Fringe celebrates National Pizza Month

Fringe Pizza (5400 Spine Rd., Boulder) is celebrating National Pizza Month throughout the month of October with its newest creation - Sweet Heat pizza - and a chance for one lucky customer to win a pizza a month for a whole year.

Owner Nate Rajotte created a curiously crafted pie that includes garlic oil, basil, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, pickled red onion, sopressata and Calabrian honey. This sweet and spicy creation is aptly named and sure to have Fringe's dedicated following clamoring for more. Rajotte sites that the cooling weather and craving for heartier foods inspired this pizza. Diners can eat for a cause, as two dollars from each Sweet Heat pizza purchase will go to the Community Food Share, a non-profit that seeks to end hunger throughout Boulder and Broomfield counties.

Throughout October, pizza patrons are invited to post photos of themselves indulging in any of Fringe's delicious pies. Use the hashtag #pizzawithstreetcred and tag two friends for a chance to win.

Fringe's menu is loaded with incredible, innovative creations made by the Neapolitan pizza master himself. Rajotte attended culinary school in San Francisco, then enjoyed work in a spate of fine dining restaurants around San Francisco and Los Angeles. Next, he worked in Neapolitan restaurants in Atlanta and is currently considering a trip to Italy so he can further explore flavors, techniques, and traditions.

It wasn't a specific love of pizza or Italian cuisine that drove him to open Fringe, but rather, Rajotte recalled, "We wanted a place that we'd want to go and hang out at. Good food, reasonable price, comfortable atmosphere. I also just wanted to cook good food, pizza or whatever, for people that want to enjoy it."

His favorite part of his job isn't eating delicious slices of pie, but instead working with the dough. Fringe prides itself on unique, tasty ingredients from the toppings down to the dough. It's this task that Rajotte most enjoys, "Working with dough is probably my favorite thing about Fringe. Dough is a living thing, like our starters. Learning how to adjust based on time of year and day, with wild temperature and humidity fluctuations, always keeps things interesting."

Rajotte also enjoys teaching his staff about Neapolitan pizza traditions and chatting with the customers to get feedback, good and bad. When asked whether he can determine a customer's pizza order from the moment they walk in, Rajotte said, "60% of the time I'm 50% correct."

Fringe does everything themselves. They make their sauce, roast their ingredients, feed the live sourdough starters that each delicious pizza crust is crafted from. This fall, Rajotte is looking ahead to incorporating autumnal ingredients. "I'm currently playing with some artichokes, figs, braised bacon, quince, lavender salt, and squash, just to name a few, but not all together of course. I hope to have a couple of new pizzas coming out in a few weeks."

It's lovingly made from start to finish by a guy who knows flavors, loves dough, and appreciates an unhurried meal, enjoyed with family and friends. Celebrate National Pizza Month with a distinctive Fringe pie.