Carolyn Augustine
Senior Scene

Route 66 Pizza is an independent, family owned and operated Pizzeria Restaurant. Owners Randy and Mary serve great food in a small town at the foot of Mount Rainier. The décor is pure highway gas station with license plates on the wall, and a gas pump by the door. Plenty of parking and an accessible setting are welcoming, but the best part is the wonderful aroma wafting out of the kitchen, giving a hint of the great food to come.

Our waitress, Heather, was very busy taking phone orders for pizza but got to our table quickly. A refillable soft drink, $1.99, started our meal, then we ordered the house green salad, $3.99, a blend of romaine and iceberg lettuce with croutons and sliced tomatoes with an excellent house ranch dressing. We had a half sausage grinder, $4.99, which looked like a whole sandwich and had a delightfully crisp bun . The sausage was mildly spicy, not enough to leave a bite on your tongue, but well seasoned with oregano and garlic, and the sandwich was full of sausage. We ordered a small sausage calzone, $5.99, sliced Italian link sausage, mozzarella cheese, and house meat sauce which had a nice flaky crust, but the delicious filling had melted into a runny liquid and was not easy to eat. Last we ordered a personal sized Route 66 combo pizza, $5.99 with traditional pizza sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, sausage, onions, black olives, and green peppers. A small pizza sometimes has skimpy toppings but this one was loaded and delicious. We had plenty to bring home some of each item and were happy to have this great food another day.

The Route 66 Pizza serves a large variety of food and you can sign up on their website, route66.com, and get coupons to print out and a free pizza for your birthday. They have a clean accessible bathroom and are service dog friendly.

Two and a half stars.