I’ve been meaning to post about Kevin’s Place on Cherokee for a long time now. Kevin’s is at 2111 Cherokee right next to the Mississippi Mudhouse, a popular Benton Park Coffeehouse. Its 2 blocks from Benton Park on the south side of the neighborhood in the Cherokee Antique Row. Its also just a few block from the Lemp Mansion, The Stable, Deminil Mansion, and 2720 Cherokee. Now that we have our bearings let’s talk about the pizza!
I’ve lived right around the corner for several years and Kevin’s has been my go to place for pizza ever since. I grew up on St. Louis style pizza and honest to God Kevin’s is the best version I’ve ever had. I like it more than Imo’s, Cecil Whitaker’s, Elicia’s, or St. Louis Pizza & Wings. All of these places are good but I would take Kevin’s if I had my way any time. I know some people aren’t into provel so its important to note you can substitute mozzarella if you would prefer. Kevin runs the place basically by himself although he recently hired an employee for weekends. He still does all the deliveries himself, so if you stop by and it seems locked up its because he’s out on a delivery. He’s never gone for more than 20 minutes or so. I’ve been going there for years and its only happened to me once. Anyway, the pizza is delicious. It has a unique spice to it and I think its in the sauce. He also piles the toppings on so you never walk away hungry. In fact, there are almost always leftovers. He also does wings his own way by baking them in the oven until they are almost falling apart. He sells pie (as in apple and pumpkin) by the slice too.
I’ve been after him to kick up his marketing and hire a delivery guy but he seem happy to keep it simple and handle the load himself. At the very least it would be good to have a menu online so I’m going to put a picture of it here. He puts flyers on everyone’s doors around the neighborhood so keep one handy! The place has a lot of Kevin’s personality in it and I would describe it as eclectic. He always has jazz playing in the background any time I stop in. There are pieces of art and antiques scattered about place and he usually has candles lit. There is a gas fireplace insert that is on during the fall and winter. For the spring and summer he has a very cool brick patio with some outdoor seating.
Keep in mind he is cash only. Is there an ATM on Cherokee anywhere nearby? Seems like it would be a good idea with all the antique stores being mostly cash as well.
If you live in Benton Park or any of the surrounding neighborhoods this is a place to stop into for sure. If you are visiting for an evening, work Downtown, or shopping on the weekend I would highly recommend it you as well.
Mary Miller Cullen over at stlouiscore.com wrote a blog post about Kevin’s Place that I just came across and it inspired me to write one as well. He deserves the pub because his pizza is great! Check her blog post out here since she is a much better writer than me.