What a good idea: A pizza place that's not just a pizza place. Think about how many arguments Felix's Pizza Pub has saved.
"I want pizza, okay?"
"Aw, man, you always want pizza. How about a sandwich, or maybe some wings?"
"But I've just got a craving for pizza. You can get a sandwich at work tomorrow."
Well, to insure domestic tranquility, we bring you this corner in Dogtown. Felix relocated from across Tamm Avenue to this mostly-airier spot, two rooms, complete with a fireplace and huge windows that open to the street. giving an air-conditioned version of sidewalk seating.
Unfortunately, the folks seeking domestic tranquility can't have a quiet conversation on a busy night. The concrete floors and overall size pretty much guarantee high noise levels, but that's nothing new these days. And quiet isn't really something one expects at a pub. (Although we could do with a few of those little Italian spots with checkered tablecloths, candles stuck in old fiaschi, the straw-covered Chianti bottles. But I digress.)
Still, it's a lighthearted atmosphere and the menu is serious-but-never-grim about bar food. Plus, this is a pretty focused beer house, lots of on-tap options.
If I had to pick one don't-miss item from Felix's menu, it would be the trashed wings. Trashed means double-fried, if you haven't run into that term yet. Beyond the added crispness, these are very big guys indeed, always a nice surprise, and they're striped with hot sauce and the house jalapeno ranch dressing. Yet they're not incredibly incendiary; there are plenty of hotter "hot wings" around town. Brisk, yes, but a wing that's about more than the fire.
The basic salad is a pretty respectable one for a bar and grill/pizza restaurant, the lettuce fresh, a little green onion, some shreds of mozzarella. Only the stunningly unripe paper-thin tomato slice marred things. Among the dressing options is that jalapeno ranch.
What about the pizza? The first thing to know is that they'll serve any pizza by the slice, and there's a beer special pointing that out. The pizzas come as 12- and 18-inch pies, and the slices are generously cut. Wedges, not squares. Mozzarella, not provel.
A wide range of standard toppings, of course, but 14 specialty pizzas with names are the feature. We divided one into two radically different halves: Mr. Aleman wears hamburger, pepper bacon, red onion and slices of jalapeno pepper, and High Pointe sports artichokes, spinach, sundried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, red onions, plenty of minced pepperoncini peppers and feta cheese. The jalapeno slices had been seeded and the pepperoncini hadn't been, meaning the vegetarian side stood up and yelled "Whoopee!" whereas the carnivorian one merely smiled and waved. I had noticed more people here eating their pizza with a knife and fork than I've ever seen in St. Louis, perhaps even in the United States. (One sees it almost invariably in Europe.) The moderately thick crust is very good, for the most part, but the first few inches on each wedge of the 18-inch pie weren't baked to enough firmness to hold the slice with one's hands, which explains those utensils. Both sets of topping were satisfying and tasty, just quite different. A 12-inch pizza, The Clayton, described as a coconut red curry based pie with chicken, lettuce, tomato, green onion and that jalapeno ranch dressing, was less successful. Surprisingly bland despite that description, it lacked excitement – although the crust didn't have quite the problem with drooping that the larger one did.
The menu also offers several kinds of smoked meat – in fact, the signature pizza wears shredded pork ribs, 'que sauce and rub, with a spicy red cabbage slaw, and next visit, I'm trying that – but the meat is also available in other forms like sandwiches. I tried three tacos, two of which had the smoked meats. The beef brisket was excellent, tender and moist and served with some grilled pineapple. Usually pineapple comes with pork tacos, but the pork here, also smoky, not quite so flavorful but equally moist, had a light flutter of cilantro and some chipotle cream dribbled over it. The third taco, a piece of crisply fried fish, had slaw with a little kick to it, and some green onions, a nice crunchy texture overall, the slaw moistening up the greaseless fish.
Better than a place that's a compromise nearly always is.
6401 Clayton Ave.
314-645-6565
Lunch and Dinner Tues.-Sun.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
Pizzas; $16-$30