Village Inn

Stopped in for dinner to go on our way to spokane.   The waitress greeted us quickly and when we wanted it to go she quickly got us some menus.   The food only took about 10 minutes and was relatively tasty. The hot sauce was much better than the mild sauce. Definitely not the best Mexican meal, but considering the location it was pretty good. Our son's chicken quesadilla was very good.  We would stop again, getting it to go was perfect with the park across the street for young ones to get energy out.

Very surprised to find this gem in Arlington, Oregon. From the interstate you can't even see the small town which is tucked away in the canyon. From the outside the restaurant looks like a typical coffee shop or "family" food diner.
Walking through the doors one is greeted by a spartan but very clean interior which seems to be comprised of whatever auction sale restaurant furniture could be found.
Then the reason for 5 stars begins to engage...
You are greeted with a genuine attitude of service and attended to as a welcome guest in obvious need of a break from the long drive and preparation for the road ahead. This is Arlington after all...
The menu is extensive and our family of five all found many choices from which too choose, even the teenager who claims "not to like Mexican food". The chips and salsa while awaiting your meal are just right and when the dishes arrived their contents were just plain delicious!
The spicing in the very home made sauces was unique and special! If this place was within an hour's drive I would visit monthly. Definitely the next time I make the long haul on 84 I will time my travel to stop again for lunch or dinner.

Know that this is a Mexican American place, not clear from the exterior. We stopped for lunch on our way down the freeway. It was an easy 10 minutes after we sat down that we got water and menus. There was a bit of a crowd however. I'm not sure why based on my experience. I had my fill of Mexican on this road trip, so I got a grilled turkey w fries. Yes it was grilled, but the turkey was cool, and the American cheese was not even close to being melted. My co workers had the black bean soup which they said was the equivalent of onion water. As we were leaving , there was a  huge stack of dirty dishes on the kitchen counter. It grossed me out. Looking back I think there was just one person on duty at the time. She was doing all of the serving AND handling the kitchen. I would say stay away, but there aren't many other options in this tiny town.