Stein Eriksen’s

We went for the Xmas Eve Buffet with Santa! and it was pretty bad. The prime rib tasted watery, there were only two sides for the pork, prime rib, and turkey and that was sweet potatoes with marshmallows and this orange rice that I had to scrape off the serving spoon onto my plate. I was willing to look past the wallpaper texture if it tasted ok. It was flavorless. Someone told me later it was a pumpkin risotto. ANYone with ANY food training will tell you that risotto should never be on a buffet. SO my family mostly just ate cold shrimp, salads, pork and sweet potatoes for $ 31 a person. Our waiter deserted us after about ½ hour and we had nothing to wash down the food. One star for the review because we liked the slices of pie at the dessert table.
Oh and Santa never showed.

My experiences here have only been for breakfast.
I’ve enjoyed each breakfast we have had here while vacationing at Boyne. The omelet bar is well prepared and stocked. A good selection along the buffet and fruit bat was fresh.
My wife and I are early risers, so we are typically there right as they are opening. Thus we get a table immediately and food is super fresh.

Steins is the the original restaurant in the old clock tower building. Lots of room with view of the slopes. Saturday night is the night to come. Great prime rib and shrimp buffet.
We ate there again last night. Friday. Nice selection of sandwiches and entrées. Friendly but slow hostess. It looked like she needed help.
We were seated at a nice table by the window. Totally overworked server. Took forever to stop by then forever to bring drinks. French onion soup very good but small. Rye bread in soup was unusual but good. One of our girls didn’t like it.
My little one ordered a half order of the chicken marsala. They were nice enough to accommodate it but made a big deal about how it is not common practice to get a half. Came with rice. Unusual but she liked it.
I got the Reuben sandwich. Could have been good but was cold. Refrigerator cold. Cold meat. Cold cheese.
Wife got the potato walleye. She liked it and it looked good.
The kids steak was a hit with chips.
Very slow service and I had to fill our waters myself.
The best thing about the meal was that two magicians came to the table and gave us a private show. One of them did contact juggling. Kinda cool.
So bottom line. Slow service and a cold sandwich just killed you Stein. The magicians and past success brought you up from this two star night.

My group and I experienced a botched meal all based on timing.
We went here because Everett’s in the Grand Lodge had an almost hour-​wait, and this was the next best choice suggested by their hostess. I was with my husband, his parents, his sister, his brother-​in-​law and our 6-​year-​old nephew. The in-​laws all went for the prime rib and shrimp buffet, while the little one ordered fries and chicken tenders off the kid’s menu. My husband ordered a bowl of the Soup of the Day, Clam Chowder, and I got a Caesar Salad. And we shared the Pork Osso Buco entrée with asparagus and mashed potatoes on the side.
Four of the group began eating right away from the buffet’s salad bar while we all waited for our drinks– Hot Tea for the mother-​in-​law, Diet Coke for the father-​in-​law, Long Island Iced Tea for the sister-​in-​law, Chopin Martini (which really confused the server because she had never heard of the liquor, even though it’s on the menu), Lemonade for the kiddie, Short’s IPA for my hubby and the Drink Feature of the Night (note — not special for price… actually not clear of why it’s special) of a Snowball Martini for me.
Strike 1–
All the drinks came quickly except the lemonade, hot tea and my martini. The server came back with the tea as my mother-​in-​law began eating her prime rib. While I reminded the server that I had ordered the drink she suggested, she apologized and said she would go put it in. And again, the lemonade was forgotten.
Strike 2–
A)The next time she came out, she brought a bread basket of sourdough (which I did like because it was moist and buttery), my husband’s chowder (which lacked clam but had quite a bit of potato and bacon) and my mediocre Caesar Salad. She said that the bartender was still making my drink because she had to get the lime sherbet (AKA snowball) from the kitchen. And, yes, no lemonade again.
B) Finally, I got my drink along with the entrée. Just as my hubby was finishing his beer, and my sister-​in-​law was halfway through her Long Island and polishing off her second plate of prime rib. In the end, my drink didn’t really live up to the hype. It tasted like cheap, boozy melted ice cream, a bit of a mistake.
C) As for our osso buco, I appreciated the woodsy morels on top but the meat was not nearly as tender as expected. The last time I had this dish it was fall of the bone, fork-​tender that I didn’t need a knife. Whereas, this time, I had to hack it a part. It didn’t help that the asparagus side was a measly four or five skinny pieces with some type of unnecessary cream sauce. I like the mashed potatoes more because they were at least the smashed red bliss variety, although it did need seasoning.
Strike 3–
What made me really sad was when my brother-​in-​law pointed out that his son didn’t have his entrée and drink until after my husband and I got our food. Chicken tenders and fries definitely do not take as long to cook …
For next time, I would rather make our own dinner back at our condo resort room.

During ski season, I feel like a penguin on a beach, trying to wade to a table in the lunch room at the main ski lodge at Boyne Mountain. If you ski on a weekday, the main lodge lunchroom is closed, so you have to find lunch elsewhere.
We often go to Stein Eriksen’s when we’re skiing at the Mountain. The food is OK, and the price is about what I’d expect for a ski resort. If you’re a skier, you know how it is. Your feet are immobilized by ski boots, so you can’t walk very far, and you have no choice but to pay what they’re asking.
It’s nice to sit down and spread out, and not be jostled by the crowds. That’s what you’re really paying for when you have lunch at Stein’s.