Restaurant Review: How do we get more restaurants like Lucky Pie?

I didn’t think I could top breakfast at Snooze (at least not in the same weekend) but as it happens, I stumbled over Lucky Pie Pizza and Tap House in Denver yesterday, and now I’m ready to move in right above them. Okay, I’d settle for walking distance.

We’d been craving pizza and good beer, saw the good online reviews, and figured it was worth a trip down the hill to LoDo (Lower Downtown). As it turns out, it was; their take on Neapolitan pizza was amazing, with house-made mozzarella, perfect toppings, perfect crust, perfectly baked in an 800-degree open-flame brick oven.

To wash down the pizza, they had a great selection of local microbrews, 21 tap handles, smashing appetizers like kale chips and fried olives, fantastic intelligent service…….really a perfect experience in every way.

What we ALSO got in the bargain was an introduction to a restaurant that’s doing it so, so right:

• The above mentioned house-made cheeses, as well as cured meats from such sources as La Quercia and the legendary Salumeria Biellese. You can enjoy these at the mozzarella bar, creating a custom plate of perfect meats, cheeses, olives, and more.
• Locally-sourced ingredients from providers like Red Wagon Organic Farm, Hazel Dell Mushrooms, Wisdom’s Natural Poultry, Jumpin’ Good Goat Dairy, and more……and produce from their very own organic garden in Boulder County.
• Great local microbrews on tap, the way they’re meant to be enjoyed.
• A place with a strong emphasis on local, organic, sustainable, and fair, which percolates down through the entire organization to the front line, who are justifiably proud of it. The servers are bright and helpful, perfect ambassadors for the restaurant’s concept.

I don’t expect that we’ll ever see a restaurant of this caliber on every street corner. Here in my exurban town, for example, I’m hard-pressed to find a single restaurant that will go so far as to even put organic/local/sustainable anything on the menu, let alone make it part of their mission statement.  In larger markets like Denver, many restaurants seem to be making some kind of effort in this direction (if only to keep up with consumer preferences), but it hasn’t trickled down to us yet, sadly.

But that’s okay for now. I’m happy to give my money to Lucky Pie any day of the week, for going the extra mile to do it right. May they prosper and grow as much as they’d like.

Category: Beer, Food, Local, Organic, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants, Spirits, Sustainable, Uncategorized