Pizzeria Leopold

"No, Pizzeria Leopold isn’t in Denver, but what’s a 15-minute detour west when pizza and cannoli are involved? The blistered, thin-but-still-sturdy crust is great, but it’s the toppings that make Leopold—part pizzeria and part Italian grocer—worth the drive. Choose from Palisade peaches, River Bear candied bacon, house-made meatballs, chicken cutlets, and roasted eggplant—just maybe not all on the same pizza. (Or on the same pizza. You do you.) Since you drove all that way, it’s best to settle into the cozy dining room, grab a beer, a pistachio cannoli, and pick up some Italian groceries and cold cuts on your way out." - Allyson Reedy

"The seats at the bar of this Lakewood successor to Deli Italia are the best in the house, offering an unobstructed view of pie after pie being assembled from start to finish — and what a finish it is, courtesy of beautifully blistered crusts that glisten with a brush of olive oil beneath the likes of garlic sauce, speck, spinach, and pepperoncini or goat cheese, roasted eggplant, arugula, and balsamic reduction." - Gigi Sukin, Paul Albani-Burgio, Ruth Tobias