Fine Fare

Bravo! Brava Pizzeria!

shelly
Pizza in the Rain
Brava is perched right under the clock tower at 16th and Arapahoe

I took advantage of Monday’s overcast, cool weather to wander farther than I usually do for lunch and grabbed a pizza at the Brava! Pizzeria stand. Dave, the owner, had emailed me a few weeks ago to let me know he’d been slinging pies on the 16th Street Mall since the beginning of May, and I’ve been meaning to make it down ever since. Nuzzled up nice and close to the clock tower on the Mall at Arapahoe (yes, directly across from Biker Jim’s normal spot), these guys have a wood fired oven built onto a trailer, and are churning out wonderfully crisp, pretty little pies in almost no time at all.

3 Pillars of Fab Street Food

In my humble opinion, there are 3 things that make street food awesome. It has to be

  • tasty as hell
  • fast
  • and inexpensive
That's a damned fine pizza. 6 minutes. 6 bucks.

I admit that I’ve been skeptical that a great and sorta fancy pizza could be all three. Another writer here at denverstreetfood.com tried to get a quick pizza at Civic Center Eats a few weeks back and waited nearly half an hour – and while that’s great if I’m at a table with a glass of wine and some nosh, it’s not great if I’m standing outside in 90 degree heat or a cool drizzle. Am I right?

Anyway, I am happily proven wrong: Brava! meets all the requirements! The high heat of the wood oven and the streamlined process (3 friendly and efficient staffers!) meant my lunch went from being a ball of dough to a delicious margherita pizza laden with San Marzano tomatoes, plenty of fresh basil and a perfect amount of bubbling fresh mozzarella in just about 6 minutes (yes – I timed it. I told you, I was skeptical!) and all for $6 even. The menu has a pepperoni pizza, a sausage one, and mushroom pie as well.

In short: Damned fine ‘za in record time and for not a lot of cash. Bravo, Brava! Dave wasn’t at the stand today, but maybe I’ll meet him next time, because I’ll definitely be back.

Overheard

Totally unrelated, but I overheard someone talking to my pizza preparing guy, and he said he he had gotten his proposal accepted to set up on Auraria campus. I’ve heard that a few street food vendors were asked to make a pitch to Auraria – previously a dark spot for street food.  I have no idea who this guy was, but fingers crossed he was talking about street food. I know a few Metro/CU Denver folks who will be in hog heaven if this starts happening!