Pappo's Pizzeria & Brew Co, Midtown - Visited April 2016

Today it was again my pick so I decided on a new restaurant that opened up recently near Saint Louis University, Pappo's Pizzeria & Brew Company, on Forest Park Parkway in the former Six Row Brewing location. We had considered visiting the nearby Midtown Sushi just the week before, but due to their limited menu there ended up at Sushi Station which I had already reviewed quite recently, One nicety about Pappo's from the start is their own dedicated parking lot in the back which is much more convenient than parking on the street using the meters with the weird smartphone app.

When we entered they said we could sit wherever we wanted so we selected a roomy booth near the door. The seats were not padded but comfortable enough, and we noticed the table was finished with uneven, but very shiny varnish which was rather unusual. We were greeted by a friendly server who took our drink orders and gave us a few minutes to decide on our pizzas. We decided to order three 12" hand tossed pizzas, the 5 cheese pizza (my wife and mother-in-law's choice), the "American Cheeseburger" pizza (my son's choice) and the "Mexicana" pizza (my choice). My wife and mother-in-law were also going to split a spinach salad, and the server was nice enough to bring out four plates for us all to have some.

The salad arrived shortly and it was a generous sized serving for us all to try. The spinach was fresh and crisp, but the overall salad was not all the exciting. The dressing was quite mild and the candied walnuts were fresh and flavorful, but the overall salad was little more than filler. At least we knew the spinach was good for us, so we could lecture my son how he should eat more vegetables.

American Cheeseburger pizza

The three 12" pizzas seemed larger than I expected, but that may have been because their hand tossed crust was pretty thick and they loaded on the toppings, especially on the Cheeseburger and Mexicana pizzas. The crusts were all very flavorful and crisp with a good thick chewiness to them, and they were also not too greasy. The Mexicana was a bit too moist in the middle to eat with your hands, but after eating the middle section with a fork and knife, the rest was easier to pick up. The flavor combination on the Mexicana was tangy with a little zip, with a salsa on the crust and a creamier sauce on top. All the lettuce, peppers, olives and onions  combined with the sauces for a very different Mexican flavor on the pizza. The Cheeseburger pizza also was an interesting flavor combination, with the crisp dill pickles on top adding to the meat and cheese to give it a hearty and homey kind of flavor. The five cheese pizza was a good, more classic pie which allowed the cheeses and crust to shine along with the sauce, all working well together for a quality pizza.

Mexicana pizza

The service was very polite and attentive there and the meal was well paced. My wife visited the restroom and said it was quite dark and perhaps slightly dirty. What caught her attention most was the toilet which had two buttons for two different levels of flushing. I guess they are hoping people will  use the appropriate button to save water when possible.

Overall it offered above average pizza with atttentive service and generous portions. We probably could have ordered less if we knew the pizzas would have been that large. I am guessing they will do pretty well with their proximity to SLU and I can imagine my son and many of his classmates eating there in the future.

Food Quality

 

Service/Value