Michiels Menasha Inn

(Copied and pasted from previous review of same restaurant listed on Unilocal with a different title: «Michiels Bar & Grill». It’s the same place as this one.)
This is a compilation of my experience there over the last 6 visits, with tonight being the end of my patronage.
The staff is incredibly friendly and eager to please, often to a fault asking far too often the same ‘is the food ok’ question. This last visit, I was asked five times within 30 minutes that same question.
I love steak, and they have several to choose from on their menu. However, the menu item price does not quite suit the quality of the steak you get. The ribeye was ordered twice of these visits, and both times it was tough and weakly marbled. One of the two had a burnt crust on one side clevely flipped so it wasn’t visible.
This last time, I went in and was offered the special of the day; all you can eat chicken and ribs. After going over this option with the waitstaff, and juggling between it and giving the ribeye one more shot, I elected to have the special. As I ordered, the waitperson asked if I’d like to go without the chicken, and being a fan of ribs, I was all for it. She then asked if I wanted a ½ rack or a full rack. Being hungry, I asked for the full rack and lets forgo the chicken. The rack being eaten, I’m ready to give another half rack a go. The waitperson states that I had ordered a different menu item. The $ 6 more expensive menu item for ribs. All this after having gone over the special with her for nearly five minutes. The manager, after argument about why I would order the menu ribs over the special (why would I), states that I would have to eat the chicken to get more of the all you can eat. They did knock off the price, but that ‘special’ certainly needs its own short bus. One last note, of that full rack of ribs I ate, one of them was, like the steaks before it, burnt and charred. Further, the flavor of them was… funny. I’m hoping for the best as it hits my small intenstines.

Great salad bar. Love the hot bacon dressing and they always have great soup. Sandwiches have always been good. Didn’t blow my mind or anything, but we always have coupons from the entertainment book so it’s very inexpensive. Cool bar area.

Great cocktails; very good food

I agree with the previous reviewer — it was really awkward and uncomfortable when we walked in, the bar went totally silent, and everyone (apparently the regulars) turned to stare at us. It wasn’t just a brief check, either, they stared at us as we made our way across the room, basically til we sat in the «restaurant» part of the place.
We went for brunch. I can’t really speak for any of their other food, but don’t go there for brunch.
The «brunch» consisted of two sides. The first was a salad bar which did have a pretty good selection of items, as far as a lettuce salad would be concerned — but the pre-​made salads were pretty unappetizing to me & my fiancé — neither of us are super picky eaters. They looked like they had just been sitting there since last week’s brunch. I did try the ambrosia salad, which was ok, but it had a stale or freezer-​burned-​ish taste to it. There was also soup.
The other side had a huge thing of fried chicken, some corn (frozen, not fresh), some fries, a couple other things, and then a frittata & some bacon & sausage — the only breakfast items. When we got there, nothing was fresh. The chicken had been sitting out for quite awhile, quite dry & not good at all, the bacon, too (at that point there wasn’t any bacon out) the corn had a sort of film at the top from sitting, the frittata looked horrible — I wouldn’t even try it. After we had made our first trip to the buffet, a few other couples came in, and after they had also visited the buffet, the chef started bringing out fresh food. The fresh fried chicken was good, the fresh bacon was good, but the same frittata was still there when we left.
I think if they want to do a brunch, they should do a legitimate brunch. When I say I want to go to brunch, I don’t mean «I want to eat fried chicken for breakfast.» If there had been any fruit, any other forms of eggs (hard boiled, scrambled, etc), and a few more breakfast-​y items, I think I would have been ok — not thrilled, but satisfied. Instead, it was a lunch buffet with bacon and frittata. If they feel their buffet carts are too small and still want to do a brunch, they should create several brunch entrees and just make them on an as-​ordered basis. I don’t think they can legitimately call this a brunch.
The one very positive thing I can say is that our server and one of the bartenders/​hosts (maybe an owner?) were very nice to us.
It looks like a good place to make «your bar,» if you were looking for a new place to be a regular, I’d maybe have a drink there, but I definitely won’t go back to eat.