Sunni Service At The Rock In Renton

I'd much rather support a local family-owned business than a chain, any day of the week; however, despite The Rock's twelve (and growing) locations, this is a genuine Northwest business. The Rock has origins in Tacoma, starting out as a "gritty local pizza joint" in 1995. Now it's a pizza 'theme park' adults will enjoy more than Chuck E. Cheese.

There's genuine small-town welcoming warmth from lead hostess, Sunni Rudd. She was an instant bright spot on a cloudy day. I had seen posted on the counter at Eyes on the Landing. I'm impressed by the way the Landing's businesses rallied around a woman faced with major surgeries and a lack of health insurance. I asked her how she was doing and she smiled that Sunni smile that immediately takes you in... Sunni is an inspiration, and a beacon of light with a neon smile and spiky 'do. We swapped hospital war stories and in the end she gripped my hand. Two survivors, a silence of understanding as to how precious life is. At The Rock, no less.

While there are more inventive salads on their menu, a Caesar is a good test. The romaine looked hand-chopped, the pecorino Romano fresh and proportionate with the lettuce, the dressing served in a side cup so my salad remained crisp in transit. Caesar's are not rocket science, but I've eaten a lot of sub par versions that give the salad a bad name. When I placed my order over the phone, Sunni was kind enough to offer a side Caesar option ($3.99), a size I didn't see on the menu.

I chose two 9-inch pizzas to try, which come sliced into six wedges. Plenty for two people, and reasonably priced. The Founder's Pie ($10.49; 9-inch) comes with sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, tomato sauce, mozzarella and ricotta is touted as "Our fave." I'll give it a thumbs-up for generous rounds of pepperoni and dollops of ricotta, but the crust hardly seemed wood-fired, and appeared a bit fluffy and anemic.

The second pie I selected was the After Midnight ($11.29; 9-inch), which follows the rock n' roll theme of The Rock. The Italian meatball slices were a dry disappointment, but black olives were plentiful. I passed up "My Generation" with cream sauce, pepper ranch dressing, chicken, bacon, onions, swiss and mozz and the "Revolution" with barbecued pulled pork, roasted peppers and BBQ sauce. I've since been told that the Crazy Train is the best. You may love such inventive pies, but I could feel Neopolitan grandmothers shuddering in their graves.

Last onto Don's Fav Calzone ($8.99), yes Fav without an 'e'. I have good and bad things to say about this dish. The good comes from a generous filling of cooked spinach...with garlicky cheese bulging from a doughy pocket (thumbs down for the roll-like texture). Wish I didn't know this was a blend of ricotta and cream cheese. Cream cheese, really? Just lie to me already. They must make these to order because I was apologetically told that my order would take 20 minutes because of the calzone—still pretty fast in my book.

Rock's menu has lots to choose from in terms of 1/2 or 1/3 lb burgers and intensely new-world pasta dishes (like the Elvis Sighting: marscapone-stuffed, pecan-topped ravioli). The deal here is the lunch buffet which packs in lots of Boeing employees and locals on weekdays, until 1:30 pm. $8.99 with your choice of pop, or $9.99 with your favorite microbrew. The buffet includes all you can eat lasagna, a variety of pizzas, baked pasta, stromboli, mozzarella bread, fruit, pasta and house salad. And Happy Hour (Mon.-Fri. 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close), offers $3.99 Garlic Mozz Bread, $4.99 Pulled Pork Sandwiches and a variety of $5.99 Wings.

The Rock, Wood Fired Pizza & Spirits

(425) 255.0334

830 N. 10th St Ste A

Renton, WA 98055

Open daily from 11:30 a.m. – midnight