Let me preface this review by saying this restaurant is not for people who want a traditional…read morerestaurant dining experience. Buffalo Trails/Cactus Room is a place for the adventurous, the courageous, and the patient. This is the kind of establishment where a French family of tourists walked in, took a quick look and immediately walked out. This is a restaurant that only has a hand written signboard for a menu and doesn't have a dessert menu at all. Instead, the proprietor announces the available desserts (all handmade by him) during the meal to the whole restaurant. This is a direct quote: "I made this pie for the first time ever today and I thought it was great" in reference to a lemon meringue pie if I remember correctly. This is a restaurant I'm not sure deserves a 1 star review or a 5 star review.
We were not intending to eat dinner here at all but we saw the "Bob's famous buffalo burgers" sign in the window and Nick at the smoothie place in the parking lot convinced us to go after we asked about the burgers.
The Trading Company/Restaurant is run by chef/owner "One-eyed" Bob (he unfortunately lost an eye in a car accident) and his one "waitress", dual citizen and possible felon* AJ, who, 5 minutes after we entered the establishment, had to run out to settle two arrest warrants relating to overdue traffic infractions. She provides basically no service - we never got water during our meal, she put in an extra burger order for us that we never ordered, and she disappeared for multiple long stretches (with Bob asking us where she went), etc. But I suppose that's forgivable given how flustered she was?
Bob, on the other hand, is exceptionally friendly and talks to every customer like an old friend. There were two other groups in the restaurant with us, one from the Netherlands, another from Michigan, and he treated all of us like old pals.
With all that being said, the food here is absolutely delicious. Everything is made fresh to order - the potatoes are hand cut and fried, the burger patties are hand shaped and charred, the vegetables are sliced to order, etc.
Buffalo Burger ($16.50) - Crisp lettuce, fresh sliced tomato and onion, and mayo makes a simple burger. The buffalo patty doesn't taste like any buffalo meat I've had in the past. It's barely gamey, but instead is mixed with seasoning that enhances the umami qualities to the max. It's served literally with a puddle of rendered fat/grease right on top of the patty. It's surprisingly great for dipping the fries in.
The fries are hand cut, single fried, and are surprisingly good. They are pale but have a lightly crisp exterior and tender interior. I don't normally like single fried fries (ala In-N-Out), but these are superior to those sad and limp fries. The fries are salted perfectly and have a flavor that can't be beat. I'm thinking Bob fries these in rendered beef trimmings or something because they are delicious. (5/5)
Wagyu Burger ($16.50) - We did not order this, but it was forced upon us and ended up on the bill afterwards. Everything in this burger is the same as the Buffalo other than the burger patty, which size-wise is smaller after cooking due to much of the fat rendering out. I was originally very skeptical of the concept of a wagyu burger - why waste such a perfectly good cut of steak just to grind it up into a burger? What happens to all the fat? Well now I know. This burger is super turbo charred, similar to the kind of charring that can be found in a perfectly lacy smashburger. The seasoning is different from the Buffalo burger, giving a superb umami and meaty quality that isn't too salty. It's a beefy and amazingly flavorful seasoning. I'm not sure what's in it but it gives so much umami and a huge burst of flavor with every bite. (5/5)
To be honest, this entire experience was so bizarre I'm not sure if it was actually real or just an act. Kind of like that restaurant that insults their patrons. But AJ's distress seemed to be too real to be an act.
Do not visit expecting normal table service. The burgers for all 3 parties arrived at the same time. We actually saw the party from Michigan walk into the restaurant 15-20 minutes before us while we were waiting for smoothies outside. The first party from the Netherlands went in even earlier. It took us 30 minutes to get our food, so those first customers were probably waiting close to an hour.
With all that being said, these were honestly some of the best burgers I've eaten in my entire life. I have no idea what Bob does to them to make them so delicious.
Bathrooms - One unisex room in the trading post/art section. I don't think it's cleaned very often.
*Note: According to her outbursts through the meal, and this is a direct quote: "I can't go back again, orange is not a good color on me"
