Wicked Restaurant Review

It was a cold and rainy Memorial Day weekend. I was visiting my mother in my hometown of Falmouth, Massachusetts. The Cape is wonderful when it’s sunny and warm – or even sunny and cool. But there’s not much to do on Cape Cod when the weather isn’t cooperating (which happens more often than you might think). There are a couple of movie theaters, lots of shops, and lots of restaurants.

What’s a girl to do on a cold, rainy, day on the Cape? Eat, of course.

My mother had mentioned a new pizza place that serves gluten-free pizza a few times on my last few visits. With images of a classic pizza joint (and wheat and cheese flying all over the place) I had avoided eating at Wicked Restaurant in neighboring Mashpee. I am now wondering what the heck I was waiting for!

To call Wicked a pizza restaurant may be unfair. Yes, they serve pizza, and yes, they serve gluten-free pizza, but oh my gosh – there is so much more on the menu. Wicked is an upscale but casual full-blown restaurant. Each booth has a dedicated flat-screen television. A 21st century version of the personal jukeboxes we used to sometimes at booths in diners, perhaps?

But Wicked is not a diner either. The menu contains dozens of exotic pizzas (no plain old pepperoni here), all available with gluten-free crusts. Meal options that are available gluten-free are noted right on the standard menu.

Most importantly, our waiter clearly understood food allergies and took them very seriously. And so I started with my questions:

Q. How do you prepare your gluten-free crust?
A. We use a rice-based crust.

Q. Do you make it in the same oven as the wheat pizzas?
A. No. We have a special pan that is dedicated for the gluten-free crusts, and they don’t go anywhere near the wheat pizzas.

Yippee, it’s really gluten-free! I also let the waiter know that I was allergic to soy, and placed my order. He came back quickly to let me know that the spray they use in the pan contains soy.

Q. Is it just soybean oil? Or does it contain soy protein?
A. I don’t know, let me check.

At this point I asked if I could see the can – and he brought it right out. As I suspected, it was a combination of oils with no proteins. I gave him the green light to make my pizza.

This is fig and prosciutto pizza with fontina cheese, balsamic glaze, and arugula. Yum, yum, yum!

Three yums may not be enough. This food is wicked good!

The pizzas all contain cheese, but the staff assured me that they would be able to make something delicious for those allergic to dairy. I can’t wait to go back with my son later this summer!