Pizza Public brings good pies and live music

by Elisa Cohen |

WEST HIGHLANDS – From the outside, you can’t tell that there is a pizza on the menu that humorously calls into question the virtue of Queen Margherita. No, from the outside Pizza Public looks a little dull, but step into the newly remodeled space and laugh as the menu presents some cleverly named pies. But better yet, ooh and ahh when you take some bites of these creatively concocted pizzas with Northside names.

The nondescript building on the west side of Federal between Speer and 32nd spouted a new sign: Public Pizza six weeks ago. Inside, a warm remodel presents comfortable booths, four-top dark wooden tables, a large bar and a stage area for live music. It’s a big space with enough seating for over 100. The A-frame roofline gives the space an open feeling, while the lush drapes add hints of upscale, but not too far up.

On my first visit, I came with my friend. While we were tempted by the lunch deal - two one-topping slices with a soft drink for $5, we decided to try out one of the combos from the menu. We split a personal size Tejon, $11. Here is where I liked seeing homage made to North Denver. The menu read, “Honoring a strong part of Colorado’s culture, the Tejon has a green chile sauce with white aged cheddar, chicken breast, sliced avocado, cilantro and crème fresh.” A strong smell of cumin and chile mixed nicely with the chicken, cheese, cilantro and crème fraiche to create a powerful and rich flavor that made this one of the favorite pizza slices I have eaten in a while. In addition to a very successful combination of flavors, I really like Pizza Public’s crust. Not too thick, not too thin, just right in my opinion. Chewy without being tough, and flavorful without being greasy. All good things when I select a pizza.

Thinking we would only a few bites of pizza because of sharing the personal pizza, we also shared a Pizza Public Salad, $8. They put the romaine lettuce, onions, tomatoes, carrots and croutons into two dishes for easier sharing. We selected the Dark Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette and we both really liked the rich flavor of the dressing.

Our second encounter with Pizza Public came through ordering online for pick up. They don’t deliver, so since I had a meeting and couldn’t make dinner before leaving, I suggested to my husband that he find them online and order some pizzas for our tribe. His Internet search found Pizza Public through Grub Hub, an online food ordering system. Although it was easy, they charged a fee and in the future, we will go to www.thepizzapublic.com to find their phone number and order the old fashioned way.

Some of our kids are vegetarian, so they selected the Hooker, the above mentioned jibe at Queen Margherita, with fresh tomato sauce, basil, and olive oil, $16. The flavors were big and rich and satisfied the kids. They also ordered the Meat the Public, $18. As described on the menu: For those with a carnivorous appetite. Fresh Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Pepperoni, Ham, Ground Beef, Bacon, and a choice of Mild Italian Sausage, Hot Italian Sausage, or Chorizo. Is your cardiologist on speed dial? They did not lie, the pizza came loaded with a thick layer of multiple selections of meat.

On a final visit, we came as a family on a Saturday night. A large party of about 18 people was grouped in the middle of the dining area. I liked that the place could satisfy the needs of this large party while at the same time having plenty of room for all of us in comfortable booths. My niece came with us on this visit, so we were able to see how well the Pizza Bambini, $5, for a small personal pizza and a drink, would satisfy her hunger. Perfectly. She had more pizza than she could eat and the waiter refilled our soft drinks so frequently, I think we were both ready to float away by the end of the meal.

On this visit, we sampled from the appetizer menu. We selected the Feta and Spinach Mushrooms, $8. These crusted mushrooms came on a nice platter with sliced apples and berries. We also tried the Costa Nostra shrimp, $10. These plump crustaceans perched upon planks of hearty bread dipped into a rich broth of wine and butter. My daughter liked the dish especially when she added a bit of salt. I like it when food is not too salty so we agreed it was to both our liking. In addition to the appetizers, we selected the chopped salad, $10 with chopped romaine, ham, bacon, blue cheese crumbles, diced Roma tomatoes, green peppers and red onion. Although the ingredients were good, they were not chopped up like we expected. I also selected the Spinach and Chicken Salad, $10, which came loaded with baby spinach, marinated breast of Chicken, Chevre goat cheese, dried cranberries and mandarins with roasted peppitas. This was a good salad.

We wanted to try to the desserts because they looked good, but none of us were hungry enough to order more.

The bartender greeted us at our table and told us that he booked the bands that come on Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9pm. He books mostly blues and funk bands, “you know, the stuff we all like,” he said as he invited us to return for the live music.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Pizza Public. The space is nice; the service was friendly and attentive; and the pizzas are nicely done. It’s a good addition to the North Denver casual dining scene.

Pizza Public  
Cuisine: Pizza
Price: $5-$18
Uniqueness: Interesting combinations with funny North Denver names.
Urge to return: High*

3109 Federal Blvd | (720) 524-8885

by