Gluten-Free: Wild Willy's Worcester

I've wanted to go to Wild Willy's in Worcester (say that three times fast) since I heard two things: 1) almost their entire menu is gluten-free and 2) the gentleman who runs this particular franchise is the person who brought the concept of gluten-free food to the entire chain.  They close at 8, so I finally made it there this past week.

Upon entry, it was clear this would be a fun meal.  You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table, which is located within a well-decorated dining room (such as a stagecoach etiquette sign) containing big booths spaced out far enough from each other to be able to have private conversations.  We took one in the corner with fantastic views over trees, where we could see the Wachusett reservoir and the mountains in the distance. 

The cashier was exceptionally knowledgeable about their gf offerings.  He explained to me that not all of their burger toppings are gluten-free so some of the styles of burgers are not, but that only leaves a handful which aren't.  The fries, onion rings, chicken & steak sandwiches, haddock fillets and specialty drinks are all safe to eat.  They even make their own buns, which are literally stamped "gf" to reassure and avoid any confusion. 

Mmmm, bison.

Bison is one of my favorite red meats, so I was excited to see it as a substitution for any burger.  I ordered a "Willy" bison burger -- a classic with American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, ketchup, and pickle (no red onion or mayo for me).  My thick, heavy burger arrived piled high with toppings, all of which tasted incredibly fresh; perhaps they source locally.  They will make burgers are rare as you want, which in my case is dripping with blood and almost still mooing.  It was cooked perfectly and was undeniably incredible.  Every other gluten-free bun I have ever had lasted mere seconds before falling apart even with less rare meat ... but not this one.  Through my entire burger -- even when saturated with liquid -- this bun held fast through the very last bite.  It is by far the best gluten-free bun I have ever had, bar none.

Liberty enjoys her kids meal.

If you've got children who need to be gf as well, you know how rare it is to be able to order an actual kids meal; usually the only option is to buy pricier adult-sized servings that they'll never finish.  It was a treat to be able to buy Liberty a kids chicken tender combo meal.  Coming with only 3 pieces of chicken I was worried it wouldn't be enough, but I need not have; Liberty only made it through two and the majority of her fries.  In the interests of science I tried the chicken, which were delicately coated with a delicious breading and contained moist, tender morsels of meat.  Drinks unfortunately do not come with the kids meal but unlimited soda water is free (to anyone); nice touch, Wild Willy's.

Bill ordered a gluten-free "Rocky" Angus beef burger, topped with roasted red and green peppers, onions and Cheddar cheese.  It reminded me of a Philly steak & cheese.  I'd like to give you more details than "he thought it was especially yummy" and "deliciously juicy, particularly for being cooked medium rare."  But I can't.  That and similar descriptives are all that he gave me at the time of eating and every time I've asked him since.  His critique of burgers is generally lengthy given his propensity for spicing & grilling rounds of ground beef... secretly, I think he might have been a little jealous.

Bill's burger.

Everything that goes into Wild Willy's fryolator is gluten-free!  To share with the whole family, we got a small order of the onion rings and a large order of the cheese fries.  Yes, this was a lot of food.  I did it for you, my faithful Mass Bytes readers. ;)  Fresh cut and hand-battered, I pointed out to Bill that the onion rings were better than his; he may not have appreciated that, but he did begrudgingly agree.  For a small, there were a substantial number of onion rings and we did have leftovers.  

The fries -- which are hand cut Maine potatoes with the skin on and lightly salted -- were fabulous but the cheese topping was my only disappointment of the entire meal.  Whenever I read "melted cheddar cheese", I envision something like chips and cheese in the UK.  Basically, I expected fresh shredded cheese melted onto the fries.  Instead I received fries doused in a very runny cheese sauce which I'm sure was real cheese but tasted fake.  Since there were leftovers of the fries as well, I was able to try them reheated after being zapped in the microwave at home and they were better that way.  Next time I order the fries I'll be leaving the cheese sauce off.

Frappe!

To top off my meal (though I actually ordered it first), Wild Willy's made me an extra-thick mocha frappe.  It was legit extra-thick (as evidenced by my concave cheeks as I was drinking it) and had the perfect mixture of chocolate and coffee ice creams.  This is made more impressive by the fact that they don't have the mocha flavor on the menu; they made it special for me.  It was so tall that I brought leftovers of this home as well.

Even their bathrooms were impressive.  Sparkling clean, well stocked, and fits in with the overall theme perfectly.  Both the male & female restrooms have changing tables; another example of Wild Willy's thoughtfulness, and a very nice touch with a toddler.

At the end of my meal I met the owner, Bob Stein, and told him about my Mass Bytes column.  He shared with me that the buns and the onion ring batter are their own recipe, created by a friend of his, who has also worked with him to ensure compliance of other items they sell.  Bob is currently in the process of transferring ownership to the new proprietors, who have steadfastly promised to keep the gluten-free awesomeness going.  

Other stores may or may not have Worcester's extent of gluten-free coverage.  Unusually, this section of their website hasn't been updated in some time.  The only aspects that are true across all franchises are that they have been trained in cross-contamination issues and all offer a gluten-free bun... I don't know whether it's the same bun as I described above, nor do I know if they all now have a separate menu for perusal.  If you find out, please let me know.  

Nonetheless, this is a truly local chain of only 7 "outposts."  Worcester, Needham, and Quincy are the only Massachusetts locations.  York and South Portland in Maine plus Rochester in New Hampshire complete the list.  I really do feel bad for people outside of New England sometimes.  They all do eat-in or take-out; if you eat there, you can call in advance to order so it's ready when you get there.

Prices are reasonable, especially taking into account all that is gluten-free and how most of that doesn't cost extra.  Currently -- and according to the cashier, often -- if you have your American Express card synced with Foursquare, you can receive $5 off a $10 or more purchase.  Yay savings!

Wild Willy's Worcester can also be found on Facebook.