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The American Southwest isn’t exactly known worldwide as a pizza destination. There just isn’t an iconic style that we all want to race to experience in Arizona like there is in Detriot, Chicago, or NYC. Still, there’s great pizza to be had in the southwestern states and that’s what this list is about.
The best pizza in the Southwest is an amalgamation of all the details and styles that make pizza great. There’s a little bit of Naples alongside a little bit of Detriot and Brooklyn. There are variations and innovations. You’ll find that when pizza isn’t tethered to a hardline of so-called tradition, it can grow and flourish. That’s what makes this region of America so great for pizza — they’re tossing pies like nobody’s watching.
These are the pizza places you need to visit if you find yourself in the American Southwest.
TEXAS: Via 313, Austin
We’re leading off in this region with a Detriot-style pizza joint, based in Austin. We know that may be blasphemous to Texans, but there’s not really a “Texan” style pizza.
Via 313 takes the Sicilian-inspired Detriot Style pizza and knocks it out of the park. The company’s locations around Austin also help make this place a must-visit for any weary traveler looking to fill up on fantastic pizza pie and a well-crafted beer. The three brick and mortars are bolstered by two pizza trailers — one at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden and another at Craft Pride on Rainey Street. As great as a lot of pizza is around Austin and all over Texas, you really can’t beat the good vibes at Via 313.
Detriot Style pizza is a kind of like pizza in reverse — some people even call it “upside down” pizza. Basically, Via 313’s pizzas are built upon a super soft and chewy crust with a serious crispiness from the pan and the oil it’s baked in. Pepperoni goes on first, then the cheese, then more toppings, and, finally, the sauce. The cheese starts to bubble up through the sauce and sort of emulsify into a brilliant layer of saucy cheese. The last ripple is the rectangular shape. It makes so much sense when you eat it that you’ll almost forget most pizzas are pie shaped.
Try The 500 first. It has naturally cased pepperoni, pickled jalapenos, and full rings of canned pineapple. It’s sweet, spicy, cheesy, meaty, chewy, and crunchy all at once. In other words, it’s a goddamn delight.
OKLAHOMA: Eagle One Pizza, Oklahoma City & Midwest City
A great pizza joint doesn’t need any frills. It just has to sling great pies and people will come again and again. OKC’s Eagle One Pizza hits that mark perfectly.
Eagle One Pizza is the pizza joint your parents picked up pies from when they were just too tired to cook but still wanted a hot dinner that kept the kids quiet. There’s something universal about the place, from the black and white checkered floor to the ever-so-slightly greasy parmesan and red pepper flake shakers. Eagle One feels like home.
It helps that the pizza rocks, of course. The pies are what we’d like to call “classic American.” They’re big pies with a medium, hand-tossed crust that stay nice and gooey towards the middle while crisping up nicely towards the crust (they do have a thin crust option as well). The sauce has that nice hint of sweet next to the tomato umami edge. The mozzarella is heaped on generously and the toppings are classic — pepperoni, Italian sausage, bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, jalapenos dominate.
Think of the pizzas at Eagle One like a Costco or Domino’s pie done just for you with tender loving care every time. It’s what you know but done better and it will put a smile on your face.
COLORADO: Cart-Driver, Denver
If you’re serving pies in a state with legal cannabis, you’d best be on your game. We all get a desire to kill a whole pie after getting a little baked. If you do decide to eat a whole pizza in one sitting while you’re in CO., it’s probably best to go Neapolitan and funky. In other words, head to Cart-Driver.
Cart-Driver is an on-point Italian eatery up in Denver that serves some of the most interesting pies right alongside a serious raw seafood bar. The post-modernist restaurant has a bustle to it that draws you in for the long haul. You’ll sit down thinking you’ll just grab a pizza and bounce. The next thing you know, you’ll be ordering another round of oyster and clams, a third Spritz, and maybe just one more pizza. It’s that good.
The pizza at Cart-Driver is very Neapolitan by design. The chewy, wood-fired crusts offer the exacting thinness leading to a chewy crust, similar to what you’ll find on the streets of Napoli. There’s just a hint of sourdough funkiness and wood-fired char. The domestically-sourced ingredients are what makes these pies shine. Their Summer Special pizza is always a must-try if you’re in town. This year, that pie features Palisade peaches from out in California, alongside crispy prosciutto, sharp red onion, bright marjoram oil, and fresh burrata cheese. It’s a wondrous concoction of sweet, funk, umami, and sunshine vibes.
UTAH: The Pie Pizzeria – Underground, Salt Lake City
The Pie Pizzeria is a Salt Lake City institution with locations across the city. But, we’re going to be bold and pick just one location from the local chain. That’s not to say the other spots aren’t great — they are. We just dig this location the most.
