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Route 66 Diner an homage to the heyday of the Mother Road
The 18-mile passage of old Route 66 through Albuquerque is the longest contiguous urban stretch of the historic highway in the country.
Relatedly, our city is likely among the nation’s leaders for restaurants set in repurposed Route 66 gas stations.
There are three such places in Nob Hill alone: Fan Tang, M’tucci’s Bar Roma and Little Bear Coffee Company. At M’tucci’s, the original gas pumps from the Jones Motor Company building still stand astride the restaurant’s patio. A couple of miles down Central Avenue, the Range Café in East Downtown occupies a former Texaco station.
But to find the granddaddy of these roadside renewals, you must look between Nob Hill and East Downtown for the aptly named 66 Diner.
The building opened in the 1940s as Sam’s Sixty Six Service Center. In 1987, married couple Tom and Christy Willis purchased the building and set about transforming it. The makeover retained the Moderne aesthetics of the original, with its horizontal lines and rounded corners of glass block. At night, the place glows orange, blue and pink with neon striping.
Inside, the Willises created an homage to the diners of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s with period music, car hop-inspired server outfits and a menu of comfort food classics like burgers, meatloaf and shakes. The concept proved popular, and the restaurant became an essential stop for road trippers and locals alike. It survived a major fire in 1995 and the death of Tom Willis in 2021. Today, Christy Willis and her daughters run the place.
The recent hot weather had me hankering for a milkshake, so I headed over there on a Saturday night with my family. The diner is conveniently located on the north side of Central between the University of New Mexico and Interstate 25. A cramped parking lot lines three sides of the building.
Entering the front room, where booths with seafoam-green upholstery line the windows opposite a long counter, sparks a brief sensory overload from all the decorations. At one end, a life-sized cardboard cutout of Elvis stands in front of a map of Route 66 decorated with vintage road signs. Above, a prodigious collection of Pez dispensers snakes around the space on high shelves.
A short hall from the front room leads to a large dining space with tables and booths. Beyond that is a small dining area in the gas station’s former service bay, where the front end of an old Plymouth protrudes from one wall.
On this night, each of the three rooms had its own climate. The front room was sultry, the big dining room was a bit cooler, and the back room was downright chilly.
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The menu is wide-ranging and affordable, with no dish coming in over $20.
The restaurant’s trademark Pile Up ($14.29) highlights its small selection of New Mexico Favorites. A mound of bacon and green chile, two eggs and chile sauce heaped on a bed of diced, fried potatoes, it’s like a jumbo breakfast burrito without the tortilla. Wisely, there is a smaller option called the Fender Bender ($8.99). I ordered that with red and green chile. It was good and filling, a tasty mix of salt, spice and smoke. The red chile was smooth and savory, and the chunky green delivered modest heat. Even at the smaller size, it was too much for me, and I ended up with a plateful of leftover potatoes.
Other New Mexican dishes include Huevos Rancheros and Green Chile Stew.
The Cup of Soup and Half Sandwich ($8.99) presents an inexpensive yet filling option. I chose the Texas Chili and half a Meatloaf Sandwich. I liked the chili a lot. The hunks of ground beef were soft and tender, and the tomato-based sauce cut the richness of the meat. The sandwich, a thick slab of meatloaf over tomato and lettuce on sourdough bread, was a bit dry. It could have used a bowl of gravy or broth for dipping.
Deluxe Plates like Chicken Fried Steak, Meatloaf with gravy and Fish and Chips come with two sides and a piece of cornbread for $15 to $18.
The 11 Sandwiches on the menu cost $9 to $15. My son polished off a BLT served sliced in half and speared with toothpicks. Under a schmear of mayo, the bacon was thick and crisp on the edges, and the chopped tomato and lettuce were fresh. The accompanying potato salad was soft and tangy, and the very good pickle spear packed a vinegary punch.
The eight burgers cost $13 to $16. There are three smothered versions as well. My wife had the 66 Burger — basically, a green chile cheeseburger with bacon. The patty, made from a blend of chuck and brisket, extended well beyond the perimeter of the bun and was topped with a big slab of bacon and some of the fiery green chile locked in a matrix of melted cheese. A good variation of the classic with the bacon adding some salt and smoke. It comes with a choice of fries, chips, potato salad or coleslaw.
Heavy food dominates the menu, but there are lighter options, like the Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($14.79) my mother-in-law enjoyed with a cup of the Soup of the Day, Cream of Mushroom. The chicken breast, pounded thin, was juicy, the soup thick and meaty. She gave it the ultimate seal of approval: a clean plate.
Shakes are central to the 66 Diner experience, so much so that they have their own separate menu. The regular ones like vanilla and chocolate cost $6.99. Deluxe versions go for a dollar more and offer more adventurous concoctions like Black Forest, Dreamsicle and Very Berry. I ordered a Chocolate Malt ($6.99). The server brought the shake over in the stainless-steel cup it was mixed in. She then poured about half of it into a milkshake glass and left the rest with us in the steel cup. It was an excellent shake, thick and creamy, the malt adding a toasty, nutty flavor. Highly recommended as both an accompaniment to the spicy food and a dessert.
The youthful, all-female crew of servers, nattily attired in turquoise blue skirts with black aprons, were friendly and efficient. The food came out fairly quickly. The separate gluten-free menu printed on a small card was a pleasant surprise. Most of the menu items are available in gluten-free versions, at no up-charge.
Handsome buildings thoughtfully repurposed, Albuquerque’s gas stations-turned-restaurants are some of the city’s most charming features. Credit to 66 Diner for creating the blueprint and maintaining the standards that made it a hit.
