front was super nice and fast. Meanwhile, the bartender was in the middle of laying down the law on a couple of rude customers. I caught her saying something like “I’d love for y’all to stay, but you’re being rude” and honestly I was impressed. Would’ve given her a standing ovation if I wasn’t holding mashed potato soup.

The vibe inside seemed cool though, so I’ll probably come back and try the steak. Hopefully the main character shows...

Tonight was the worst kitchen experience that I can remember ever having, hands down anywhere. Let me start off by saying our waitress was busting her butt and did a great job. It took us 1 hr and 25 mins to get 6 steaks and a burger. Yes, you read that right! 1 hr and 25 mins for 6 steaks and a burger. There was about 5-6 people at the bar, 3 booths of couples and we were the only table in the place with someone sitting down. So being busy was not the problem. We placed our order within 10 mins of being there and from that point it took 1 hr and 25 mins. Food was decent but I ordered my steak medium and it came out med well and over cooked. It took 1 hr 45 mins to get a small bowl of steamed vegetables for the toddler that was in our group. Really?? A hour and 45 mins for a bowl of steamed veggies. They took off $30 from the bill but this is the second time this has happened to us since they have been opened. First time we just left after an hour. It will be a long time, if ever, before we...

These high reviews confuse me or maybe it was our experience but here is one opinion to consider. On the plus side, service was good. Other than that, everything cooked was awful. Started with the fried pickles and hay stacks (fried jalapeño strips). They need to select fresh produce and wash it well before cooking. Then they need to change the dirty oil used to fry food. Our table ordered various steaks and hamburgers. None were cooked properly. Steaks were either overcooked or very undercooked. The hamburger was burned on the outside with a horrible charred flavor then get this, RAW on the inside. How do you even do that? The bun was burned also. All of the produce on the burger was not fresh nor washed properly. Management really needs to take a look at what's going on in the kitchen. Needless to say way overpriced for a horrible meal. Highly recommend skipping this place and going just 4 more miles down the road to Krootz. They have much better food. Heck McDonalds...