Story: Down Home Cooking in the heart of Williams, Arizona

Nestled on a main corner of the small town of Williams, Arizona, the gateway to the Grand Canyon, is a great restaurant called the Pine Country Restaurant. Situated on North Grand Canyon Blvd in between East and Westbound Historic Route 66, the main drag in the town, is this gem. I was staying in Williams, like many do, for my trip to the Grand Canyon, 55 miles away. I was also a journalistic journey and using a blog spot to write about the adventures my dog and I were having to loved ones back home. I had researched prior to the trip about places in Williams with wireless internet so I that I knew where to connect. On my first afternoon in town, I stopped by the restaurant to ask them about the connection and how to access it since my computer detected it. The nice young kid at the counter gave me the network code and even told me it worked outside on the benches in the front of the restaurant. I wasn’t expecting that- I thought for sure I had to be a customer there first. Since I had targeted another local hangout, Cruisers Café 66 that night (which also had Wifi), I decided that my second night in Williams I would eat here. I didn’t know how great of a decision that would turn out to be.

The décor in the restaurant resembles is simple, yet unassuming. The tables are covered with green and white checkered table clothes and there is a combination of both booths and freestanding tables. The menu is homestyle cooking. I only spent one dinner there, but the dinners are filling and affordably priced. Each dinner entrée such as grilled chicken breasts, steak and roasted turkey comes with a choice of potato or French fries, a soup or salad, and a vegetable. My meal included all of this for just $8.99. To top it off, the specialty of the house are the homemade pies for $3.69 per slice. And these slices certainly don’t disappoint, I had a huge piece of Banana Cream Pie topped with whipped cream. And that pie was only one of about 30 you could choose from!

One of the most charming aspects about the restaurant were the people. From the moment I entered until the moment I was done, the staff were courteous and attentive. When I arrived a little before 6pm on a Monday evening in March (a popular Spring break time), the restaurant had plenty of available tables and I got a large booth near the kitchen. I was able to set up my computer and immediately connect to the Wifi with the code that the young man had given me the day before. The waitress came over right away and gave me plenty of time to decide what I wanted to eat. First came my salad followed by the chicken, green beans and baked potato. She checked on me once in the middle to make sure everything was all right. While I was writing my blog and researching my travel route for the next day, the restaurant rapidly began to fill. I don’t know if it was locals or tourists or both. By the time I left, they were using pagers to handle their waitlist. Even still, the waitress told me to stay as long as I wanted to do what I needed to do and finish my pie and told me to let her know if I needed anything.

While I was finishing up my dessert, another staffer (appeared to be a manager/owner) came around with water and asked me if I needed anymore and how everything was. I told her it was great and so affordable compared to what I was used to. And upon leaving, the man who was working as the cashier told the gentleman in front of me “Come back again any time, we open at 5:30 am for breakfast.”
The food, the atmosphere and the prices were enough, but to have such friendly service from every staff member truly makes for a great experience, particularly if you far from home. Williams is only 20 miles from Flagstaff, so whether you use Williams or Flagstaff as your base of operations on a trip up the Canyon, you can make this a great stop for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Pine Country Restaurant
107 N. Grand Canyon Blvd. Williams, AZ 86046
Cross streets on both sides are East/West Historic Route 66.
Parking is easy and abundant around the restaurant.