Relish
Food, Wine & Spirits in St. Louis
Friday, September 2, 2011 / 4:30 PM
Felix's in Dogtown Shifts Gears, Becomes Felix's Pizza Pub
Anyone who appreciates a pizza with a thin-yet-chewy, homemade crust, mozzarella cheese, and generous toppings (that line forms behind us) has a new pizza place to check out. And we should say straightaway that the pizza is very good.
Steve Kolb, co-owner, creative force, and consummate idea man behind Felix's in Dogtown for the last seven years, has come up with a new menu, a new chef, and altered the name and logo to fit the new image: it's now called Felix's Pizza Pub. And if the pizza and the "trashed and thrashed" chicken wings are any indication, his prediction of "I think we nailed it" is correct. Relish agrees...we especially like the pizza-slice-as-apostrophe.
Two years ago, when SLM last caught up with Kolb, he was promoting his barbequed ribs. Now, in collaboration with chef Andy Roesch, he's parlayed those ribs into a signature rib pizza, Felix's Baby Back Pie (below), made from a half slab of ribs, bits of scallion, and a touch of rib rub on the cheese. The garnish? An impressive 3-bone teepee .
Roesch, a former employee who has since graduated from Johnson & Wales University, had no experience in pizza nor the desire to even dabble in it, yet was lured back by Kolb. For a guy whose baking expertise consisted of "a 10-day baking course at J&W" and a pizza research trip to New York City, he has come up with an almost perfect, thin and perfectly-blistered pizza crust. He says that "the secret's in the high gluten flour," and added that "I got it on the 9th tweak. A touch of garlic oil helped the dough to relax."
There are currently a lucky 13 specialty pizzas on Felix's week-old menu (not yet posted online), with one high point being the High Point--topped with kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, spinach,, sundried tomato, feta, red onion, and pepperoncini--and there are more concoctions in the works: on our visit, a shrimp, scallop, and mushroom pizza with alfredo sauce was outstanding.
The pizzas come in two sizes, 12" and 18", averaging $16 to $22 respectively, which may seem a bit pricey until you realize that all the better pizzas nearby (Katie's, Dewey's, Pi), are similarly priced.
The wings were outstanding as well: perfect size and crunch, tossed with garlic butter, parsley, and parmesan, then napped with a squeeze of hot sauce. Instead of the ubiquitous sides of ranch and/or blue cheese, Roesch came up with a kicky alternative: parmesan ranch with jalapeño.
At present, Felix's is open for dinner only, except on Saturday and Sunday when doors open at noon and 11 a.m. respectively. It should be noted that the restaurant currently has both a smoking and a non-smoking section (they applied for and received an exemption to the smoking ban), but we were told that the entire place will go non-smoking within a few weeks.
Good thing. Roesch's food deserves it.
Felix's Pizza Pub
6335 Clayton Av.
314-645-6565
felixsrestaurant.com
Dinner daily; lunch Sat--Sun
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FYI. Felix's does NOT have a smoking exemption and NEVER even applied for one! They are full of $hit!!!!
In respnse to Dogtown girl I would like to say that we do have an exemption with the Health Department of Saint Louis. We do have have plans to be smoke free by September 20th, 2012. We will allow smoking on our sidewalk cafe but wish to welcome all cutomers to a smoke free enviorment so you can try our new homemade NY style pizza made by Chef Andy Roesch.
We certainly are allowed and could to continue to accomodate smoking but feel like its time to make a change. Hope to see you all at Felixs Pizza Pub!!!!!
I called the St. Louis City Dept. of Health and they said Felix's does NOT have an exemption. The only record they have is giving you a warning to STOP the smoking ASAP!!!! I think the owner has lied to you and all the customers who go to Felix's. They have been breaking the law for almost a year now. I used to frequent Felix's often but cannot condone this illegal behavior! Sorry......
P.S. The Health Dept. told me to go to Felix's and if I see smoking, call 911. The STL Police will promptly issue tickets. Do you really want me to take them up on this???
@Dogtown Girl
If you are speaking of me, the editor of the blog, you do what you need to do. This is a "he said, she said" situation and you have made your point, one that will be moot when the place goes 100% non-smoking in a few weeks.
No George. I was replying to the Felix's Pizza Pub post. I was just very surprised they would do an article and lie to you! I am allergic to smoke and was disappointed Felix's decided to ignore the law.
@Dogtown Girl is correct. I checked with the City @ 314-612-5100. Maybe Steve Kolb used photoshop and whipped up a fake smoking exemption!
Really a great article about Felix's and the FABULOUS pizza!! We love going on Sunday afternoons and truly enjoy the new pizzas. We also like the chicken wings and hummus. For a family, it is great because you can order pizza by the slice and this makes everyone happy. The newly renovated side is great for dining or hanging out at the bar. Our service was very attentive and so pleasant. Wonderful neighborhood restaurant and bar. Really good for Dogtown.
Just wanted to get on here to encourage everyone to come out and enjoy Felix's pizza!! It is DA-licious. So happy for Andy and Steve and everyone else involved. I love the changes to the place, especially the window that allows everyone to see into the kitchen. Kinda reminds me and makes me miss my collegetown pizza place. P.S. I like this pizza better than that place plus everyone is super-friendly at Felix's. Great review and great pizza. Go see for yourself.
This place has the best concept in St. Louis,pizza by the slice at a neighborhood bar! The staff is very friendly and the patrons are stuck on themselves. When you walk in, you immediately feel like you have been coming there for years, even if it is your first time. I can't wait to go back, and I really can't wait for the lunch time hours.