Sliced just right

Your STG and Andolini’s favorites are now under one roof

After three years of operating their STG Pizzeria (114 S. Detroit Ave.), brothers Mike and Jim Bausch decided to fill a void that was missing in downtown Tulsa: a bar-and-restaurant combo that served up pizza by the slice—quickly.

I have frequented both STG and Andolini’s for years and feel a new appreciation after chatting with co-owner Mike Bausch. Mike and Jim know pizza well—but how could you not after growing up in New York and New Jersey?

Mike’s sense of pride comes through when he speaks about his many adventures and “research trips” he’s taken to perfect his restaurants and pizza-making. His tales of traveling around Italy had my wanderlust on full alert.

“We were a mile away from the Vatican and we found this line of Italians waiting out the door for pizza,” Mike said. “They were cutting the slices with scissors. They offered the standard toppings and flavors you’d expect, like Margherita, but then I saw cauliflower, potato—things I had never really seen on pizza before. The slices tasted very light, even though [they were] thick and full of flavor.”

It was there, in the Roman town near the Vatican, that Mike and Jim learned the special method of cooking their new Roman Square Slice pizza. The dough alone takes five days to make and results in mouth-watering, doughy-but-crunchy slices.

“The dough for the Roman Square Slice is produced with heavily-hydrated Italian flour,” Mike explained. “It’s an organic, light, and airy flour.”

The Bausch brothers first opened STG as a tiny gelato shop inside the Farm Shopping Center. Later they opened a full restaurant in the Blue Dome Arts District.

“After our training in Rome, we are just so excited to bring this style of pizza to Tulsa,” Mike said. “We want our customers to know that Andolini’s Sliced is an upgrade, and we’ve added more styles, a kick-ass bar, and better menu options,” Mike said.

I’m looking at you, garlic knots.

Andolini’s Sliced offers favorites from the parent restaurant, as well as a weekday lunch special from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., which includes two slices of pizza and a non-alcoholic drink, for $10 (tax included).

Bar Vitale, the space directly west of Andolini’s Sliced, is also part of the remodel. Bar Vitale’s name was inspired by Bar Vitelli in “The Godfather” films (which the Bausches visited while traveling abroad).  After construction is complete, the bar will be connected to the pizzeria through an interior door. The space will boast an art-deco-style interior meant to give a 1920s New York feel. They hope to open it in late November or early December.

“Inside Bar Vitale, customers will be able to sit at the bar, grab a quick slice, order a whole pizza, or even eat gelato,” Mike said. “We wanted a space that had speed similar to our food truck’s, so if you’re heading downtown, you wouldn’t have to wait as long as you normally would for an entire pizza.”