Restaurant Review: The Wedge Pizzaria

When you enter through the door of The Wedge, a pizza shop on Western Avenue in Oklahoma City, stop a moment and take a long, slow breath to enjoy the aromas. The Wedge is a small, intimate pizzeria with approximately 11 small tables and bar seating. You may need to be prepared for a wait if you enter during the rush hours but don’t be deterred; The Wedge is worth the time. While waiting for your order, take in the bobble head doll collection and the brick pizza oven in the corner.

My daughter Mandy was a willing participant on this restaurant review. We had heard of The Wedge but were under the misconception that they served pizza by the slice, or wedge; they don’t. Their ingredient choices are a little more Italian than most places. Mandy was hoping for some Hawaiian-style pies, but not this time. Some of their toppings include roasted fennel, arugula, truffle oil, sage, fig and capers. Salads are featured with fennel, or roasted beets and oranges, not just traditional lettuce.

We thought we would start our visit with an order of handmade meatballs ($6) and Wedge flatbread ($3.50). The meatballs were an order of five meatballs topped with marinara sauce and slices of parmesan cheese. These had a fine texture (more so than those I make) with a good flavor. I was thrilled there was not a strong fennel taste as there can sometimes be in traditional Italian cooking. The flatbread was the size of the pizza topped with herbs (oregano and rosemary) and parmesan cheese. This was tasty dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Should you have any left, be sure to take it home and enjoy with soup or salad.

Now let’s talk about the pizzas! For the manly man, you might order The Italian Stallion ($14) with port wine and sun dried tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, roasted fennel and Italian sausage. For the vegetarians in your group, the Vedge ($13) is topped with garlic, red bell peppers, artichokes, crimini mushrooms, pine nuts, ricotta cheese and mozzarella.

For those with a European flair, try the Truffle-Shuffle ($15) with truffle oil, sage, crimini mushrooms, spinach, roasted chicken, parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Mandy wanted to try the American Pie ($14) and I wanted to try the Perfect Margherita ($13), so we got half of each ($14). The American Pie has marinara sauce, chopped meatballs, oregano, onion, parmesan cheese and mozzarella. The Margherita pizza has freshly sliced Roma tomato, basil, roasted garlic and mozzarella. I thought both pizzas were good. The crust was thin and crispy, topped with yummy flavors.

If you need a bite of something sweet, they offer traditional gelato ($4). The flavors vary by day. On the day we were there, it looked like they had chocolate and vanilla. We saw it pass by our table and fought the urge to grab it. The Wedge has been open almost two years. It is nice to see that it seemed booming with customers, the staff was very friendly and it makes you feel good to see them washing their hands behind the counter. Your sense of sight, sound, smell and taste should be well-satisfied at this intimate locale.

Fun Food Factoid: Fennel is a perennial herb popular in Mediterranean and European cooking. The seeds, delicate leaves, and bulb can all be used. It has a strong anise (licorice) flavor.

Annie Nashert has a husband and grown daughter who assume everybody has homemade dessert nightly.