Our ten best pizzas in Denver (and Boulder)
According to the Interwebs, it's National Pizza Week (who knew?), which seems like as good a time as any to update our 2011 list of Denver's six best pizzas. Herewith, a citywide guide to the top ten palaces to achieve pizza utopia. 
Lori Midson
10. Stingray
Stringray, which opened in Mach of last year in the former Gelman's space, is definitely a contender in Denver's pizza turf wars. The thin crust, spanked with an herb-laden sauce, strewn with just the right amount of cheese that guarantees dribbles of grease down your chin, and topped with high-quality ingredients, including local sausage from Polidori's, is fitting for piehole purists -- and anyone else who's hankering for an understated slice of heaven.
Lori Midson
9. Marco's Coal-Fired Pizzeria
Mark Dym's lovely pizzas, snatched from the smoke-filled, wood-burning ovens inside the open kitchens of his downtown and Vallagio at Inverness pizza emporiums, are gorgeous, restrained and endeavored to match a bedrock Neapolitan experience. The pizzas have ardent admirers -- and militant naysayers -- but we're fans of the soft, spongy crusts that are scorched in all the right places. We love the deep-fried pizza, too, and can't wait to see what else Dym does with his fryer. 
Lori Midson
From the day it opened, Ernie's Bar & Pizza commanded maddening crowds. The fervor is still doing strong, as is our lust for the pizzas -- well-balanced, New York-style cheese bombs that keep getting better and better as Ernie's continues to ease into the fabric of the Sunnyside neighborhood. The crusts are skinny and chewy with a crisp bottom, the toppings remarkably fresh, the sauce simultaneously sweet and tart. We're particularly enamored with the prosciutto, oven-roasted tomato and arugula pizza, as well as the pie topped with shrimp and capers. 
Lori Midson
Sicilian-style pizza has steadily fallen by the wayside, shunned by aficionados of its nemesis, the thin-crusted Neapolitan pizza that seems to generate all the accolades. For those of you who sidestep Sicilian pizza because of its heft or breadiness, meet Dolce Sicilia, an Italian bakery in Wheat Ridge that turns out pan pizza, lovely slabs of dough that are neither too thick nor too thin, but the perfect balance of springy puffiness and crisp-edged chew. The slices are served at room temperature, and always include a sheet dotted with artichokes, feta, tomatoes and kalamata olives.
Lori Midson
The straight-up, New York-style pizzas at Virgilio's, slippery with a judiciously herby and sweet tomato sauce and topped with housemade mozzarella, are simple pleasures that don't rely on flashy gimmicks or clever Californication approaches to hold your attention. You won't stumble upon chicory or pork belly, fingerling potatoes or porcini dust on the list of pizza toppings. Instead, you'll find classic ingredients that pizza purists hold sacred. We gravitate toward the margherita, a pure expression of cheese, garlic, fresh basil leaves and tomatoes.Lori Midson
Write Comment
Email to Friend
Print Article
