Finally hit this spot last Friday, and was very pleased to find it relatively empty on a weekend evening. Pizzas were great and came quickly.

My girlfriend's house salad was way, way overdressed with a very uninspired vinaigrette that really killed it (and this is a $5-$6 salad). Definitely order your dressing on the side here (and, even then, only if you MUST have a salad).

ndgbucktown wrote:Finally hit this spot last Friday, and was very pleased to find it relatively empty on a weekend evening. Pizzas were great and came quickly.

Going to Coal Fire for a salad is like going to Gene & Jude's for a tamale.

I've been at Coalfire and ordered a salad . . . to accompany the pies . . . because one or more of my companions either wanted it together with the pies, or didn't eat pizza (but were kind enough to let us go there for what we wanted). I don't think anyone goes there for the salad, just the salad.

I don't think anyone goes there for the salad, just the salad.

This sounds like a lost poem fragment by William Carlos Williams.

To me, it was more like this:

"And then there was Jimmy Two Times, who got the name because he said everything twice, like--"

"Nobody goes to Coalfire just for the salad, just for the salad."

IS CF still BYOB?

One thing I like about CF vs. Spaccanapoli is that CF represents more the pizzeria/casual vibe as per Italy.

In Italy, esp. around Naples and Campania, Italians drink beer with pizza, not wine. Spaccanapoli pushes the bottled wine vibe very much, imho, which is out of character.

Both places make excellent pizzas!

I was last at Coalfire on September 18th, with a group of LTHers; we'd just finished an expedition to Clark St. Ale House. On this occassion, Coalfire was still BYOB. You can give them a call to see if that's still the policy, if you have questions.

Bill wrote:I was last at Coalfire on September 18th, with a group of LTHers; we'd just finished an expedition to Clark St. Ale House. On this occassion, Coalfire was still BYOB. You can give them a call to see if that's still the policy, if you have questions.

When I was there on September 28, it was still BYO.

=R=

RiverWester wrote:IS CF still BYOB?

One thing I like about CF vs. Spaccanapoli is that CF represents more the pizzeria/casual vibe as per Italy.

In Italy, esp. around Naples and Campania, Italians drink beer with pizza, not wine. Spaccanapoli pushes the bottled wine vibe very much, imho, which is out of character.

Both places make excellent pizzas!

Coal Fire was still BYO as of Friday when I was there.

As for Spacca pushing wine, I have never found that to be the case and I have had many a beer there. In fact, I have never received anything less than excellent service at Spacca.

As for comparisons of Spacca versus Coal Fire, in my opinion it generally comes down to personal preference. They both produce excellent crusts, but those crusts are very different. That being said, I will say that I much prefer the toppings at Spacca.

Coalfire is still BYO, and it seems to have full table service now, as opposed to ordering at the counter and having the food brought out to you.

My GF and I got a pizza to go last night. It was my first time having their food, and I was not disappointed! We got the salami & red bell pepper pizza, although they all looked very good. It got home just fine, nice and hot with a great chewy crust.
The owner was at the counter and he & the cooks were very nice. The place has a very comfortable feel, and most mostly full of diners (about 9:30pm).
We'll definitely be back to dine in, bringing a nice bottle of red wine with us!

So, we're going to try Coal Fire for the first time today and I have a couple questions:

1. How does the "Fennel Salami" compare to the "Hot Salami" that most people seem to be getting, and is it chunks of fennel root or fennel seeds?

2. In order to ensure a good char but a little less than what Gwiv seems to crave, do I need to specify more char than usual?

The fennel salami is salami studded with fennel seeds. I dunno the answer to #2, we ordered ours without any special instructions and were very pleased with how they were cooked.

griffin wrote:2. In order to ensure a good char but a little less than what Gwiv seems to crave, do I need to specify more char than usual?

No - I really don't think you need to order specially. All of the pizzas I've had come out with a "medium" char.

You might ask for the pizza well done, but since they only take a few minutes to cook, you could order one and see if you like the way they do it, then order another one. I personally like the normal crust, and the hot salami, which isn't very hot to my taste, more spicy. I always add it to the white pizza, as the white pizza just needs a little something more. I really wish they would put olive oil on the table. We've been asking for it on the side so we can dunk our crusts in it and pour on the white pizza. Don't know about the fennel, but I would assume its seeds.

So, the wife and I had our first Coal Fire experience.

We took our pizzas to go and got the Hot Salami & red pepper, plus a Sausage with mushroom.

The good: The crust had a very nice texture, the sauce was nice, the hot salami was just the right amount and tasted great paired with the red peppers.

