14559 Westlake Dr.
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
503-620-7723
open daily at 11am
It was the people at Corbett Fish House who told me that Talarico's Mercato serves GF pizza. I had officially experienced a GF domino effect! The crazy thing is Lake Oswego is my childhood stomping ground. When I was a nanny in the West Lake neighborhood I used to walk the kiddies to Talarico's Italian style market to get a soy latte!
Of course, I got over there as soon as possible. Talking with the owners son, Rudy, I found out that the pizza side of the "mercato" opened in July 03'. It's officially named Rico Bella Flatboyzzz Oldstyle Pizza. It's really a cute place ... with an Italian flair complete with frescos painted on the walls.
Rudy explained how they had been selling Gluten-free Mixes by a woman named Laurel who offered to make GF pizza dough, and they took her up on it. You'll be happy to know that a mystery GF diet expert (they forgot her name) came in to teach them about the perils of gluten and how not to cross-contaminate ... so they know what they're doing in the kitchen.
There is a little milk in the dough but it is the 7th ingredient so I didn't let that stop me! Also, they dust the bottom of the pizza with cornmeal so if you are sensitive to corn be sure to let them know to omit that. My whole family was there for the taste testing and thought it tasted great. My one Food Network-ish sister-in-law said she couldn't taste the difference between the regular crust and the GF. My other sister-in-law who is more of a Bon Appetit foodie snob said that she could taste a difference but thought it still tasted great. I'll be the final judge of that ... it tasted AMAZING! Even without cheese! I was really impressed at how thick the crust was ... most GF crusts I've sampled on the east coast have been fairly thin ... but maybe that is a NY style pizza influence.
GF pizza sales have been such a success that within a month they told me they are coming out with GF pasta salads!
Just think ... all within Portland you can dine on amazing fish or pizza and then top it off with a Piece Of Cake! Maybe I should visit home more often!
written by Kelly
