Denver vs. NYC

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New York is a super-cool, beautiful city. Denver, also super-cool and beautiful, isn't quite in the same Yankee-playing ballpark - but we're making strides. While we've now got several Macy's, you won't see a 60-foot tall Garfield balloon making its way down Speer. Downtown Denver rents have gotten higher than a Kate Moss boyfriend, but you can still find an apartment without selling your grandmother's kidneys.

As for the food, NYC has some of the tastiest, most exciting food you'll find in America. And, well, so do we. The influx of creative chefs over the past 10 years has turned the Denver Metro area from a city that ate to live, to one that lives to eat. One of the foods that we do just as well as the Big Apple—warning to NY: your thunder is about to be stolen - is New York style pizza.

Yes I said it. Denver has beaten, OK tied, New York at its own cuisine. Come on, did you really think you could keep the recipe held hostage among your concrete and subways? We've got mountains, baby. And the light rail. So take that.

Virgilio's:  Even if you don't like Virgilio's Pizza, you've got to admit that it's probably the New Yorkiest.  What other place gets people arguing so heatedly over bread and cheese? It's got its diehards (some fans drive across the state for a taste), and it's got its haters (some claim abuse by the owner - wait, doesn't that just enhance the NYC atmosphere?), but it's also got thin crust, a sparse use of sauce and brick-lined ovens - all of which add up to New York in my book. So come for the pizza, stay for the loud-mouthed debate.

Anthony's: I'm usually skeptical of delivery pizza joints with more than a few locations - too much Domino's and Pizza Hut in college. But Anthony's Pizza & Pasta, with more than 20 locations scattered throughout the Front Range, is just the kind of New York pizza that I crave (and that I'm too lazy to go pick up). I'm talking Robert De Niro, Catcher in the Rye, Saturday Night Live New York. Wide, thin, flexible slices are brushed with just the right amount of sauce, then coated with gobs of stringy mozzarella. The result is a greasy, cheesy pizza that you absolutely must eat.

Santeramo's: An Arvada staple for more than 30 years, Santeramo's knows how to make New York style pizza. They start out slow, with a jaundiced-looking crust that you may prefer to leave on your plate, but it gets good - real good - when they add their perfect sauce, gooey cheese and fresh toppings. If a pizza sauce looked up at me, told me I was beautiful and handed me a wad of cash, it still couldn't out-do this sauce. Seasoned with oregano, dried red chili pepper and garlic powder, the sauce is as spicy as an episode of "Sex and the City" (pre-Baryshnikov of course). Along with the cheese and toppings, the pizza is set in a brick oven to fully realize its happy-inducing potential.

Abo's: While Abo's Pizza isn't quite the taste bud explosion as the other three, it has to be included on a New York pizza list because of its crust. Simple, thin and crisp, this is the New Yorkiest crust you'll find in Denver. Maybe they've built a secret pipeline to transport in NYC tap water. Who knows? But the crust is pure, bare-bones New York style, and even though what they top it off with may be lacking, it's still worth a try.