The Brass Ring Lounge in Fountain Square is just about 2 months old. That is reflected in the food. I don’t mean to say it’s bad. In fact, the food is rather good — especially considering that the Ring seems to be primarily a drinking spot.

They have a limited draft selection, but a full bar. The off-the-menu specialty drink promises to recruit many a female palate. It’s already recruited mine.

It’s called “Love,” owner and mixologist Scott Burgin told me on my second, mid-day visit.

“What goes in it?” I asked.

“Love.”

I taste a bit of pineapple, perhaps, without an overpowering sweetness. A delightful heart shape crowns the drink’s foam. The recipe for that part is grenadine, I believe.

My first visit had been on a First Friday. The lounge was packed with young adults in black-rimmed glasses and trendy plaid shirts and middle-aged people sporting Colts jerseys. A jazz record featured a crooner version of The Offspring’s “Keep ’Em Separated.”

Upscale dive-y is how I’d describe the interior. The Ring’s Web site says it was a former carousel — hence the reference to the ring that would appear during the ride, a holy grail to those who might secure and present it for a prize.

Still, the open, window-filled front reminds one more of a garage. Perhaps that was an intermediate step in the restaurant’s eventual evolution? This all to say the place has character. The garage-like façade gives way to a dim, somewhat sophisticated inside, with one rust-colored, plaster-textured wall, white tablecloths topped with candles and a TV mount eternally set on Turner Classic Movies.

The Brass Ring’s menu is ambitious. The categories are safe, with wraps, pizza, quesadillas and other bar staples comprising the major divisions. But the ingredients aim to elevate the cuisine: Quesadillas go Eastern with stir-fried peppers and “Asian slaw.” Pizza is “St. Louis style” with extra-extra-thin crust (more on that soon).

I opted for the fruit and cheese kabobs with focaccia ($7.99). My server proclaimed it to be one of the best things on the menu. I certainly found my skewered strawberries and pineapples to be fresh and sweet enough. The focaccia, however, was quite dry; little more than ovular, dark bread that had been thrown on a grill. Points, though, for inventive cheeses — not only cheddar, but an array of creamier white cubes, either feta or goat cheese. Its exact flavor was — not unpleasantly — eclipsed by the balsamic vinaigrette I believe it was dipped in. It could have been Port.

My cohort had the Southwest fiesta quesadilla ($8.50 for chicken). The tan jalapeño cheddar “tortilla” was actually a flavored wrap, which angered him. “Get a real tortilla,” he scoffed. It was surrounded by melted cheese studded with tomatoes, jalapeño, onions and chicken. The savory mixture would have been perfect — if only a bit of tanginess had been introduced by some more vigorous pickling of the produce.

Round two: Last week I vowed to try one of those “thin and crispy St. Louis favorites.”

Pizza is one of those things that’s just so naturally good, people can’t help but mess it up by trying to make it even better. The Ring’s pizza is a case in point. They took the cracker-thin trend so far, the first piece I tried to pull broke off where the heavier ingredients started.

A friend and I shared the Garden ($12.99) and Margarita ($10.99) pizzas. The garden was Mediterranean style, not much of a pizza as much as mezze on a cracker. Hummus was slathered on in place of cheese, and topped with artichoke, red onions, feta, basil and kalamata olives. The Margarita was the traditional triad of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.

The toppings on both pizzas were fresh and flavorful enough, but the crust actually detracted. Once the Margarita cooled a bit, all that was left to taste was a mound of congealed mozzarella.

Perhaps if the crust gets a little more body — maybe retaining the razor-thin thickness on the outside? — they could really get some buzz going on.

I’m looking forward to improvements.

The Brass Ring Lounge
317-635-7464
1245 S. Shelby St.

Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 4 p.m.-12 a.m.
Friday-Saturday: 4 p.m.-3 a.m.

Food: three stars
Atmosphere: four stars
Service: five stars