Time to Up Your Pizza Game!
There's an ancient proverb that roughly translates to "someone with a boring taste in pizza toppings risks having a boring life." As much as favorites like pepperoni, four-cheese, and the infamous none pizza with left beef, might be party favorites, it's worth going out of your comfort zone. After all, pizza is a brave frontier where there are no rules—only recommendations! To that end, let's take a look at some of the most creative topping combinations that you can find in Denver, starting with:
Vegan Buffalo Chicken
We get it—vegan buffalo chicken sounds like an oxymoron. After all, doesn't it defeat the point to do a vegan version of a food whose name is two different animals? Don't let the meatless nature of this pizza turn you off, however, as it's an incredibly robust reimagining of a normally unexciting combo. Bonus points for the fact that it includes shiitake bacon. You read that correctly.
Royale With Cheese
Cheeseburgers and pizza are two foods that occupy nearby spots in our collective food brain but are seldom featured together. After all, when was the last time you saw a pizza burger on the menu somewhere? Thankfully, Crush Pizza + Tap makes for an effective cross-cultural ambassador in this all-star fast-food tribute. Ground beef, sweet pickles, and a generous helping of cheeseburger-esque cheese blend make this an Avengers-level crossover.
Clam
Seafood on pizza might seem like a weird choice if you live in Colorado, but this coastal combination is worth trying. Littleneck clam, pancetta, and roasted garlic make for a pretty intense combination—well worth the market price that you need to pay for it. When your pizza experience involves market-rate fishmongering, you know you're in for an interesting time.
Are you FIGgin’ kidding me?!
There's a general rule that pizzas with pun-tastic names taste better, and this figgy pizza is no exception. Figs are one of those foods that everybody's heard of but nobody's actually tried—and this is a chance to escape that. Featuring rosemary, figs, and goat cheese, this pizza is also topped with a hint of fig balsamic for that extra-figgy finish.
The Sour Kraut
There's a reason that people don't generally think of German food outside of big pretzels and beer festival treats. After all, when was the last time you were hungry for a big plate of spätzle and schnitzel? That said, this pizza is sure to bring out the Barvarian in you with a combination of Dijon mustard, bratwurst, and sauerkraut.
Wild In Havana
There's plenty of creative pies on The Mellow Mushroom's psychedelic menu, but this one is easily our favorite. It's effectively a Cubano sandwich, except deliver in a stone-baked pizza form. Jerk pork, Cuban cheese, diced pickles, and smoked ham? Absolutely. It even comes finished with a mayo-mustard drizzle for that extra little oomph of flavor.
Old Comiskey
Giardiniera is a sweet Italian relish that's made out of a couple of different pickled vegetables, and it's also the only ingredient on this pizza. A pickled blend of cauliflower, red onion, olive, jalapeno, and carrots might seem like a strange combination, but they come through in some fascinating ways. If nothing else, the word "giardiniera" feels fancy enough that you can brag about trying it on your resume.
What are some of your favorite adventurous pizza topping combinations, and where do you order them? Sound off in the comments.
