It's summer, and while the stereo is cranking out tunes like "Born to be Wild" and "Santeria," you happen to become hungry. The main staple of any teenager's diet in summer is pizza. Unless you choose to eat someplace where the cheese comes in a can and the dough comes in a sack, we're gonna need some alternatives. Luckily for us, Santa Fe has some pretty happening pizza joints.

1 BACK ROAD PIZZA: Chances are that at some point you will be walking down Second Street. When this time comes (and deep down inside, you know that it will), there is one option left to you: Back Road Pizza. You will find this marvelous example of what it means to be a pizza maker near Second Street Brewery and directly across from the Santa Fe Tae Kwon Do Institute. You can order whatever you want from the huge, open-ended menu, sit down at a table, maybe play some pool upstairs (you need something to do while the pizza is being made) or put a song on the jukebox, and watch the "chef" hand-toss that delicious pie. Once it hits your table, you'll know why this is Santa Fe's best-kept secret. At least it was, until now.

2 UPPER CRUST PIZZA: Upper Crust has been at the same place downtown since it opened, just a few blocks from the Department of Labor (those of you with a job might know where this is) and up the street from the Lensic. If you and your punk friends are finished scaring pigeons and tourists alike down at the Plaza, reward yourself with a few slices of joy. You deserve it.

3 PIZZA ETC: When you're at the De Vargas Center, whether to see a movie at the theater or play some games at the card shop, there's always time to run over to Pizza Etc. and buy a few slices of pepperoni, maybe get a cool drink to wash it down. In the morning, maybe you'll want a breakfast burrito, made fresh to order, to tide you over till lunch, when they'll have pizza again. Also, Pizza Etc. is the perfect place to order a single slice to aid you while sitting on a bench staring at people like the creepy weirdo you are.

4 HOME RUN PIZZA: Fast, greasy and cheap is what comes to mind when you hear someone say Home Run. It's in the Solana Center near the La Montanita Co-op, so you can come by and order a few slices of green chile and sausage while your folks wait for their bean sprout and cottage cheese sandwich on unbleached whole grain bread at the co-op.

5 FERRAGAMO'S: Just down the sidewalk from Home Run lies the much fancier Ferragamo's. This is definitely not the kind of place to stop with friends for a quick bite; this is the kind of place you have your parents take you to at night before going home and watching a rented movie. Just make sure you can handle sitting in a straight-backed chair; it has destroyed lesser men than you. — Vaughn Fortier-Shultz