Denver by the slice
A guide to the city's best pies
Photos by Emily Varisco
Old Chicago 1415 Market St.
Back in 1976 in the city of Boulder, a couple of guys wanted to recreate the flavor they loved from the Windy City. They fashioned their own pizza, hand-selected 110 beers and opened the first Old Chicago restaurant on the Pearl Street Mall. Since then, the business has grown into a successful chain spanning across 21 states.
Inside the Market Street location, the restaurant is split into two sections: the bar and the dining area. The bar is a great place to sit back, relax, throw down a couple of beers and enjoy the game on one of the many television sets.
Eamonn Torrico, right, enjoys a beer at Old Chicago while discussing marketing strategies with Jeff Nations, left, during a break from work on Tuesday. Torrico is considered a regular at the restaurant and says its the friendly clientelle and home-like atmosphere that keeps him coming back.
Old Chicago showcases a wide range of pizzas from specialty flavors such as Hawaiian, $15.29, and Warsteiner Beer Sausage, $15.49, to choosing your own topping. The pizza does not disappoint with its soft-chewy dough, crispy crust and bountiful toppings smothered in cheese. However, the price is rather high compared to other pizza places (a medium one-topping is $12.29 and a large one-topping is $15.29).
A good time to go in is between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Old Chicago offers an all-you-can-eat pizza bar for $7.49.
For appetizers, the Nachos Grande ($6.99) is a delectable platter assortment of tortilla chips topped by black beans, bell peppers, onions, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa. Add chicken for $1.99 more. For more variety, try the Sampler Platter ($16.99). It includes chicken wings, artichoke dip, mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, fresh veggies and garlic bread. The plate is huge, so eating with a friend is advised.
Continuing in the tradition of its founders, every Old Chicago features an extensive assortment of beers. There are over 30 brands on tap and another 100 or so bottled.
Charles Lubek, a sports medicine major at Metro, takes a break from his job as a server at Old Chicago on Tuesday afternoon. Lubeck is 22 years old and has been serving at Old Chicago for nearly eight months.
Old Chicago offers its patrons to join the World Beer Tour. For those who join and manage to sample the 110 varieties of beer, they will win a sweatshirt and get their name immortalized on the "Wall of Foam." Throughout the tour, smaller prizes are given out once a certain number is reached.
At various times during the year, mini-tours are offered. These tours consist of about ten beers that relate to the time of year. For example, March features a special St. Patrick's Day assortment of Irish beers. Everyone who completes the tour wins a t-shirt.
For dessert, there's the Old Chicago's Famous Big Cookie ($3.99). How big is big? The chocolate chip cookie is served in a pizza pan. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it's a culinary piece of heaven.
The jerk fries (99 cents) are an ideal complement to any sporting event. They are covered in peppery jerk spices and are perfect with a side of ranch.
Pizza, beer and sports: it makes for a nice little escape from the stresses of life.
Famous Pizza #2 2035 S. Broadway
Fame is a fickle prize. It can be awarded on a subjective basis and is not always given to the most worthy.
Famous Pizza #2, a pizza parlor tucked off of Broadway and Evans, tosses an excellent New York style pizza at a price worthy of any college student's recognition.
As a Metro student driving down bustling South Broadway with a stomach tank on empty, one sign stands out: "$4.95 combo special."
What could be more blissful than a sign detailing a cheap meal being attached to a pizza joint? A sign belonging to a place that delivers on its name, of course.
This offer is not your typical McDonald's combo meal. With its two slices of pizza, a salad and a small drink, this combo can satisfy even the most ferocious appetite.
Famous Pizza #2's ambience is familiar, like a kindly grandmother's house filled with fake trees, which acts as a food sanctuary for a tribe of hungry men.
But what makes grandma's house grandma's house? It's the ever-present aromatic backdrop that preludes the treats that grace the stomach. The bountiful-sized pizzas sit behind a protective glass and emanate the smells of melted cheese and cooked meats.
As another atmospheric perk, it is immediately inviting to see a restaurant's walls housing pictures of old-school sports stars like Bo Jackson and a longhaired Andre Aggasi.
It almost feels like a crime to walk away with two generously sized slices of pizza, a garden salad and a drink for such a cheap price.
The combo slices are packed with pepperoni, sausage, green peppers and mushrooms. The crust is a thin and doughy treat that provides a perfect compliment to the sweet tomato sauce.
Although the pizza is delicious, it's not designed for health nuts. Bites taken from the pizza's oozing cheese release a decadent mixture of fatty oils.
The salad is typical. It is more like a garden-variety mix of iceberg lettuce with a couple of sparingly placed tomatoes. This place is not best patroned with a garden salad in mind.
Considering the menu, one has to wonder whether Famous Pizza #2 was built with the poor college student in mind. They offer their large slices of pizza that range from $1.50 for cheese to $1.95 for a combination.
To keep the combo options interesting, Famous Pizza #2 offers a large menu, which includes subs, salads, calzones and even gyros.
The restaurant's self-proclaimed fame may very well come from its great food, low prices and varied menu. The mural on its west wall depicts a barrage of painted pop figures that include Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jordan sitting with John Elway. In a simulated sense, one can rub elbows with celebrities at Famous Pizza #2.
