‘Watts for Dinner’: Twisted Sheep – Familiar dishes, but with a twist

Our next dining destination is Twisted Sheep Pizza & Brew in East Naples. And as the website says, it’s “not your run of-of-the-mill slice of pie and a coke pizza joint.”

Among the restaurant’s offerings, “artisanal, craft pizza” including “on-of-a-kind specialty pizzas unlike anything you’ve experienced before.”

Beer is also on tap, but for me, the Stubborn Sodas are irresistible, with flavors like agave vanilla cream soda, lemon-berry acai, pineapple cream, root beer, citrus hibiscus orange, black cherry and so many more. These delicious sodas are made with pure cane sugar; and with a self-serve fountain, you can try all the flavors.

Things got off to an appetizing start with the double-cooked crispy chicken wings from the small-bites menu ($16). They come with your choice of flavors — buffalo, garlic pharm, mole (black gold), Nashville hot or sweet chili. 

You get eight meaty wings. We picked the mole (a sauce created from dried chiles, nuts, seeds and chocolate). These wings were absolutely amazing. Dare I say the best I’ve ever had. I highly recommend this dish.

We also shared the “French Onion Mac & Cheese” ($11). Yes, you read that right. The eatery has successfully blended French onion soup (one of my personal favorites) with America’s comfort food, macaroni and cheese. It’s a huge, creamy bowl of pure bliss. Yes, it’s a little heavy. But it’s worth every calorie.

For his entree, my dining companion selected the “Nacho Libra” ($16) from the sandwiches and burgers menu. 

It’s like the best grilled cheese plus, plus, plus you’ll ever have. Chunks of white-meat chicken, avocado, aged cheddar and Monterey jack with crushed corn chips, vine ripe tomatoes, jalapeños, ranch aioli on sourdough bread.

I loved this sandwich. Loads of gooey cheese and a great blend of ingredients, especially the tomato. And the slim cut fries as a side was a very welcome compliment.

For my entree, I selected the “Carnitas + Cheese” sandwich ($16). Carnitas is a seasoned pulled pork, and a favorite of mine for tacos. In this case, it comes on a French baguette with black bean and French onion and is served on a tomato puree that is similar to marinara but a bit stronger flavor. I couldn’t get enough.

We loved it so much we decided to come back the next night to sample the pizza. We had the “Holy Mole” ($20), which features the carnitas pork, chicken, mole sauce, cheddar, mozzarella and cotija cheese, chili Fritos, pickled onions, jalapeño, with a ranch drizzle. 

We love all these ingredients, but I can’t say we’ve had them all on a pizza. But it works. Really well. It helps that the foundation is a really great pizza crust. All the ingredients are top notch. I’m especially thankful that the pork is very lean for both of the dishes I ate.

At Twisted Sheep, you’ll find a lot of familiar dishes, but with a twist. And the twist is what will keep you coming back for more. Happy eating!

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If you go

Twisted Sheep Pizza

• 3802 Tamiami Trail E., Naples
• 239-919-3287
• twistedsheeppizza.com