Farmers, ranchers, hunters, big rig drivers and an occasional traveler fortunate enough to stumble on the place … That’s who you’ll find at Nancy’s Airport Café in Willows CA. And befitting the crowd, the portions are hefty, the food is great and it’s served with a healthy dose of patriotism.
My tastes for dinner may start with fine dining, but my tastes for breakfast run more toward down home. I love places were the eggs are fresh, the pancakes and waffles light, the syrup real, the sausages pure, the coffee hot and hearty. Nancy’s passes every one of these tests and more
It’s easy to get stuck on a rhapsody of breakfast offerings at Nancy’s. The breakfast menu features 34 items, plus variations of many of them. I’m partial to pork chops and eggs for breakfast and you’ll find that here along with rib eye steak and eggs, New York steak and eggs, ground sirloin steak and eggs and ground sirloin patties and eggs. There also is a variety of omelets and country skillets.
At lunch time you’ll find 30 different sandwiches on the menu, along with soups, salads and chili. The fries and onion rings are excellent and the burgers come in a seemingly infinite variety on either a bun or grilled sour dough bread.
For dinner at Nancy’s I leave my proclivity for fine dining in the car. There are no table clothes and the music is country. At Nancy’s it’s hand cut steaks and beef time – New York, rib eye, tri-tip, prime rib. There are baby back ribs, chicken, fish, meat loaf, and pork chops. These are the real thing – top quality prepared with care in a family owned and run restaurant that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to greet and feed travelers along the main artery through California. And they are served to a customer base of locals who understand the difference between really good food and commercial grade restaurant food.
While you’re there, leave some time to browse among the photos and other aviation memorabilia that adorns the walls. It’s like browsing through a photo museum of aviation history, with an emphasis on women aviators.
Nancy’s is located adjacent to the tiny Willows-Glenn County Airport, where state highway 162 meets Interstate 5 at Exit 603 about an hour north of Sacramento.