While it still may not be as famous as the patrons painted on their wall, Famous Pizza #2 is a Mecca for any college student looking to sate his appetite on an exhausted budget.
Two Fisted Mario's 1626 Market St.
Two-Fisted Mario's puts up a good fight for the title of the most original pizzeria in town.
Upon arrival, it looks like any other hipster Denver hole-in-the-wall. There is a cool, laid back atmosphere and it is staffed by cool, laid back people. On taking in the ambience more fully, it is easy to see the unique character that Two-Fisted Mario's does possess.
An eclectic collection of who's who in Denver music, film and events, clutter the bright walls alongside the menu boards. Old-school punk rock static flows through the speakers, mixing with the sounds of conversations and clattering oven doors. The smell of rising crust and bubbling cheese tinged with a hint of cigarette smoke, wafts through the air. Tables sit alongside consoles of classic Namco games-Ms. Pac-Man, Centipede and Asteroids. The guys behind the counter talk amongst themselves while tossing handmade pizza dough in the air. All this is great, but what I really came for was the pizza.
Turning my attention to the menu board, I read through a multitude of choices and varieties. You can choose between a Sicilian slice for about $1.80 or an entire pie with the works for $10-$13. Don't feel like either? How about a piping hot calzone filled with a plethora of choices: anchovies or traditional pepperoni, onions or Transylvanian garlic, spinach or jalapenos? On a health kick? There's the option of "Rabbit Food," a colorful house salad topped with either Ranch or Italian for only $3.25. To accompany your meal try any of the beers on tap: Blue Moon, Sam Adams or PBR, to name a few. Any way you go, you're sure to satisfy your Italian-inspired craving, while being easy on your wallet.
Justin "Tex" Stalkfleet tosses dough into the air while making a pizza at Two Fisted Mario's on Tuesday afternnoon. The aspiring actor from Ft.Worth, Texas intends to join Metro's drama department this summer.
I opt for one of the pre-made selections. Mario's Special comes complete with pepperoni, Italian sausage, meatballs, green peppers, onions, black and green olives and, my personal favorite, extra cheese. After ordering, we are offered the choice of a Mickey Mouse pull-and-talk toy or a little yellow plane, complete with plastic pilot. We choose the yellow plane. Why the toys? The guy at the register explains with quiet demeanor that they are table markers. Oh!
With our plane in hand, we sit down at the Ms. Pac-Man tabletop. Given that each pizza was made to order, we are OK waiting 20 minutes. Besides, we are faced with the daunting task of fleeing ghosts and getting to the next level. After a few defeats and an exhausted supply of quarters, our pizza is served. Though it isn't exactly service with a smile, they get the order right and deliver the pizza intact. Before our server leaves, I inquire about the origin of the name, Two-Fisted Mario's. His answer is very simple: a shrug and "I don't know."
The slices are the size of both of your hands side by side. The pizza itself is loaded with toppings and cheese, and the crust is light and flakey, just how a pizza should be. The food won't overwhelm the taste buds, but it is satisfying. We leave with the unanswered questions, but with full stomachs and our fill of Ms. Pac-Man.
California Pizza Kitchen 3000 E 1ST Ave Ste 185
California Pizza Kitchen infuses fresh and exotic ingredients with traditional tastes for a truly avant-garde culinary experience.
One of the various locations nationwide is about four miles from the Auraria Campus at 3000 E. 1st St. Though each location is yet another commodity to the chain, each is unique as the quality of the pizzas reflects a fresh and individualized product.
Upon entering the establishment, there is a resonance of positive attitudes and innovation that permeates the air. Immediately, the pungent aromas invite the senses on a journey far from the traditional pizzeria experience. Pizzas to choose from include but are not limited to the chipotle chicken, Jamaican jerk chicken, carne asada, Thai chicken, peking duck, sweet and spicy Italian sausage and shrimp scampi. With a gamut of vegetarian pizzas, such as the pear and gorgonzola, vegetarian with Japanese eggplant, and goat cheese with roasted peppers, the California Pizza Kitchen is accessible to various diets and lifestyles. These pizzas incorporate such unique ingredients as applewood smoked bacon, avocado, cilantro pesto, shiitake mushrooms, barbeque sauce and roasted peanuts.
The drawback to this varied menu is mainly for those with traditional palettes. If you are not exactly a fan of mixing tastes, the pizza may not be the item for you. Also on the menu are pastas, salads, soups, sandwiches and deserts. Essentially, the California Pizza Kitchen menu is expansive enough that it is bound to include individual tastes and combinations that strike your fancy.
The subtle atmosphere and vibrant ingredients warrant a slightly pricier menu, with most items ranging from $8.00-$13.00, which means the California Pizza Kitchen would probably not be the first pick for casual and cheap dining. However, the pizzas are plenty large enough for two people to share, making it a versatile and accessible choice for your next wild and crazy pizza outing.
In a culinary playground where pizza is no longer confined to the conventional standards of tomato-based sauce and mozzarella cheese, The California Pizza Kitchen transcends the gap between fresh and eccentric ingredients and the tradition of pizza. A visit to the California Pizza Kitchen proves to be quite the atypical pizza experience and may permanently change your outlook on pizza.
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