Cart-Driver Heats Up RiNo With Wood-Fired Pizza

Chef-owner Kelly Whitaker -- of Boulder's Basta fame -- brings his wood-fired cooking skills to Denver with Cart-Driver, his tribute to Italian street food tucked into a tiny spot in the 2500 Larimer retail center built primarily from re-purposed shipping containers. Featuring raw oysters, pizza and other Italian-influenced and flame-kissed...

By Westword Staff

August 4, 2014

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Chef-owner Kelly Whitaker -- of Boulder's Basta fame -- brings his wood-fired cooking skills to Denver with Cart-Driver, his tribute to Italian street food tucked into a tiny spot in the 2500 Larimer retail center built primarily from re-purposed shipping containers. Featuring raw oysters, pizza and other Italian-influenced and flame-kissed offerings in a fast-casual setting, Cart-Driver also offers prepared dinners that customers can heat up at home.

Our photographer Philip Poston visited Cart-Driver, capturing one of those wood-fired pizzas, plus some of the eatery's unique interior.

Yes, that's a sunny-side up egg being carefully centered on a pizza hot out of the oven. Other than traditional pizzas, a chickpea flour "grandma's pizza" cooked in a cast-iron skillet and fresh horseradish biscuits also emerge from from the wood-fueled cooker.

Cart-Driver is closed Mondays, but is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to midnight. Cart-driver also offers wine, beer and batched cocktails -- like a classic Italian Negroni or a rye whiskey Daisy with Strega, lemon and basil -- served on tap.

Click through to see more of Cart-Driver...

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