Food For Thought | Wicked Pie

The William Pitt Union’s two newest restaurants, Wicked Pie and PA Taco Company, opened on Tuesday. Both restaurants toyed around with soft openings prior, but are now open regular hours.

I was very excited to try both, but alas, I could only choose one to review. I ended up going with Wicked Pie, a restaurant that proudly serves farm-to-table pizzas. As expected, the line can be a bit busy, but moves quickly. Even the wait for the food is relatively short and about the time you would expect to wait at one of the other restaurants at the WPU.

Wicked Pie offers five types of pizza and the option to build your own. There is such a large range of toppings that it is sure to fit everyone’s desires. Some of the more offbeat options impressed me, such as cauliflower crust and vegan cheese. All pizzas are the same size.

A meal exchange comes with one cheese pizza, a drink and the option to add extra toppings for 99 cents each. I figured that most students would have the meal exchange, so it would be most useful if I reviewed that. But to keep it interesting, I added spinach and a balsamic glaze finish. After the meal exchange and 10% student discount, I only paid $1.78 for my meal.

The first thing I noticed was that the pizza smelled delicious. The classic pizza scent and the balsamic glaze work nicely together, and I couldn’t wait to try it. The presentation of the meal is also pleasing with the glaze drizzled finely over top. It comes with eight fairly sized slices. You can tell just from the looks that the pizza isn’t as greasy as other pizzas you may have had in the past. In fact, it isn’t greasy at all, which is a great plus.

The cheese pull on the first slice is also a plus. The pizza is very cheesy, but not overpowering, so you can still focus on the other elements. The cheese paired nicely with the other toppings I added, although it is also fine on its own.

The sauce is very fresh and rich. The tomatoes are easy to taste and you definitely get the “farm to table” sense when you bite into it.

The glaze was amazing — bitter and tangy, yet sweet. It could easily overpower the pizza, but there is not too much glaze, so it balances very well. It builds upon the fresh tomato sauce and complements the spinach. I think the pairing of toppings, sauce and cheese, are really what brings everything together. The spinach, although cooked, still gives some different texture to the dish. I attribute this to the crust of the pizza.

It is thin crust, so Chicago-style lovers beware. Thin crust is personally my favorite style, but I’m unsure how to feel about the crust on this pizza. In most places throughout the pizza, it is loose and floppy. When I picked up a piece, it couldn’t stay upright on its own like a typical slice. The center of the pizza is extremely chewy, to the point where I could barely tell the crust is there. The doughiness is what draws me back from the dish, although I like everything else. The outer crust was also chewy in most spots, although in other spots it was a little more cooked. Still, I would have preferred an overall more crisp crust.

I reheated the leftover pizza later that day for dinner and it was just as good as when it was fresh. I personally only have a microwave in my dorm, but if you are in an apartment or a dorm with a kitchenette, it would be even better reheated in the oven so the crust has a chance to crisp up.

Despite my concerns with the crust, I am very happy with Wicked Pie. I would even say that it is the best place I have reviewed thus far. I think it would be a great stop between classes if you’re looking for something close, fast and good. I would love to try the cauliflower crust and some different variations of the toppings in the future.

Kendall writes about food and restaurants. You can reach her at kps45@pitt.edu.