Country Cousin Restaurant — Restaurant in Centralia

I ate there about a month ago and it's been sitting on me for a bit. To put it frankly my girlfriend and I did NOT enjoy the experience.

The server was fake friendly towards us, and I know that she probably had seen more than a dozen people that day, and I wouldn't really thought much of it at all... Except there was another group in our area and she was exceptionally nice to them. Any questions or concerns they had were solved quickly and kindly.

Meanwhile on our end our questions were answered with a smile that you could tell was put on for show and she talked down to us very condescendingly. Largely towards my girlfriend who looks fairly young. It was rude and off putting.

Now let's talk about the food. It was... It wasn't great at all. And maybe it's partially my fault for having certain expectations. When I order the Biscuits and Gravy I largely expect two things: Biscuits Plural (as in more than one) and enough gravy that my brain questions whether or not I could possibly eat that much gravy. I got one Biscuit and a small saucer of gravy. And honestly that's on me, being from the South where this kind of food was popularized I just assumed what I would be getting. And let's talk Hashbrowns. Now the way they're cut is interesting and i don't take much umbrage with that (except that it leaves them soft all the way through instead of crispy on the outside) but the butter they're cooked in was overpowering. I'm all for a good garlic butter, but even I have to tap out at some point.

My girlfriend had the Hot Beef Sandwich and while I didn't try it, she said that it was "just okay" and not something she'd really remember to be honest. What we were confused about was the open faced nature of the sandwich as it didn't mention in the menu that it was. When we asked about it, the server rolled her eyes at us and said that it was right and that we should know that "Hot Sandwich" means "Open Sandwich". Which I guess is also our bad for not having, either of us, heard of that before. Something I suppose we shall carry with us to our next dining experience. Which will more than likely not be here.

To come back to the party next to us, they order the country fried steak, better known as a chicken fried steak, and it looked bad. I had debated getting it but was absolutely relieved I didn't when I saw it. I don't know how people get a simple dish like that wrong. I truly hope that they get to experience a real one from Texas or someplace that knows...

I stopped in to check out Country Cousin based on a couple of different suggestions I had received. I wish I could say I was impressed with it as everyone that was telling me about it. Regrettably, that's not the case.

We were in for breakfast, and right away from the front door, we were offered to wait for a table, or sit in the lounge. It was noticeably busy, so we chose to sit in the lounge. Passing through the cute little gift area, we entered the lounge which has in addition to the entrance from the restaurant side, another entrance from the parking lot.

From this point, we just had to find a table, and that, unfortunately, led to searching for the cleanest one, as all of the open tables needed a wipe-down. No busser apparent, the bartender was woefully overworked and alone, so I'm a bit more forgiving. She was still doing her best though, given the circumstances. Being as busy as they were, I was hoping for a home run when it came to food. More on that shortly.

The tables were tight, so if you still have any covid concerns at all, stay away. I get the feeling from the clientele, you'd be made to feel rather uncomfortable and unwelcome if you showed up with masks, despite the gallon size jug of hand sanitizer that you could tell hadn't been used by any of the patrons in there. I'm not just saying that either, I never saw a single person in there even notice it, let alone use it. Besides the close proximity, the door opening and closing allowed for some bitter drafts to waft through, so keep your jackets on in the winter.

Okay, on to the food and drink. The wife and I had the same, The Country Special. She had a coffee and I had a Bloody Mary. The drinks were quick, and the food was not far behind. That was the first clue that I might be in for disappointment, because it just came out so fast. Everything was hot, but it was just okay. Nothing really special, and nothing different than what I could get at Denny's. The gravy was kind of bland, biscuits were a little dry, and eggs and hash browns tasted like they were prepped in bulk. Except for the apple butter, which was very good. They sell it separately in the gift store, so if you do go be sure to get a jar.

Ultimately, I might give it another try on a weekday and sit in the dining room instead of the lounge, but I'm not holding out hope on it being better food, just a better experience. Honestly, though, I'd probably just...

This is my go to stop for a bite when driving through Washington State. It's right off the I-5 so very convenient to get to. This is a very cute and kitschy, country dinner vibe. There's a small tavern off to the side that I've never been to and then the main restaurant which is mostly booths and tons of old advertisements, cheesy sayings and old knick knacks. Personally I love the theme and vibe! The food isn't amazing but it's very solid, they do a slightly reduced breakfast menu all day and their coffee is actually amazing. Best of all is that they leave you a carafe so you don't need to keep asking for refills. On my last visit I had the fried chicken and my wife had the omelette. Most of the the breakfast dishes default to coming with a biscuit and apple butter but my wife asked for toast, she doesn't like the biscuit or the Apple butter. I had the fried chicken that came with mashed potatoes and green beans. The green beans were overcooked and mushy but the mashed potatoes and gravy were heavenly and I'm not even usually into them. My chicken was a breast and very tasty, the batter was thin and not greasy at all so the chicken wasn't overpowered. I was a little surprised by how small a piece of chicken it was though, and there was only one. I also ordered a side of biscuits because, unlike my wife, I love them but I was disappointed to find only one very small biscuit with a tiny container of apple butter. My wife's 3 egg omelette was delicious and huge, they do amazing shredded hash brown which Weren't finished even with my help.

Service here is friendly and efficient and it's old school where you pay your Bill upfront. They also have a tiny but fun little store and we've found some nice gifts over the the years there. Sometimes they have reaosnanku priced gems and other times it's overpriced schlock.

This place is definitely worth a stop, they're actually celebrating 50...