Gluten Freebird

I’ve been curious about Lilit Café for quite a while. The Bethesda restaurant functions as a deli, pizzeria, gelateria and beer/wine store. They also very prominently feature a gluten-free menu.

The menu isn’t anything extremely complex, but that’s what I was hoping for. They serve gluten-free crab cakes, grilled cheese, deli sandwiches, and pizza.

The gluten awareness extends throughout the space, with what seems to be the area’s best array of gluten-free beers and a freezer and refrigerator of desserts from Sweet Sin Bakery. (Note: Pay close attention to expiration dates on anything you grab from the bakery - I noticed a few things past their date.)

To continue my unending quest for the best gluten-free pizza, I decided to go ahead and order a pie. The menu includes cheese, veggie, pepperoni, margarita and chicken, but I went for the day’s special of spinach and feta. And how’d it rate?

Overview: Unlike some of its competitors, this pie isn’t trying to be gourmet. It’s just a gooey, no-frills indulgence. It’s big enough to feed three people with prices between $13 and $15 or so.

Flavor: I liked the tang of the tomatoes and the salt of the feta, but the cheese should be higher quality. It tasted like baseball stadium pizza, with that sweet mozzarella that’s a bit too chewy. You would be best off-setting the cheese flavor with heavy toppings.

Crust: The crust had a consistency much like a cornmeal crust. It didn’t harden up like the pie from Pete’s, but it had a bit of a grainy consistency. There wasn’t a lot of crust - it felt almost like a flatbread, which could be a good thing when you think about other gluten-free crusts around. Flavor was good.

Overall: This is probably the closest I’ve found to a Papa John’s. It’s not great pizza, but it’s the kind of pizza I’d want with beer and football. I happily ate it for breakfast the next two mornings.