Denver pizza legend does it again 🍕 #shorts

Marco's Coal Fired has been one of my go-to pizza spots in Denver for years, so when I heard the same team opened a second concept — Dough Counter, over on Colorado Blvd — I didn't need much convincing to make the drive. New York and Sicilian-style pizza from people who already proved they know what they're doing with a crust. That's a pretty easy yes.

The setup at Dough Counter is more casual than Marco's. Counter service, a simpler room, the kind of place where you're not making a reservation and dressing up for it. I went on a weekend afternoon and the line moved faster than I expected. The staff knew the menu, which sounds like a low bar but genuinely helps when you're trying to decide between a by-the-slice situation and going in on a full pie.

The Pizza Itself

The New York slices are the real draw for me. Thin, foldable, with a char on the underside that tells you they're taking the bake seriously. The ratio of sauce to cheese is right — not buried under toppings, not skimpy. You can taste the dough, which is the whole point. I got a couple of slices and a Sicilian square, and the Sicilian surprised me more than I expected. It had that dense, airy crumb you want, with a crispy bottom that held up without being tough. A lot of places get one or the other wrong. This one didn't.

I'll say the Sicilian is the move if you haven't had it here. The New York slices are consistent and satisfying, but the Sicilian square is where you can tell they've put in real work. The corner piece, if you can get it, is worth asking about.

What Actually Works Here

The pizza cred behind this place is real, and it shows up in the product. Marco's Coal Fired isn't just a local favorite by reputation — it's legitimately one of the better pizza spots in the city, which is a harder thing to say about Denver than it used to be. Dough Counter doesn't feel like a side project or a cash-in on that name. The focus is there.

Colorado Blvd is a stretch of the city a lot of people drive through without stopping, and Dough Counter is one of the better reasons to actually pull over. Parking along that corridor can be annoying depending on when you go, but it's not bad enough to be a real obstacle — there's usually something within a reasonable walk.

The Honest Part

Counter service means you're not getting a full sit-down experience, and the room isn't trying to be anything other than functional. If you're coming in expecting the atmosphere of a full-service restaurant, you'll want to adjust those expectations. But if you're there for the pizza — which you should be — none of that matters.

The price point felt fair for what you're getting. This isn't cheap pizza, but it's not pretending to be. You're paying for quality ingredients and a kitchen that understands what makes a good slice. That trade-off works for me.

Denver's pizza scene has gotten more interesting over the last few years. A place like this raises the average without making a big deal about it, which is the best way to do it. No gimmick, no novelty angle — just a team that knows how to make pizza running a second spot that doesn't coast on the first one's reputation.

If you're already on the east side of the city or making a run up Colorado Blvd, stop in. If you're specifically a Sicilian pizza person and you haven't been yet, it's worth planning around.