The not as good: A bit undercooked for our preference. I told the guy that I like a some blackened char on my pizza and he said that’s the way it normally comes, so I did not follow up with “cook it a little extra”. There were maybe 1 or 2 small char spots on the outer edge, but the underside was still white and not a toasty brown. The lesson is that if you want the rest of the pizza cooked enough you probably need extra char (maybe more than you want) on the edge and you might not get that if you don’t explicitly request extra cooking time.

The bad: The sausage pizza did not look anything like the pics in this thread showing a couple dozen marble sized chunks of sausage. Ours had zero chunks that were clearly visible. At first glance, I thought it was the wrong pizza, but on closer inspection I could see there were little specs of what must be sausage because they weren’t mushrooms and there was a faint whiff of sausage odor. However, none of the bites included a sausage morsel big enough that you could bite into it, and most bites had no discernable sausage flavor, which meant not much flavor to the pizza since the crust, sauce and cheese just aren’t enough to carry the pizza. Frankly, if we had been eating there, I would have sent it back and I have a pretty high threshold for doing that.
To stave off the responses others have gotten for complaining about sparse toppings, I went in expecting a “sparse” pizza relative to the tons of crap type pizzas available everywhere. I’m not comparing it to those places nor am I complaining about the price (even if $2 for about 2 ounces of sausage is a little steep). I am comparing it to the expectations I had from the posts here and to whether there was sufficient sausage for an enjoyable taste experience. I wish we had our camera, but my own experience and the occasional other complaints here suggest that while Coal Fire can be great pizza, there is some inconsistency in cooking and toppings that can sometimes result in a less than average pizza.

Fortunately for us, we had also grabbed an Italian sub at Bari which has never disappointed.

I am going to chime in now on my thoughts on Coal Fire. We went for our second time last night, and once again had some great pizza. We had the sausage pizza, and the cheese pizza with the ricotta, and romano. The crust is the best part of the pizza, great taste, and just the slightest ammount of char. Overall this is my favorite pizza place in Chicago, if there is a better one I am yet to find it.

On a side note, while we were eating I was able to strike up a conversation withy Jay, one of the owners. he sat down and chatted with us for a while, and invited us behind the counter to see the pizza oven close up. He answered all questions we had about the oven, the bin of coal next to the oven(he even added coal & checked the temperature the oven was running @ 880 degrees....), and the pizza making process. While we were back there he cooked 3-4 pies and showed us how he knows when to turn, and pull a pie out of the oven. When he found out we drove 70+ miles to come in just for his pizza he was humbled, and wanted to make sure we had enjoyed our pizza. Which we had. We will be returning again for sure.

Great place and surely deserving of its GNR status.

I was at Coalfire on Thursday, and I think it's better than ever. The very first pizza I had there (on their very first day of service) was very charred on the collars and had a very moist center; not a bad thing, but not as good as what I had on Thursday, which was a perfect, moderately charred collar and a thin, but sturdy center. It looks like they've hit their stride with cooking times and/or dough. I still feel very lucky this is in my neighborhood.

RiverWester wrote:In Italy, esp. around Naples and Campania, Italians drink beer with pizza, not wine. Spaccanapoli pushes the bottled wine vibe very much, imho, which is out of character.

Based on my unscientific observation of Naples I'd say you've described current beverage fashion correctly. But not too long ago (10 years, say), you'd have been wrong. Any Neapolitan over 30 or so grew up drinking white wine with pizza. Indeed, beverage fashion changes. Italian per capita consumption of beer has nearly doubled in the past 20 years (29 liters/cap/yr in 2004 compared with around 145 for Germany and Ireland), just as wine consumption is dropping. Still, you wouldn't be made to feel at all out of place enjoying a carafe of inexpensive white wine with your pizza in Naples today. Try to order a fine Bordeaux, though, and they'll probably say you're 'o poco pazzo.

Choey wrote:

RiverWester wrote:In Italy, esp. around Naples and Campania, Italians drink beer with pizza, not wine. Spaccanapoli pushes the bottled wine vibe very much, imho, which is out of character.

Based on my unscientific observation of Naples I'd say you've described current beverage fashion correctly. But not too long ago (10 years, say), you'd have been wrong. Any Neapolitan over 30 or so grew up drinking white wine with pizza. Indeed, beverage fashion changes. Italian per capita consumption of beer has nearly doubled in the past 20 years (29 liters/cap/yr in 2004 compared with around 145 for Germany and Ireland), just as wine consumption is dropping. Still, you wouldn't be made to feel at all out of place enjoying a carafe of inexpensive white wine with your pizza in Naples today. Try to order a fine Bordeaux, though, and they'll probably say you're 'o poco pazzo.

Choey: check this out http://guide.dada.net/birra/interventi/ ... 4090.shtml

scroll down to the very bottom left and see the poll results: click on "Guarda di risultati"

unofficial with "Questo sondaggio è stato votato 463 volte"

Coca cola is probably No. 1!!

