Travel Blog

We were traveling along Route 66 one day in the spring of 2011 and came upon the Frontier Motel and Restaurant. This restaurant dates back to the days when Route 66 was the only route between the east and the lower western states.  This is not a place that you would probably stop at just by looking at the place from outside.

It has definitely seen better days, since there really is not a lot of traffic along route 66 these days.  Never the less, they stay open and many locals go there for breakfast and lunch as well as the odd tourist that is passing through.

Hackleberry General Store

We had been to the Hackberry General store which is also on Route 66. While we were looking around this store we asked the owner if they were any good restaurants in the area were we could get lunch. There happened to be a UPS delivery man in the store. He suggested the Frontier Motel and Restaurant Route 66 which was another 20 miles up the road. He said they had great food. It would give us a taste of what restaurants were like in the days that route 66 was popular.

The best way to get there is to go east of Kingman on route 40 and take the exit for route 66. It will take approximately an hour, however it is a nice drive through the desert. You pass a number of places along the way which are interesting to stop at, such as the Hackberry General store . There is also an Indian reservation along the way with outlet stores, a lodge and a restaurant as well. It is a little more modern and you can probably get great food there as well, although we did not try it on the day we drove on this section of route 66.

Frontier Motel

The Frontier Motel and Restaurant on Route 66 was built in 1950 and has been a basic diner from the 50’s on. There is a motel attached to the diner as well, although we did not check this out. It shows its age both inside and out, however the food was good and the service was also good. It is run by a family who bought it a few years ago and are trying to make a living. There is the son with his wife and kids and his mother who run the place. The mom is the real manager and the main cook as well. We talked to her for a little while. They always want to know were you are from since they know everyone else pretty much.

We had a hamburg, which was a real hamburg, not one of these compressed things. We also had fried bread, which is really tasty for desert. Basically it is flour dough that is deep fried and sprinkled with sugar. Excellent, but like many things that taste good, probably not that good for you. Since we were from Canada, we told her about beaver tales which are basically the same, except we sprinkle brown sugar on them and raspberry jam which is fantastic.

Anyway if you are on the route 66 section in Arizona, be sure to stop at the Frontier restaurant. Great food and good conversation. It is not fancy, but  it is interesting and you will enjoy the place. If you have been there and want to leave a comment please feel free to do so.

For more things to see in Arizona, click here.

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