Eichtens Cheese & Bison

We live in Forest Lake and have been driving by Eichten’s for years but have never stopped. It’s usually always packed with people and we had no idea that there was a restaurant attached until we recently heard from a friend. Days later — it was fate I tell you — Groupon had a special for a cheese platter and beer/​wine for two, so we bought it. It was a Friday night and we were without children so we decided to do a wine tasting at a local vineyard and then stop at Eichten’s on the way back. We arrived at 7pm and had no trouble with parking, etc. We walked in to the store which was filled with a wonderful assortment of cheeses and other yummy treats like caramels and jams and syrups and yum. There were samples of cheese and spreads on a table, all of which were yum and we were asked if we needed help right away. We told the server we had a Groupon and she brought us to our seats, told us we could pick anything on the drink menu and she would be back with our cheese platter. The beers we picked were great, I don’t remember the names :-(We can’t wait to visit again, just the two of us as well as with the kids!

On a recent road trip to Northern WI, we pulled over at Eichten’s because of the rumor of great cheese. We were pleasantly surprised from start to finish with our experience there!
This place is part gourmet WI cheese store (all kinds of goodies and gifts) and part small town restaurant. Did I mention the staff was great? They happily re-​rang my whole tab (after I signed the receipt) once I realized I had a 10% off check-​in coupon and they gave us a grocery bag of ice for our cooler when we bought fresh cheese curds.
For my meal I got Grilled Cheese with Tomato Basil soup (no extra charge for homemade soup as a side!) and added bacon and tomato. It was delicious and the soup was surprisingly savory! It tasted like it had cheese and some other surprise ingredients in it, in addition to the tomato and basil.
My husband shared half his bison cheese burger with me and I enjoyed that as well. I tasted his Chicken Wild Rice Soup also and it was chalk full of chicken and maybe had sausage in it as well.
II loved this place, like the idea of supporting a small town business, and think it is the perfect roadside stop for anyone driving through. I only wish I lived closer to become a regular!

Found this neat market/​deli/​bistro on the way to Taylor’s Falls.
Bought the Bison meat sticks and gouda cheese they specialize in.
(The bison herd is just down the highway!)
Also bought MinneSalsa made in Hugo, MN.
They have other items too like crackers, cheese dip, and fancy pops.
Everything you’d need for a picnic!
At the counter are cookies they make there.
We didn’t stay to eat at the little restaurant, but I am guessing it would beat the Arby’s that you pass on the way.
Right next door is Grama’s Barn for gifts and yard ornaments that is also worth a peeky poo.
Support the local little people!

Came out for a leisurely day trip. Had a late lunch… ordered two bison burgers. One was very dry and the other, on a gluten-​free bun was ok, but falling apart ($ 17). Fries were great. I ordered an Old Speckled Hen beer… it cascades similar to Guiness. She thought, I guess, that I would be impressed by the beauty of the cascading… I told her (Janice) that if I end up with ½ of a glass of foam I would be sending it back to be filled w beer. It did end up a ¹⁄₃ foam and asked to have it filled. I got a snarky response that she would do it this time but not again… came back with more cascading… obviously not getting the message.
For 2 hamburgers a glass of wine and a couple of beers $ 44+…a little steep. Service could definitely be improved… prices addressed.

This place is really expensive and the service is lousy. I ordered a reuben and it took forever to arrive. When it did show up it was slathered in thousand island dressing which I told the server to hold. Rather than wait another eternity I ate the corned beef. The reuben was about $ 15!
Skip this place.

Very dissapointing. Went for valentine’s to have a special evening. Perkins would have been better. Service low class. It is apparent that they do not have a chef. Who ever was cooking was very poor. Boxed augrarten potatoes, frozen vegetables and premade desersts. Pricing as a high a high class restaurant but quality of a low class café.

Buffalo burgers are excellent. The flames burger isn’t too spicy, but flavorful. Sweet potato fries were shoe string style, crispy and hot.

Never had a less than delicious and perfectly cooked bison burger here. Sweet potato fries expertly done as well. Service always good and waitstaff very friendly. Come here and enjoy a bison burger and get converted from beef to healthier and lower fat bison!
On your way out (or in) pick up some meat and cheese products in their shop!

The gouda is delicious. When you walk in the door, there are multiple samples, the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The menu is full of the cheeses they sell and it was really hard to pick what looked better. I settled for the roast beef sandwich on the recommendation of the waitress and it was delicious! This is definitely a place to come. It’s a little spendy if you are looking for a quick bite, but if you want to take the time to savor good food, stop and east here!

Bison served very bloody when asked for mr. Cashier charged us $ 14. For a small soup to go. Bring a bucket of cash for this spot. We won’t be back, prices exceed value by far.

WOW! What a find! take some time and drive an hour north of the Twin Cities and you will find a bit of a gem. Their cheese fondu app is fantastic.

Never had buffalo steak, so I guess I can’t make a comparison however it had a very nice flavor, a little lighter texture than beef. I enjoyed it very much. The server was very attentive and helpful.

Great little eatery, plus an interesting little gift shop.

this jewish girl and her native american friend got to sit at the fireplace under a portrait of a very white very old couple. other than that, the soup was amazing as was the buffalo burger. worth the stop.

I love Eichten’s, especially their tilsit (a delicious variety of gouda, can’t be found anyplace else). They a killer sample display, and fun specialty food items.
I have to admit, though, that I miss the Eichten’s before they renovated (obviously designed by a middle-​aged woman). It traded a unique cheese experience complete with tacky gifts and standing-​room-​only ice cream counter for a much more generic appeal (again, think middle-​aged woman).

Who needs fast food when you have Eichten’s?
This is the kind of eatery that should be on any major highway anywhere in the country, serving up beer and bison and cheese to weary drivers.
We weren’t here long but sampled many of their items.
I think we weren’t in the mood to shop or eat or buy anything, so left.
They do have bison burgers packaged and ready to go, bison sausage and links and all kinds of goodies.
You can’t miss it: On the approach you will see Bison wandering around and then the giant grey mouse eating a wheel of cheese.
Worth the stop.