The focal point of each Brixx restaurant is the open kitchen and wood-burning oven.

Brixx Wood-Fired Pizza , Location: Dilworth: 1801 Scott Ave. At Scott Avenue and East Boulevard. 704-376-1000. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Uptown: 225 E. Sixth St. at Seventh Street Station. 704-347-2749 Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Foxcroft East: 7814 Fairview Road. 704-295-0707 Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Details: No smoking at Foxcroft East until 10 p.m. Free parking Uptown, unlimited at night and on weekends; 90 minutes on weekdays. All locations offer microbrews on tap, 14 wines by the glass, full bar, late-night dinner menu, children's menu and patio dining. For information on catering and delivery, call 704-376-6654. Prices: $3.95-$10.95. For more information: Visit www.brixxpizza.com

Since the first Brixx Wood-Fired Pizza opened in South Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood six years ago, one restaurant has grown into a chain of six, with locations in Charlotte, Chapel Hill and Greensboro. The newest one opened this week in Foxcroft East on Fairview Road.

One of the first of its kind in the area, the Brixx concept has gone over like gangbusters. While individually sized, hand-tossed, thin-crust, brick oven-baked pizzas are the restaurant's signature item, the menu also offers starters, salads, sandwiches, pastas, delicious desserts and even a selection of T-shirts and hats.

Appetizers make for a pleasant start to your evening, a late-night snack or a meal when combined with one of the restaurant's fresh green salads. Look for a popular spinach and artichoke dip served warm with garlic crostini; tasty bruschetta topped with marinated tomatoes, fresh basil and feta cheese; or, my personal favorite, the wood-fired pita chips with three dips. The trio of dips is a variety of hummus - traditional, roasted red pepper and black bean - all delicious.

Salads include the standard offerings: a green house version, a Caesar and a spinach. If you'd like something heartier, order your favorite topped with tasty wood-roasted chicken or a nicely done wood-roasted salmon fillet.

Winning combinations
Pizzas are the mainstay here, and it's the special Italian-made oven that gives them their unique flavor. All pies are 10 inches in diameter - good for a meal for one, or enough for a couple to share to start, or when you have the late-night munchies. The menu lists a baker's dozen, but don't be afraid to ask for your own combination of toppings.

If you enjoy veggie and cheese combinations, let me suggest the Artichoke pizza with marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella or the Quattro Fromaggio, featuring creamy mozzarella, zesty Parmesan, Gouda and goat cheeses, topped with a sprinkling of sun-dried tomatoes. The Margherita pizza, with roma tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil, is always good, particularly this time of year when tomatoes are flavorful. If you prefer more protein, try the Bronx Bomber with spicy Italian sausage, prosciutto and Gorgonzola cheese or the Americo with sliced pepperoni and mushrooms. If you are a vegan, Brixx will make any pizza combination you request with a soy-based veggie cheese that cooks up well and tastes pretty good.

Sandwiches and pastas make for a nice change of pace. Pasta Pomodoro and Roasted Chicken Penne arrive as good-sized servings in large shallow bowls, while sandwiches are served with a choice of sides.

Choose from a roasted chicken club, a fresh mozzarella sandwich or a new wild mushroom sandwich with a combination of mushrooms, roasted red peppers, Gorgonzola cheese and sun-dried tomato aioli, all on a pita. The menu says this sandwich is wrapped in a pita, but my order was served on a flat pita - awkward and a bit messy to eat. The flavors were good, but it would be better served as a traditional pita sandwich, secured with a sheet of white kitchen paper.

RATING SCALE Excellent, a must try. Above average, worth consideration. Average, but nothing spectacular. Just okay. Poor, not recommended.

All Brixx locations offer tea, soft drinks, a good list of wines by the glass and a host of microbrewed beers. But, by far, my favorite beverage is the on-tap root beer. Thomas Kemper Root Beer is brewed in Seattle and offers that great "frosty mug" taste of sassafras that makes real root beer so rich and flavorful. It's available at the Uptown Brixx location and is worth stopping in just to try all by itself. One tip - don't ask for ice. Already cold, it's served in a chilled glass, and any addition would only dilute perfection.

A Colorado concept
The locally owned, rapidly expanding chain was the brainchild of managing partners Eric Hoarsley, Barbara Morgan and Jeff Van Dyke. The three have worked closely together for almost 20 years, since they were on the management team of Barley and Rye, a former hot spot at Specialty Shops on the Park in SouthPark.

Hoarsley was inspired to open a brick oven pizza place after being impressed with the concept on a ski trip in Colorado. He sold his friends on the idea and the rest, as they say, is history.

Long-term plans are to keep the chain growing across the Carolinas. Although many restaurants are having a hard time getting and keeping good service help, Brixx boasts a record of keeping staff for years. Many of Brixx's employees have been with the organization since its beginning.

"We try to treat our staff the same way we'd like them to treat our guests," said Van Dyke.

The interior at all locations is bright, open, colorful and more upscale than most would expect in a pizzeria. Space varies at each location, but standard at Brixx is picturesque patio dining.

Thomas Kemper Root Beer, brewed in Seattle with a taste of real sassafras, is on tap at the Uptown location of Brixx Wood-Fired Pizza.

Well-known Charlotte restaurant critic, food writer, cooking instructor and connoisseur of food and wine, Heidi Edidin writes "South Charlotte Weekly: Culinary Corner," a restaurant review or food feature that appears weekly. Contact Heidi with questions and restaurant, food or story ideas by email at heidi@southcharlotteweekly.com.

SCW photos by Melissa Cherry.

This article first appeared in "South Charlotte Weekly" on May 21, 2004. "South Charlotte Weekly" is a free, locally owned, independent newspaper that's "About the Community, For the Community," available every Thursday in South Charlotte and Uptown.

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