There’s more than just the expected pizza happening at The Roman Candle. A planetary/space theme loosely defines the décor, supported by artwork and graphics of planets and rockets. There’s also a quality theme with pizza sauces, salad dressings, soups and, of course, pizza dough, all made from scratch in house. But the theme that speaks the loudest is the local angle. More than 50 items or ingredients on the menu are sourced by Wisconsin purveyors—and no category is left out. Each item with roots in the Dairy State is denoted on the menu with a little red logo in the shape of Wisconsin—and this menu appears to have the chicken pox. In another words, The Roman Candle wears local very well.
Approaching two years in business at the Whitefish Bay location, this is the pizza company’s first restaurant outside of Dane County, with its four other locations in Madison, Middleton and Fitchburg.
No surprise, the main attraction here is pizza ($12.99-$23.99). The crust style is hand tossed and available in three sizes (12, 14 and 16 inch), but that’s only the beginning of the options. There are seven different pizza sauces, five different cheeses (all from Wisconsin) and a lengthy list of toppings that include items like fresh beets, walnuts, grass-fed beef and even pineapple-chipotle drizzle.
We ordered The Roman Candle Pizza because, the way I look at it, if a restaurant names a dish after itself, you order it. It’s a simple preparation of Fireworks sauce (original tomato-blend sauce with chipotle) and a house blend of cheeses, sausage and banana peppers ($12.99-$17.99).
Other notable pizza standouts include The Professional (blend of alfredo and pesto sauces, oven-roasted chicken, bacon, broccoli, green pepper, jalapeño, house cheese blend and feta) and the Algo Malo, matching Alfredo sauce with beets, garlic, caramelized onions, walnuts, arugula and blue cheese ($15.99-$22.99).
The menu features the usual pizzeria sidekicks common at other places, such as breadsticks, garlic bread and pastas, though they are set apart at The Roman Candle by the high-quality, fresh ingredients. There is also a slew of healthy options, like oven-roasted vegetables including asparagus ($7), broccoli with parmesan ($6.25), baby carrots with ranch dressing ($3.25) and house-made garlic hummus with crackers ($4.50). These unexpected menu offerings not only are tasty but also provide a welcomed balance to a meal of mostly bread and cheese.
Beverages demand just as much attention as food. Either The Roman Candle folks are equally passionate about drinks or they don’t want their well-crafted, house-made food washed down with just any old beverage. Soft drinks, two-dozen wines (by the bottle and glass), bottled and draft beer and small-batch cocktails are served. During our visit the featured concoction was called Dark & Stormy, consisting of rum, ginger beer, lime and, according to our server, a secret blend of spices. Delicious.
The Roman Candle also handles a hefty load of business in carry-out and delivery, but the drinks and hand-scooped ice cream (courtesy of Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream) support an enjoyable dine-in experience.
The Roman Candle Pizza
133 E. Silver Spring Drive, Whitefish Bay
414-964-3000
$-$$
Handicap access: Yes
