I finally had a chance to try Pizzeria Basta, the wood-fired pizza shop in Boulder that's been grabbing headlines (the latest of which was a mention in the October issue of Bon Appetit).

Lunch on the patio was simple: A bowl of rustic and velvety roasted red pepper and tomato soup with mascarpone, a straightforward salad of romaine, lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper, an Italian-style pepperoni pizza, and a calzone topped with melted grana Padano. Every dish tasted fresh and hand-crafted—my only complaint was that both the pizza and the calzone had an abundance of chewy dough.

Simplicity and quality is what Basta is all about. Chef-owner Kelly Whitaker uses a decades-old starter for his pizza dough, he hand-stretches mozzarella and makes his own ricotta for the salads and pizzas, and he employs as much local produce as he can get.

I look forward to going back and trying items from the rest of the menu—especially the speck,  prosciutto, and pickled vegetable charcuterie plate and the cart-driver pizza with house-made sausage, rapini, house-made mozzarella, fennel pollen, and chiles. 

Tip: The lunch special is an especially good deal: a pizza, sandwich, or calzone with a choice of salad or soup for $10.

3601 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, 303-997-8775