After a splendid slice at Anthony’s Pizza and Pasta, I Ubered over to the part of Denver known as LoDo (short for Lower Downtown). The destination was Marquis Pizza, my second stop off the Thrillist rundown of the best NYC pizza in Denver.  Once only a nighttime place catering to the late-night crowd, Marquis has recently opened in the daytime as well.

Just a few blocks away from the Colorado Rockies baseball stadium, this pizza joint is attached to the similarly-named Marquis Theater, a small 500-seater concert venue. Reviewing the roster of local bands and touring acts playing the room reminded me of the sad state of getting old. Just too many bands I’ve never heard of. I didn’t feel so bad though when the young guy working the pizza counter remarked how there were bands selling out the place that he’d never heard of either. There’s just too much new music these days to keep up with.

Shifting my talk to pizza, I ordered a plain cheese slice ($3.00) from the counter in the small space adjacent to the theater. Without much room inside, I would be taking my slice out front to the table and stools to dine in the sunshine. Sadly, the surrounding area was a bit messy and full of trash. Someone said it was the remnants of moving the homeless folks away from the area for the Rockies’ Opening Day. Why they didn’t clean up all the remaining debris made no sense.

After a quick heat-up in the big pizza oven, my slice was presented and immediately caused a shock when it looked to be from the same mold as Anthony’s. It was what was in my book becoming the stereotypical “Denver Slice” – long, lean and crisp. The Marquis slice however instantly caught my sense of smell reeking of garlic. Mentioning this to my server, he added “Yeah, we don’t hold back on the garlic!” He sure wasn’t kidding!

But, my-oh-my, this was another amazing slice of pizza. It was delicious through and through, expertly prepared and cooked. The garlic though was perhaps too heavy for my liking, and its aftertaste would linger for quite some time. The crust was good and crunchy from a solid char on its bottom. It was perhaps a little light on the tomato sauce, but was not too oily.

Marquis is still primarily a late-night place and is the perfect ending to a night at the ballgame or whatever you may be up to in LoDo. With still more to discover in Denver, I am amazed with what I have found thus far.

PIZZA SNOB RATING ****1/2 Nearer Perfection
Marquis Pizza
2009 Larimer Street (at 20th Street) Denver, CO   80205
303-292-2829
www.marquispizza.com