First Bite: Pizza Hut Gluten-Free Pizza

Neither rain nor snow nor impending nor'easter stays this blogger from the swift consumption of Pizza Hut's brand-new gluten-free pizza.

The country's largest pizza chain debuted the new option yesterday, utilizing Udi's crusts, in two "certified" versions: cheese and pepperoni. (You can read about the prep here.)

So what's the verdict? It's much better than the Udi's pizza sold at supermarkets for two reasons: Pizza Hut uses its own, hearty marinara sauce - weak sauce it's not - and it's prepped in a commercial pizza oven, which gives the pizza a fuller taste. It also helps that it's not cooked in a foil pan (which I find results in inconsistent doneness) but rather on parchment paper; it doesn't touch the oven surface though.

The pie is on the small side - it comes in only one, 10-inch size. The cheese variety costs $9.99 and the pepperoni version is about a dollar more.

The current list of locations offering the gluten-free pizza includes 17 stores in south-central and southern New Jersey. Unfortunately, the gluten-free pizza is not available in southeastern Pennsylvania or Delaware at the moment. If you want to have your local Pizza Hut carry the gluten-free pizza, you can fill out a request form; the first pull-down tab has a "Gluten-Free Pizza Inquiry" option.