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CRUSTY OLD FIGHTER PILOT AND HIS CRUSTY OLD PIZZAS

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Contributed by: Dave Hughes on 6/12/2008

One thing that travelling the world in uniform does for Americans is expose them to the delights of other cultures. Link that up with a fighter pilot's long time love of good food and cooking, and you have the recipe for a brand new restaurant in Old Colorado City. Its not your everyday restaurant that retired Colonel Dave Brackett decided to plunge into. He took off with as much training and élan as he once made target runs in his F-16s, F5s, A10s and F18s but a Neapolitan-style Pizzaria. And his wife Laura and daughter Jeanette are his wingmen - or do we say wingwomen today? A small family business all the way, just as many have been in Colorado City the last 150 years. It's Pizzeria Rustica at 2527 West Colorado Avenue, right in the middle of what was once Saloon Row in wide open Colorado City. In fact he occupies the space, if not the buildings that were the Abbey & Nickell, and Rumsey & Worley saloons 100 years ago. I'll bet they didn't have Pinot Grigio Ca 'Montini L'Aristocratico wine Dave offers today with his pizza menus! Now Dave, during his 35 year Air Force career, besides flying just about every US fighter made, was the Air Liaison Officer for the Army combat units stationed at Fort Carson, was on the NORAD Joint Staff in Colorado Springs, and became the Military Attaché in the US Embassies in both Switzerland, and Canada. He had lots of chances to sample original style pizzas in Italy. When he retired in 2007 to the home he and his wife had wisely bought years before on the Westside he had decided living in Colorado, and serving artisan pizzas in Old Colorado City was the way to transition into retirement. In his characteristic can do habit of flight preparation, he took off for Italy to really sample their pizza wares and began to learn how to make them. And he then took his 'advanced' shall we say 'Napoletana Pizzaiolo Flight Training' in Verace Pizza in Marina del Rey, California. He opened his place with indoor seating connected to his popular outdoor patio in the same building that houses the Squash Blossom Indian Art gallery at the corner of 26th and West Colorado Avenue. Although David had invited me - an Old Colorado City fixture - to try his place out, I waited until my wife abandoned me at noon for shopping one day. So I moseyed in and decided to try the place for lunch. I arrived with no advanced notice, saying I wanted to have a check flight in his new restaurant and a real noontime pizza. He was visible - as all his cooks are - back in the kitchen cooking up the delicacies on his specially made hard pecan wood oven. While his waitress tempted me with all sorts of variations, I chose, safely - what else - but Pizza Rustica. After all I figured that named dish would be close to his main offerings. At first I wasn't sure I could handle a whole pizza, for I usually eat light for lunch. They offered a take out box if I needed it. But between eating the delicious pizza and asking questions about how he got into this business, I found I had eaten the whole thing! Almost spoiled my dinner! I determined his place is open from 11 to 2 for the lunchtime crowd, and then from 5 to 9 p.m.for the dinner diners, when the many special wines I saw on the sideboard and menu would be the thing to order by the glass or bottle. Interestingly, since people who crave Italian, may want either the old standby of spaghetti or pasta, while others who have gotten used to the growth of quick order pizza joints, Dave has a handshake arrangement with Ted and Franko of Paravicini just two walking blocks up the street. If someone walks into that restaurant and ask for pizza, they send them to Rustica, and if a patron in Rustica asks for pasta, Dave sends them to Paravincini's! No Italian palate has to go unsatisfied in Old Colorado City! But Dave's Pizzaria is not a quick order joint. It serves up a wonderful variety of carefully prepared and seasoned Neopolitan dishes by a man who wants pizza offered as a tasteful art, not just a mindless gobble during television football. Of course you can call up his menu at http://www.pizzeriarustica.com. I'll go back in the evening. And bring my wife this time, and have wine with my pizza and chat with Dave over the not-so-subtle differences between rocket runs from his favorite F18 from the ancient F-80s that supported me in the Korean War. While my Army wife chats with his Air Force wife on her experiences at Embassy parties in Bern. Who says good pizzas and good talk can't go together, without television and football?

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

Submitted By: Dave Hughes

posted on 6/20/2008 @ 6:28:12 PM

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Thanks for the kudos, Ingrid. My wife liked it too. She does not always like what I write in my hell raising way. So, as I said in the article I was going to take my wife there some evening. Well, tomorrow the 21st of June Saturday is a good one. Its our 55th wedding anniversary. We weren't going to make a big deal of it - we did our 50thm and will our 60th, but 55?? So Rustica is tipped off we are coming - to fix us up a nice celebratory desert!

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Submitted By: Ingrid Mcdonald

posted on 6/18/2008 @ 7:24:45 PM

Rated Story

Very nice story about a local restaurant. I will visit it when I come through that side of town. Thank you!

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Dave Hughes

Colorado Springs , CO

Dave Hughes has posted 158 stories and 105 comments since joining on 3/1/2007. Dave Hughes 's average story rating is 4.91.

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