Beau Jo's

“My course is set for an uncharted sea… into the eternal darkness, into fire and into ice … Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us.”

— Dante’s Inferno (1320 CE)

In the middle of a Colorado journey, I found myself in a dark woods where the straight way was lost. Before me there was only the eternal … but such is my fate: the eternal I must endure. And so then I came upon it, a sign that simply read: “Beau Jo’s Colorado Style Pizza.”

Beau Jo’s specialty is one of the most rare regional pizza variants: “Colorado Mountain Pie.” This style is distinguished by its mountainous crust (specifically the outer “cornicione”). The Mountain Pie dough recipe includes honey, and the result is a sweet, rather thick crust bearing more than a little resemblance to a soft pretzel — it’s even braided like one for structural integrity. Boldly leaning into the sweetness, there’s also honey at each table for crust-dipping. Eschewing traditional sizing, pizzas are ordered by the pound here: pictured is the 5lb option. While the size might evoke comparisons to Chicago-style, it’s actually extremely different: Colorado style is sweet and cooked quickly in a wood-fired oven, whereas Chicago-style deep dish is buttery, biscuit-like, and cooked at a lower temperature in a gas oven for about 40 minutes. Candidly, Colorado Mountain Pie wasn’t my favorite — but I very much appreciate innovation and enjoy regional and international pizza diversity. And of course: all pizza is good.

…perhaps the devil is not as black as he is painted.