The Ore Cart Steakhouse and Red Dirt Saloon

Great burger, fries and salad. Homemade salad dressings. SUPER nice employees. Fun, rustic, historic enviroment. The bathrooms could of used some attention. Recommend to everyone.

Great French dip sandwiches. The atmosphere is beautiful and rustic. The service is friendly and attentive.

This is your typical grill/​bar. Casual, and comfortable. The back of the facility is the restaurant portions, and though it’s small, it feels right.
They serve an enormous burger, racks of ribs, etc. From what I saw, the frequenters tend to be an older, but fun crowd. The workers were extremely friendly too. Would recommend.

Christine cooked me an «American Fire Burger» with jalapenos and sweet brown onions harvested from her garden. The fries were hot, fresh and large, the O’doul’s Amber refreshing. Since I was dining, I stayed in the dining room, but the bar sounded lots more fun, even at 2 PM on a Sunday. The building has been here since 1857, survived at least three forest fires and many econonomic ups and downs. The grill in the Ore Cart is a converted ore cart out of a local mine. The bar is full of local memorabilia. The spirit of the Gold Rush has not left Foresthill.
Bobbie Mae and Momma Laurie, newest owner/​managers forged by years of restaurant work on the Foresthill Divide have a system of service cooking. Ore Cart staff serve, cook, etc., create personal items supplementing the menu to create personal clientele. If you like traditional grill food served in a historic venue, this is a good place for a meal.

The saying «Go big or go home» is very much in fashion at the ‘ol Ore Cart Steakhouse and Saloon.
They have the biggest burger I have ever seen and a rack of ribs to get lost in for days!
The true value of this little spot is the location. It is located in wonderful Foresthill; just off of one of the best scenic drives in the country.
The food was always satisfying. Full flavor, rich home done buns and breads. Fresh salad. large portions of everything. Service is fine and gets better as they recognize you. The history in this building alone is fascinating.
Im a fan, come hungry.

this by far was one of the worst places i have eaten at. the biscuits n gravey came out cold the county potatoes were like mini carcoal the waiter was friendly the owners/​cooks were rude there was a couple that came in sat ten minutes wanted to eat lunch they had signs up for tri tip sandwhiches they told them no only breakfast on sundays the couple leeft you could hear the waiter telling them that more people walked out there comments were to the fact we dont care its only breakfast on sundays there breakfasts was only eggs or an omlette no chicken fried steak nothing but eggs bacon or sausage… the regs were getting there own food i will we left most food on our plates paid and left to get edable food down the hill. would have been better off eating at subway in town than that hell hole NEVER AGAIN

Stopped in for lunch this Sunday, we were immediately greeted by our server we a happy hello and smile. There were two lunch specials, but I chose to order off of the lunch menu. I had the Mahi Mahi fish tacos, they were lightly battered and served on crisp tortillas, fresh cabbage, diced tomatoes and a sauce drizzled over the top. They were served a la carte but even though our sweet server told me they were a generous serving I couldn’t resist to order a side of their house French Fries, they were topped with Romano cheese YUM! The Tacos were huge and very delicious. It is such a great surprise to find fantastic food in Foresthill, we will become regulars after today.

Ore Cart, i wanted to like you. but the food was so so and a bit pricey. I had the ribs and it was a mistake. i hate boiled meat and these were definitely boiled. no self respecting meat house does this. I shared a steak and was not impressed with this either. thin cut. lots of fat, little impressive flavor. our older gal waitress was seriously out of it. think hillbilly without an ounce of charm, missing teeth. she did not know if there was wine or not. red meat and wine are a good match eh?. this felt like a «screw the tourists» kind of place. Great atmospere in bar, if i went i’d have the hamberger and a drink up front.

Good food, friendly service and authentic atmosphere. Reading the history of the place in the menu made the experience that much more enjoyable. We shared a Mother Lode burger with their yummy steak fries. The burger is enormous and more than enough to share. The burger didn’t quite fill the bun but it was close, The bleu cheese dressing was EXCELLENT on the side salad. Loved that our food was cooked on the old ore cart grill near our table. Fun little out-​of-​the-​way place. Beautiful drive from Auburn and the shortcut thru the Yankee Jim cut and American River canyon was breathtaking!

An authentic gold country hole in the wall.
Went at 12:00 on a Thursday afternoon so the place wasn’t exactly jumping. Had a couple of good cheap drinks and hamburgers. The burgers were nicely done on homemade buns and came with a nice salad loaded with blue cheese dressing.
The bartender wasn’t the most outgoing and friendly person, but he wasn’t nasty either. The waitress, on the other hand, served us at the bar and was efficient and friendly.
I would classify the burger as one of the best I have had in the Divide Area and the atmosphere of the place is classic.

GREAT burgers! HUGE! Did I say HUGE?

Great throw back restaurant with a old west feeling. I highly recommend the Motherload Burger! Truly a burger to share with a friend.

Best well drinks I’ve had anywhere and cheap too. Friendly Bar tenders and they don’t mind pop music on the jukebox (Alanis Morissette pushes the limits though).
Attached Steak House (The Ore Cart) makes good food with huge 3 coarse meals at a reasonable price. You can order and eat in the bar too if you like.
Great dive bar worth checking out if you’re in the area.

The Red Dirt Saloon is the mother ship of all dive bars.
Peanut shells on the ground.
Local drunks.
People missing fingers and other assorted body parts.
Bartenders missing a few teeth.
They don’t know how to make fancy shots or drinks. Stick to the basics.
If you ask them for a Red Headed Slut or Sex on the Beach, they will seriously just laugh while they pour you a shot of Jack.
And don’t go in there with an attitude. They tolerate out of towners, but they don’t like ‘em.
Having grown up in Foresthill, take my word for it, enjoy your shot of Jack and participate in the Karaōke and they won’t spit tobacco juice in your direction.

I really dig this place. They started us off with a loaf of hot amazing sour dough bread and then they brought out our dinner salad (your basic run of the mill dinner salad that was dressed with what I could only assume was your typical bottled Italian). Then came our fries (hot and crisp on the outside soft on the inside) and THEN came our RIBS! Man those ribs… smokey, juicy, delicious. The waitress said the chef must have liked us (as was apparent by the larger than ordered portion he gave us which was pre-​divided amongst our 3 plates — I can only assume this is an uncommon practice). He came out and spoke with us for a while telling us about his specials for the week and how he likes to mix it up (the next night he was planning on making Chinese.).
As for the other food — their chicken looked awesome as did their burgers (the motherlode which is made with 10 oz of meat, cheese, and all the trimmings). From what I hear the attached Saloon (known as the «Red Dirt») is quite the experience. Apparently if you don’t throw your peanut shells on the floor you get charged 5 dollars. Totally check this place out if you are up in Gold Rush territory.