Late breakfast/early lunch between SF and Redding

[srr]

We are driving up on Sunday with our 2 year old daughter. We know she will need a few stops along the way. Anywhere good to eat? We love Mexican dives and anything else interesting. TIA

[stan D]

Forget Cattlemen's in Redding. Its ok, but a much better place is Jack's Grill on California St. in downtown Redding. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but great steaks inside. Started in 1938, and little changed.

Also, the one time we tried the Black Bear we had the lousy potato experience that someone here referred to. Found out that their mashed potatos came out of a box of dehydrated spuds.

[srr]

Yeah, we intended to go to Jack's but they're closed on Sundays.

[Crazy_Mary]

Jack's isn't really a great place to take kids. I personally think it's overrated. Dark place, OK steaks, gross salad, and disgusting bathrooms. If you want to just have a cocktail, then the bar is great for that.

[srr]

So, we ended up eating lunch at Nancy's Airport Cafe in Willows. What a slice of life. It felt like the coffee shop in the town I grew up in. I had a huge cobb salad and my husband had the "Giant BLT." We also got an order of onion rings and a cup of chicken noodle soup for my daughter. My salad was pretty good. There was lots of stuff on it and most of it was fresh and tasty. The only downside was that all the lettuce was turning brown on the edges. It tasted fine, but they should have tossed the lettuce. My husband's sandwich was good with great thick slices of bacon and beautiful red tomatoes. The onion rings were really good too. I just wish there had been more than 7 rings. Really...I counted. My daughter gobbled up her soup. We didn't splurge on any pie, but our dining neighbors did and it looked great.
In Redding, we went to Cattlemen's. We didn't expect much, and we were pleasantly suprised. I had a NY and my husband had the sirloin. All the meals come with a great, fresh bottomless salad. The steaks were perfectly done as ordered (MR). The real star, though, was the kid's meal we ordered for our little girl. We ordered her the ribs with carrot sticks. What showed up was two giant, tender beef ribs which she had a ball eating. She had meat and sauce all over herself. We enjoyed the leftovers. I do everything I can to avoid chain restaurants, in general, but this was a nice surprise. Also, the service was efficient and friendly and they didn't make us feel like we were intruding with our 2-year-old. I'm so used to SF restaurants which are generally unwelcoming to kids. I say this as someone in the business. I know how servers feel about kids, myself not included.

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Cattlemens Steakhouse
2184 Hilltop Dr, Redding, CA 96002

Nancy's Airport Cafe
353 County Road G, Willows, CA 95988

[susancinsf]

thanks for the report back! I haven't eaten at Cattleman's in forever, but I do remember taking my daughter to the one in Dixon years ago when she was a child, and she loved it. Definitely kid friendly.

[srr]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I really expected no one to reply. This is the reason I still use this site. YAY!

[HelenMS]

Just ate two lunches at Corbett's on Pine Street. It's near the hospital :-(. But the great food and friendly staff was a comfort. I had a grilled chicken on sourdough sandwich with grilled onions and pepper jack one day, and their special, with chopped tri-tip on sourdough parmesan bread with swiss the other. Just deliciousl Great service. Nice wine selection, though we didn't imbibe. Breakfast menu looks wonderful. A great choice for Redding.

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Pine Street Cafe
110 S Pine St, Nevada City, CA 95959

[susancinsf]

Putah Creek Cafe in Winters. So much better than a Black Bear Diner it isn't even funny.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/4300...

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Putah Creek Cafe
1 Main St, Winters, CA 95694

[srr]

Thanks for the link. We are actually going to spend one night in Redding then heading to Lake Shasta for 2 nights, then on to Lassen for 2 nights. Lots of good info.

[susancinsf]

please do report back with updates. hopefully they got the road into Lassen done by now: that was not fun! Also, one more thought since you are with a two year old: I think there is a park in Winters near the restaurant (it's a small town, so if there is, you should see it), if she needs to run off steam...In any case, with the possible exception of the Timber House (?) all of the places I mention should be very kid-friendly.

[BN1]

Mercifully (IMO), the Timber House in Chester is out of business. I had a really decent meal at the Red Onion Grill in Chester recently. I think the St. Bernard Lodge near Mill Creek is open on weekends.
http://www.redoniongrill.com/
http://www.stbernardlodge.com/dining.html

Here is the current Plumas County Dining Guide for the Chester area.
http://www.plumascounty.org/dining/Ch...

Susan, after trying the Black Bear Diner at several of it’s different locations, I share your opinion completely. On my last visit, I believe by the color and taste of the breakfast potatoes that they used transmission fluid for the cooking oil.

[susancinsf]

Thanks for the update. Is there anything new in the Timber House location?

[BN1]

There's nothing in the Timber House yet. It was empty and closed up tight when I was there a month or so ago.

[bennyboy1]

2nd on Putah Creek for sure.

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Putah Creek Cafe
1 Main St, Winters, CA 95694

[BN1]

Nancy's Airport Cafe is right by I-5 by turning west at the Hwy 162 exit in Willows.
http://www.nancysairportcafewillows.com/

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Nancy's Airport Cafe
353 County Road G, Willows, CA 95988

[Bruce in SLO]

Check out the Black Bear Diners at-
http://www.blackbeardiner.com/
They are in a number of locations between SF & Redding.
Davis is a good one. I love the corned beef hash.