What's Cooking at the Wedge? Barbecue, That's What

One of the stranger cases in recent St. Louis restaurants? The Wedge, located at 442 Bates Street, which is a little triangle of property where Bates intersects Virginia Avenue and what I guess is still South Compton Avenue. The Wedge (pictured below before it was the Wedge) originally opened in the fall of 2008, and its menu featured decent thin-crust pizza. Read my review of that iteration of the Wedge for context.



True story: On Inauguration Day last year, I went to the Wedge to pick up a late lunch. The bartender who took my order was an attractive blond woman wearing a sheer black top and no bra. Of course, to her (or her surgeon's) credit, she probably didn't need a bra. But I digress...

At any rate, the Wedge stayed afloat only till June of last year. It reopened under new ownership in October. I hadn't heard much about what was happening at the Wedge 2.0 -- frankly, it had slipped my mind -- but an alert reader emailed this morning to inform me that the restaurant has refashioned itself as a barbecue joint, of sorts.

I drove by this afternoon, and sure enough, the back part of the building has been painted red, with Bar-B-Que Pitstop and the Wedge's phone number (314-351-1208) in black letters. This part of the restaurant has a separate door, but a sign directs you to enter the Wedge proper and order from the bar.

I'd already eaten, but I did pick up a carryout menu, which includes dry-rubbed baby-back ribs, brisket, pulled pork and pulled chiocken as well as a burger, a pork steak, a couple of sandwiches and the usual bar-and-grill appetizers.

By the way, for those of you who remember the Wedge as a place to see a show, the upstairs bar and concert venue has been rechristened The Edge.