• See the menu.
PROVIDENCE -- Who bakes the best pizza in Providence? If you ask Peter Reinhart, chef-instructor in the International Baking & Pastry Institute at Johnson & Wales University and the James Beard Award-winning author who's putting the finishing touches on a new book about his search for the perfect pizza, he'll list among his top picks Fellini Pizzeria.

I learned a long time ago that if you're hip, you hang at Fellini's, a gathering spot with a beat atmosphere.

In the old days, back when this campy spot first opened in 1989, it was split down the middle, with pizza on one side and sweets and shakes on the other. I used to indulge in a 1 a.m. slice of pepperoni while enjoying one of the best banana shakes known to man.

Seven years ago, the tiny pizzeria was remodeled and the ice-cream side was shut down. Most of the sweets are gone, too, although Fellini's serves a mean cannoli, its shell dipped in chocolate and filled with a sweet ricotta-laden filling.

I miss the shakes, but the change focused well-deserved attention on Fellini's pizza. The pizzas here are not wood-grilled; they are baked in a deck oven at 550 degrees. The crusts are made from whole wheat. There is only one size: big.

The toppings are creative, but not intimidating -- artichokes, feta cheese, plum tomatoes and pesto make regular appearances.

Twirler extraordinaire

One of the best parts of a Fellini pizza is watching the guy behind the counter make them. Over the years, the torch has been passed from one to another, but there is always someone behind that counter that is a pizza twirler extraordinaire.

Right now, and for the past year and a half, that guy is Seth Bulkin, a tall, soft-spoken New Yorker (he's from Brooklyn) who came to Providence with the Jim James Band. He twirls pizza to support his musical habit.

Rounds of proofed dough, each exactly the same size, are brought out on sheet trays. Seth takes a round and gently presses it with the tips of his fingers until it is flat, then picks it up and pulls it gingerly around its edges, each pull making the dough slightly bigger, slightly thinner.

Then, at last, he twirls the dough -- now three times its original size -- around his forearm and into the air. When he's done, he has a perfect pizza crust, laid out on a floured peel -- the flat, wooden, trowel-like tool used to get the pizza in and out of the oven.

You can't miss this show. It's right in front of you every time you order from the counter -- always strewn with slices of 14 different kinds of pies.

There's the "spinachoke," made with tart, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh spinach and tangy roasted red peppers; the white pizza with pungent contrasts of mozzarella, sweet ricotta and sharp feta; or the "go ask Alice" -- a fresh take on the classic margherita with buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and slices of plum tomatoes.

I've tried almost all of them, and my favorite is one that doesn't have a name on the menu -- lately it's just there on the counter when I go to place an order. Covered with dabs of ricotta and a creamy Parmesan sauce, sliced scallions and crispy bacon, it's an amalgamation of opposing flavors -- sweet, tangy, pungent, salty, tart.

Then there's the barbecue chicken -- pulled white chicken smothered in a bracing sweet-and-sour barbecue sauce and thinly sliced red onions. The pesto is very fresh -- bright green with nutty pignoli flavor -- and covered in sliced plum tomatoes.

The crust first

In the end, though -- or perhaps the beginning -- the best pizzas anywhere start with the crust. With this, Fellini's is in a category all its own. The whole wheat imparts a slight sweetness, but doesn't interfere with overall flavor. The crust is thin, but with a slight lip that makes it soft and chewy around its edges and crispy in the center.

With such great pizza, it would be easy to ignore the rest of Fellini's menu -- but the muffuletta is worth venturing off course for.

Fellini's has a different take on this New Orleans specialty -- rather than serving it grinder style, the slices of provolone, hot ham, mortadella and Genoa salami are placed between thick, round layers of foccacia with a smearing of mouth-puckering olive spread -- the classic trait that sets this sandwich apart from other grinders.

If grinders and margherita pizzas are a little different at Fellini's, then it's not too far a stretch for a salad to go that route, too. If you ask for an average, garden-variety salad, you'll get more. The salads here are covered in sliced tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, red onions, slivers of pimento peppers and lots of green and black olives, as well as thinly sliced summer squash.

There are other salads, such as Greek, antipasto and Caprese, too.

Okay, I admit it. I still really miss the shakes. But I'd miss Fellini's pizzas more -- and a great slice is a lot harder to come by.

Fellini Pizzeria, 166 Wickenden St., Providence, 751-6737. Very casual. No reservations (pick up and delivery of pizza available). Not wheelchair accessible. No smoking inside. Open Mon-Wed 11 a.m. to midnight, Thu-Fri 11 to 2 a.m. Sat noon to 2 a.m., Sun noon to midnight. V, MC, AM. On-street parking. One highchair.

Specialty pizzas are $18.95. Whole pies with cheese and tomato sauce start at $13.65, first topping is $2.15, each additional is $1.10. By the slice, pizzas are $2.10, $2.75 and $3.15 (for a specialty slice). Cold and hot sandwiches are $6.15 to $6.70. Salads are $2.99 to $5.99.