"Cheap?" huffs Abraham. "Cheap means not fresh, cheap means poor quality. We are not cheap. You can call us 'affordable,' you can say 'good value,' we are those things. But our food is not 'cheap,' and people who eat here know that our quality is high."
I can attest to the accuracy of the Best of Denver award (see that description below), having ordered pizza directly from the shop more times than might be prudent; I've always been impressed by the generous toppings and how quickly the pies arrived at my Cap Hill apartment. "We get complaints about that," laughs Abraham. "People say, 'I just jumped in the shower, and you were already here: I wasn't ready!'"
The sheer number of offerings on the "and Grill" side of the menu can seem too good to be true, but Abraham has an explanation for the bounty. "We started this menu in 1996, and initially it was only pizza, calzone and wings. Then there were people asking for pasta because it complements pizza. So, Italian cuisine ... and then nobody was delivering salad. People were asking for burgers to be delivered. Nobody was delivering burgers back in the '90s. And then people requested a kids' menu and appetizers."
Abraham and partner/brother-in-law Muhammad Nasir also added Indian to the menu in response to requests. "My parents were born in India, and then we were born in Pakistan. So yeah, a little bit of everything," Abraham says. "In 2007, we added this — and then we said, 'No more.'"
Pizza and Grill remains a 100 percent family-owned and operated business, with relatives jumping in at the counter, in the kitchen, and to make deliveries. "Everything is cooked fresh when you order," Abraham insists. "We make all our own sauces and dough, we cut our own vegetables. Even our chicken wings are never frozen." He leads me into the kitchen, where the surfaces are gleaming. And sure enough, the food doesn't hit the oven, fryer, grill or saucepan until the tickets come in.
In 1996, when this place opened, there was no Doordash, no Uber Eats, and almost no delivery services at all outside of pizza and Chinese. That's changed, of course, and Pizza and Grill has rolled with it. "You can't survive without using third parties," admits Abraham. "Almost 70 percent of our business comes from them, and they charge us anywhere from 17 to 30 percent because people want to order online and not call into the store."
The restaurant is countering that with its own app (iOS, Android) which launched earlier this month. "We're hoping that everyone who orders third-party will come and order from our app," says Abraham. "We're also getting ready to renew our lease."
That's good news for those who love a large menu, with the town's best value version of (almost) everything. Talk is cheap, but Pizza and Grill delivers.
By the way, here's the copy of the Best of Denver award:
Denver would be a happier city if there were a Pizza and Grill in every neighborhood. At this small, casual joint in the Golden Triangle, you can depend on solid food selections from all corners of the world, usually for less than $15. Large pizzas with three toppings are around $20, no coupon required, and the personal lunch special is ridiculously affordable: Burgers, gyros and subs can all be had for less than $12, with fries. Pizza and Grill also serves up a fine plate of chicken curry and tikka masala, and offers an extensive list of Italian-America and Mexican dishes, as well as classic pub appetizers like wings and mozzarella sticks. If you're trying to save a few bucks and can't decide on where to go, remember that the "Grill" in Pizza and Grill is endless.No good deed goes unpublished!
Pizza and Grill is located at 990 Lincoln Street and is open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information, visit mypizzagrill.com.
