Best New Restaurants: No. 9 – Pizza Head

Pizza Head’s menu is a study in quintessence, just like the selection of classic punk records on its jukebox. Opening yet another pizza joint in St. Louis – let alone a punk-themed place where vegan and vegetarian options are front and center (Midwesterners love the animal protein, don’tcha know) – could seem like tilting at culinary windmills. But Pizza Head? It works.

Giant 20-inch New York-style pies or enormous triangular slices are the only size options. Toppings? Regular or vegan cheese, vegan meats and a small selection of fresh accouterments. Pizza Head pizzas, though, are much more than the sum of their humble parts. Pies are baked until the crust has just the right balance of chew and char. Eminently foldable, this is on par with the best “traditional” slice in town. Pair it with a can of Stag, put some Agent Orange on the box and dig in.

Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.