535 Hudson Street (between Charles and Perry Sts.) 212-929-2920 (also 340 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 347-599-0699 and 148 5th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 347-987-4525) www.eatdrinkwild.com
Gluten free. If you believe gluten free means compromising flavor, you have never dined at the wildly genial WILD – NYC. They’ve made it their mission to gratify your palate above and beyond any gluten filled fantasy. I began by indulging in two of the evening’s specials. The first, a leaf salad with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and pear. Cue the not very secret ingredient: carmelized goat cheese which catapulted this already delicious dish to epic. Not to be outdone, the shrimp pizza (melted mozzarella, thinly sliced red pepper, shrimp pesto sauce), its parchment-like crust a master class in crunch. My enviable entrée was chicken Milanese (breaded chicken cutlet, mozzarella, tomato, arugula served with penne). I also requested the avocado toast, buried blissfully below gorgonzola, walnuts and honey. When I say it is good, I mean sweet enough to almost qualify as dessert. Almost, because the actual desserts are so absurdly decadent, you will never suspect they are gluten absent. There are many on display (brought tableside so you can salivate and select). I opted for two, gleefully jockeying between a brownie beneath a peanut butter pouf sheltered by chocolate with a caramel drizzle. AND a slab of cheesecake encrypted in a dense chocolate shell on a popsicle stick. No, I am not making it up, but I understand why you might think that. I defy the finest gluten filled bakeries to match this. And encourage, no, beg you to make a reservation at WILD.