The Redemption Shoe: Lindsay’s Restaurant

Lindsay's Restaurant is one of eateries located in the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in downtown Springfield. Lindsay’s is named after the famous poet Vachel Lindsay, who was born in Springfield, IL. Lindsay’s is one of the more upper scale restaurants on our Quest, and one of the very few places we were able use a cloth napkin and quality silverware. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant is casual, but a little bit of class can go a long way. Horseshoes are served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so all hotel guests or visitors can enjoy a horseshoe from 6:30 am-10 pm. Our original intention was to review another breakfast shoe at Lindsay’s, but after some discussion, we decided that a regular horseshoe would be a much better addition to the Quest. Our reason can be justified by a quick rehashing of the 2009 World Horseshoe Cook-off controversy.


In August 2009, Springfield, Illinois was host to the 100th Annual National Horseshoe Pitchers Association World Championship, but more importantly, was also the site of the 1st ever World Horseshoe Cook-off. The cook-off featured 9 restaurants from around the area, and pitted each horseshoe against one another to take home the title of world’s best. Lindsay’s horseshoe was named as “best overall horseshoe”, but was later disqualified for not preparing the horseshoe at the judging site. Lindsay’s Restaurant is located one block from the judging area, so they elected to assemble the horseshoe within its own kitchen and bring the completed horseshoe to the competition. The 1st ever World Horseshoe Cook-off ended in controversy and the full story can be read at the SJ-R.


Lindsay’s horseshoe was once crowned the best overall horseshoe in the world, and the Horseshoe Quest of 2011 has allowed them a chance at redemption. Lindsay’s is now competing for the coveted title of “Best on the Quest”. Now, without further ado, let’s get to the review.


Lindsay’s features only three meat choices for the horseshoe: hamburger, turkey, or ham; but with a big smile and a friendly waitress, you might just be able to get some bacon on the shoe as well. The horseshoe was definitely good, but unfortunately for Lindsay’s; it is not the best overall horseshoe on our Quest. On the plus side, the french fries on the horseshoe were fantastic, and are currently tied for the highest score. The fries were natural cut and still had some of the potato skin left on the sides. They were freshly prepared, so the crispiness and temperature definitely boosted the score. The hamburger was good quality and with the addition of bacon, we felt comfortable awarding the meat with a pretty solid rating. The burger was not the best one we have had throughout the Quest, but it was good enough to earn its rating. The cheese sauce was a yellow sauce, but it was able to hold its weight in this horseshoe. The sauce had a nice mild flavor and complemented the fries very well. The sauce by itself may not win any awards on our Quest, but the combination of the cheese sauce and the fries is certainly enjoyable. Lindsay’s makes a pretty good overall horseshoe, but it doesn’t make the “Best on the Quest”. Lindsay’s may not take home a title, but they should feel proud of the horseshoe that they entered. Hopefully that is enough redemption for Lindsay’s Restaurant.

Cheese: 83
Meat: 85
Fries: 90
Overall Score: 84