The Kids and Me checking out the red poppies
The first thing you'll notice with 600 Degrees is that the place is always busy. There is some inside seating available, but it's tight - room for about 50 diners. There is also a patio to sit at, so unless you're picky about sitting in an air conditioned restaurant, we recommend getting the first available table. The wait does allow time to review the extensive beer list, and even enjoy your first drink before you're seated. Since I had spent the better part of my day doing yard work, I chose Longfin Lager as I waited, while Kyla went for a pinot noir (forgive me, I can't remember the name for the life of me). The restaurant is owned by Californian transplants, so the beer and wine list is heavily weighted to Californian and other west-of-the-Mississippi River choices.
This place is all about the pizza!
The one drawback to 600 Degrees is the limited wine list, which in retrospect isn't such a big deal. As soon as you walk into the place, you know the focus is on the pizza, and pizza goes good with beer. There are at least 30 different beers on tap, without a trace of Anheuser Busch, Coors, or Miller products listed on the menu. There will be a beer to suit your mood, and I was happy with my "lawnmower beer" while we waited. Later in the meal when I was in the mood for something stronger, I switched to a Stickee Monkee and was subsequently rewarded with the punch to the taste buds I was looking for.
Enjoying a refreshing beer, and a glimpse of the beer selection behind me
Wings and the Stikee Monkee that hit me in the mouth with flavor
With my thirst thoroughly quenched, I was able to focus on the pizza. To be honest, neither Kyla or I could recommend any of the regular menu items, because we never ordered a regular menu item (except wings, which we'll get to later). There is one option at the way bottom of the menu that deserves your attention - the "Baker's Choice". In essence, you tell the chef what you don't want, and give suggestions as to what you like, and the chef comes up with a custom creation just for you. We tried this during the Red Poppy Festival and it came out awesome. From what I remember we got a take on a hamburger pizza made with pita meat, cheddar cheese, red onions, ground beef, tomatoes, and poppy seeds on the crust - it was fantastic! Last night we again went for the Baker's Choice and got grilled chicken, bacon, green onion, ranch, BBQ sauce, and cheddar - which was another phenomenal success. All of those ingredients were on the amazing crust that could be a dish unto itself. Our waitress said she loves it when customers roll the dice with the Baker's Choice because she's never seen the same thing made twice. We HIGHLY recommend you try the baker's choice since you'll get a unique creation that will never be made again.
Save yourself some time and skip to the bottom of the pizza options...
Last night's unique creation, with our oldest getting ready to claim her piece
In addition to our pizza, we decided to get some wings. One of our deciding factors in ordering wings was the uniqueness of one of the choices. While the standard hot, lemon pepper, and teriyaki choices were available, there was a "taco wing" choice that we decided we couldn't pass up. True to its name, our wings tasted like taco meat with a dry rub that had the right combination of chili powder, cumin, and seasoning to make the wings taste like Taco Tuesday. Even our youngest child, who doesn't eat wings at all, was demolishing some chicken prior to our pizza arriving.
Speaking of youngest and not liking things, our youngest is very picky when it comes to pizza. Any sort of sauce, topping that she can't identify, or topping that she can identify (unless it's ham) is a no-go. We've given up long ago and normally order cheese bread when we get pizza delivered just so we won't have to watch our youngest pick at a cold piece of pizza all night. This sort of "refined taste" that our youngest has made going out for pizza a chore, but we have found that she loves the cheese pizza at 600 Degrees. After 5:00 pm, you can only get cheese and pepperoni by the slice, so a slice of cheese is normally ordered in addition to our Baker's Choice. A single slice is freaking enormous, and would be considered an entire pizza at lesser pizzerias. I don't know if it was because lunch consisted of movie popcorn or the pizza is that good, but there was barely any cheese pizza remaining on our youngest's plate when we were done with dinner.
Yeah, that's a single slice
What would a dining experience be without great service? Both experiences were met with friendly, knowledgeable waitresses. Even with a very busy atmosphere, the waitresses were attentive and helpful when needed.
The best part of the night, we got out of there for under $60, including our normal 20% tip! If you're in the mood for great pizza with a Californian flair, we highly recommend checking out 600 Degrees.
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