Pizza Heaven In a Dive Bar: Black Thorn 

Next on the top 10 St. Louis Pizza Places 

Pizza Claus Visits Black Thorn Pub

Stlpizzaguy gives Black Thorn Pub his P of Approval.

"Brendan your pizza is ready," comes the sound on the intercom in a small and crowded neighborhood bar on the corner Wyoming and Spring Street in Tower Grove. The year is 2010, during my first trip to Black Thorn and that announcement is music to my ears, as it is nearly 8:30 p.m. and I have been waiting for two hours for pizza. Although the wait was taxing and frustrating, the deep-dish and me formed a special pizza bond that night. While most of the city was crazy about Pi Pizza, I was telling everyone about Black Thorn.

Black Thorn is a no frills experience, but include the pizza and you will leave satisfied. Black Thorn is a vestige of an older times when a neighborhood bar was located smack dab in the middle of residential housing, not in a strip mall. A couple 1970’s Busch beer lamps line the bar. The bar area is on the left side of the establishment, with the dining area on the other side. The dining area walls are covered in chalk and marker writing from customers in the distant past.  Since they only have room to make a couple pizzas at a time with their ovens, please be prepared to spend a couple of hours unless you call ahead and place your order.

A slice of Black Thorn is a layered Chicago-style pizza with the bottom crust, cheese and toppings in the middle, then top crust and more cheese and toppings.

The interior of Black Thorn is a no frills experience with chalk writing on the walls and eclectic bar decor.

THE PIZZA DETAILS

I'd describe the pizza here as a stuft pizza with a exterior lining of mozzarella and toppings with more mozzarella and toppings inside it. Their Chicago-style pizza is 3-4 inches high. One trip here and your stomach feels like it's gained five pounds but it's also consumed some of the best pizza in St. Louis.

THE CRUST: The bottom is thick crust, crispy and sturdy enough to hold many toppings. It is much thicker than Pi Pizza crust on the bottom. The toppings come on top of the pizza, and are also packed inside stuft with cheese all the way around type pizza. 

The inside of the pizza is also loaded with toppings

THE TOPPINGS: I taste so much cheese, the toppings are loaded on top, and layered in the cheesy middle between the top and bottom crust.

THE SAUCE: This is the spiciest tomato sauce on my top 10 list, and frankly that I have ever tasted. It is a dark red, burgundy colored sauce. Even though it is spicy and has a kick, it is not unbearable and also is a good contrast with the mozzarella cheese on overload.

OTHER TIPS for eating at Black Thorn:

1. Call Ahead: Chicago-Style Pizzas take almost an hour to cook.

2. Be prepared to spend the evening here if you do not call ahead. If you find yourself waiting for your pizza, you can play pinball, darts, or shuffleboard. 
3. Do not eat too much here. My record is three pieces of a large pizza, and this is the only place on the top 10 where I can only eat three pieces. I was put in a pizza coma and fell asleep easily a couple hours later. 

Although the appearances of Black Thorn are a dive bar, eat this cheesy, spicy pizza brick and you'll be transported to pizza heaven.