Go Now: Pizzeria Lui

A recent meeting with Jeff Cleary and Kathy Mullen of Golden’s Grateful Bread Company yielded a terrific tip: Go to Pizzeria Lui. The month-old Lakewood pizza shop sits on a stretch of Mississippi Avenue better known for tamales than Neapolitan-style pizza, but find it and you will return.

Chef-owner Zach Parini learned the art of making bread under Cleary before launching Lui, and his experience pays off in chewy, perfectly charred 14-inch pies. Combinations such as classic Margherita and the more nuanced Lawn Boy with pesto, artichokes, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and arugula cook at 900 degrees in the red Acunto wood-burning oven that anchors the restaurant.

You can order to go, but as with any pizza, it’s best to eat in. Parini has brightened up the space (a former liquor store) with sunny windows, picnic tables, and a small, ever-changing selection of craft brews and ciders. So, stay put and chat with Parini while he pulls pie after perfect pie from the oven. When it’s your pizza he hands over, you won’t be disappointed.

Tip: While it’s still on the board, do not miss the Peach Pit: This white pie tastes of summer with Palisade peaches, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, globs of ricotta, pistachios, and a drizzle of spicy honey.

5380 W. Mississippi Ave., Lakewood, 303-922-3202