Outside the new Ballpark Village location of Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria (751 Clark Street, katiespizzaandpasta.com) it’s a sea of red with St. Louis Cardinals logos and baseball scenery as far as the eye can see. The stadium sits just a stone’s throw across Clark Street, and the Stan Musial statue — Cardinal Nation’s universal meet-up point keeps watch over jersey-clad passers-by.
However, the moment you step through Katie’s PPO’s revolving doors, you are transported a million miles away to a serene Italian villa. Stunning marble columns, planters and a host desk inlaid with a bronze lion’s head look as if they were excavated from a dig in Pompeii. A large Italianesque mosaic adorns the floor, ancient-looking lion sculptures recline atop the back of the host desk and lush potted trees make you feel that, if you look through them and squint just enough, you might catch a glimpse of the Mediterranean.
The third — and at 10,000 square feet, by far the largest in the chain — Katie’s PPO welcomed its first guests on May 22, promising to be a stylish and delicious addition to the Ballpark Village landscape. With its massive dining room, open pasta kitchen, special events space and wrap-around patio, Katie’s PPO serves as the flagship of Katie Lee Collier and Ted Collier’s burgeoning culinary empire, which includes locations in Rock Hill and Town & Country, as well as a thriving national frozen pizza and pasta business.
Similar to the other Katie’s PPO locations in both design and food offerings, the new Ballpark Village location offers guests an inviting, art-filled space — works by Collier and Lee Collier’s mother, Belinda Lee, are featured prominently — in which to enjoy the handmade pastas and gourmet wood-fired pizzas that turned Katie’s PPO into an overnight phenomenon when it opened its current iteration in Rock Hill in 2013. However, the larger space means an expanded menu, which includes takeaway items designed for those dashing in and out to the baseball game, and larger entrees for diners with the time to make a visit to the restaurant the main event.
These new menu additions include an Italian-inflected take on the classic lobster thermidor; a 24-ounce costata alla Fiorentina; seared, skin-on salmon; and the massive parmigiana di pollo, which features a fried fontina-stuffed chicken breast accented with tomato and arugula.
Katie’s PPO is almost as known for its brunch as its pastas and pizzas, and the Ballpark Village offerings do not disappoint. Dishes include brioche French toast topped with mascarpone crema, figs, strawberries and crispy pancetta; a breakfast sandwich comprised of soft scrambled egg, prosciutto cotto, fontina and Calabrian chili-tomato jam; and a squash-blossom frittata with zucchini, tomatoes and goat cheese.
In addition to an impressive wine and beer selection, the new Katie’s PPO offers a wonderful cocktail list with libations like La Dolce Vita, made with gin, creme de violette, ruby port, lemon juice and simple syrup; the Unemployable, which is a twist on the margarita featuring blood orange juice and serrano-infused mezcal; and the Merry Christmas, simply prepared with vodka and watermelon juice.
The Ballpark Village Katie’s PPO is open for brunch, lunch and dinner service seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays and from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Scroll down for more photos of the new Katie’s PPO.
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