The location is on the east side of town near the University of Utah. And if we’ve learned anything traveling the world and eating pizza, pizza joints near colleges tend to be top notch. The Pie – Underground is a rad little basement with graffiti-covered walls, red bulb candles, big ol’ plastic pitchers for killer craft beer, and chill vibe. The dimly lit space will draw you in and you’ll likely end up ordering just one more pitcher of the local craft. They also have a locally brewed micro root beer on tap that’s as smooth as it’s spicy.
The pies here are big and comforting. The base is a pretty standard medium thick crust or a thin crust. Both are thick enough to pile the topping high. The toppings range from the classics to a nice array of specialties of the house like whole roasted garlic cloves, spicy Sicilian tomatoes, and Cajun sausages. There’s also a nice selection of vegan options if you’re into it. We highly recommend skipping the headache of building your own pie and ordering one of their Specialties. The Thai Pie has a lush Thai peanut sauce, sliced chicken breast, pickled carrots, crunchy red onions, and Dole pineapple with fresh basil and chopped cilantro. It’s topped with a light dusting of mozzarella. It’ll leave you dreaming of coming back for more.
NEW MEXICO: Giovanni’s Pizzeria, Albuquerque
Sorry Breaking Bad fans, we’re not going with that pizzeria. We are going with a very New York, Italian American style place that gets the job done.
Giovanni’s Pizzeria is a spot on, small pizzeria in a strip mall. Let’s be honest, strip malls are one of America’s best inventions. Anywhere you can get a massage, car insurance, a six-pack, weed, and great food within a few steps of each other is a win. Giovanni’s keeps it simple. The red-checkered table clothes, the straightforward and delicious menu, the old Formica booths — they all tell you that the pizza is what’s important here.
The pies at Giovanni’s aren’t reinventing the wheel. What they do is take New York-style Neapolitan pizza and execute it perfectly. The crust is just the right amount of thin and chewy, with a nice bit of char around the rim. The cheese is gooey mozz and the toppings are all the classic Italian-American standards: Italian sausage, spicy pepperoni, peppers, olives, anchovies, meatballs, plenty of garlic, and — in keeping with New Mexico tradition — green chiles.
You can build your own pie, of course, but we really recommend Giovanni’s Supreme with pepperoni, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, green chile, sausage, and onion. Imagine the best possible version of a Domino’s Supreme and you’ll be getting close to how good Giovanni’s tastes.
ARIZONA: Craft 64, Scottsdale
Great woodfired pizza and craft beer go together. They just do. The bold flavors of a piquant IPA or a smooth creaminess of a stout work wonders with the crispy crusts, milky cheese, and salty and sweet toppings of a nice pie. Craft 64 in Scottsdale gets that and that’s why you’ve gotta make this stop on a trip through Arizona.
Craft 64’s atmosphere is a big draw. It’s a comfortable space where you can smell pizza coming to life in the fires of their oven. It’ll hook you in a hurry.
The crust hits the Neapolitan thinness, crispiness, and ever-so-slightly chewy mark on the head. The toppings are local, seasonal, and tend to be made in-house. House smoked sausages and local cheeses dominate these pizzas and they’re all the better for it. The Smokehouse Pizza is a great example of Craft 64’s prowess with house smoked sausage, house smoked onions, fresh mozz, and Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s delicate and comforting at the same time. Also, don’t sleep on their Uovo pie with crispy local bacon, fresh eggs, spinach, and plenty of fresh local cheese. It’s a funky and fun delight.
NEVADA: Five50 Pizza Bar, Las Vegas
Picking a pizza place in Nevada is tough. Las Vegas dominates the conversation, simply because all the big name chefs open up shop somewhere near the Strip. This is not to say you can’t find amazing pizza in Reno, Carson City, or Tahoe. You can. It’s just really hard to beat the heights of the Vegas food scene, baby.
We tapped friend to Uproxx, podcast Tsar and pizza enthusiast, Adam Tod Brown, for his favorite pizza spot in Vegas. After a glowing recommendation for Five50 at the Aria, we had to see for ourselves and Brown was right. It’s the best.
Five50 doesn’t do some fancy-schmancy overwrought pizza. Instead, the place makes good, old-fashioned pies that hit on the best elements of New York and Naples at once. The success of this pizza joint is due to James Beard award-winning chef Shawn McClain’s desire to keep it simple and delicious. The pies have that perfect thinness with a little heft to the crust and a slightly yeasty bite. The toppings stay within a narrow lane of classics that are done with a little elevation but not so much so as to alienate. The North Beach pie, for instance, has clams, smoked mozz, sweet onions, and fresh oregano. You just can’t beat those flavors.
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