Thanks for the poll reference. Inneresting, as our mayor might say.

Back when wine was king with pizza in Napoli, you certainly could get a Coca Cola with your pizza and the Coke would have been warm with no option for ice. I'm unsurprised that fad didn't have legs.

The surprise for me is that beer in Italy isn't better, given the increase in demand. Ceres (an import from Århus, Denmark) and Baffo d'Oro (a Moretti product) are about the best ones I've found to have with pizza.

Some of you may have seen it already, but the cover of Time Out this week is a mouth-watering photo of Coal Fire's Margherita with the headline "What's the Best Pizza in Chicago?"

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/

When our issue arrived last night, hubby and I were drooling. Somehow we were able refrain from heading straight over there.

The 'pizza professor' (I'm never going to live this down, MJN):

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/article/ ... k-and-thin

headed there last night to get the thin he REALLY loves. Two perfectly cooked pies - a hot Bari sausage and a prosciutto. My dining companions are now converts.

Thought I'd be the latest to chime in on this thread with a slightly off-topic intro...

The debate of "which is better/more authentic/whatever: Coalfire or Spacca Napoli" is how I found this forum. I actually think it was from a google image search for "coal fire pizza", after reading about it (and the debate) on other food blogs. Being mesmerized by the great food porn pizza pictures (alliterate that!), it became my mission in life to visit both, and decide for myself.

As promised, I digress. Being a, ahem, procrastinator, I've only yet been to Coalfire (Spacca Napoli is in the near future, or as near as this procrastinator can come to having firm plans) and have to say that it was everything I wanted it to be. Thin, crispy, chewy crust with great charred bits. Lightly topped with interesting ingredients. I've had the fiorentino (hot salami & red peppers), sausage, and the pesto pizza, and the order they're listed is my preference. So far, it's my favorite pizza place in the city, but we'll see what happens after Spacca!

Anyone have a sense as to how long we might have to wait for a party of two on a Thursday (tonight)? Or, when the threshold might be before waits get crazy? They're not open yet or answering phones. I'm really excited to try it!!

alessio20 wrote:Anyone have a sense as to how long we might have to wait for a party of two on a Thursday (tonight)? Or, when the threshold might be before waits get crazy? They're not open yet or answering phones. I'm really excited to try it!!

I was there on a recent Thursday @ about 8 and there was no waiting at all. Several tables were open.

I went on a thursday and showed up at approximately 7:30. It was full, but with several tables leaving. We (a two-top) got a table under 5 minutes.

I also went on a wednesday, same time, and was immediately seated in a 1/2 empty restaurant. By 8:30 there were two or three parties waiting.

Thanks for the timely response. Decision made!!

WOW! That is an amazing crust! I was equally amazed that I was paying $14 for essentially a 14" crust with a slight schmear of heavenly seasoned tomato sauce, barely a crumb of sausage and (maybe) a tiny scrap of cheese. There is no doubt that it was quite tasty. But did I feel that it was worth $13.99? Absolutely not. But since they are backed up out the door on a cold Wednesday night, either the BYOB or the cool factor of the place must be working. I certainly don't feel that I was served at the same store that was the source of those beautiful "food porn" shots posted earlier in the thread. After waiting 20 minutes for a table (which I was warned of and was OK with) and being told by the man in charge,"You won't be disappointed," it was kind of a shame that I was exactly that - disappointed. Even my girlfriend, who is not always a big meat fan, asked if we were served the right pizza. I said that, yes, there is sausage on it, and saw others there with a similar pie. C'mon, is the sausage really that expensive that it has to be hoarded? There was not one piece on the pizza that was bigger than a baby's little fingernail, and there were maybe a total of 20 little pieces of that size. If it was my place I would have been embarrassed to serve it and call it a sausage pizza. I buy sausage from Bari regularly, living right down the street, and I know there is always plenty available. The four cheese was a better pizza, but it couldn't make up for the minimalist sausage debacle. It's too bad, because I really wanted to like this new place in my neighborhood. Oh, well. It was a good experience, I can say I've been there, but it is pretty low on the list of return places for me.

YoYoPedro wrote:WOW! That is an amazing crust! I was equally amazed that I was paying $14 for essentially a 14" crust with a slight schmear of heavenly seasoned tomato sauce, barely a crumb of sausage and (maybe) a tiny scrap of cheese. There is no doubt that it was quite tasty. But did I feel that it was worth $13.99? Absolutely not. But since they are backed up out the door on a cold Wednesday night, either the BYOB or the cool factor of the place must be working. I certainly don't feel that I was served at the same store that was the source of those beautiful "food porn" shots posted earlier in the thread. After waiting 20 minutes for a table (which I was warned of and was OK with) and being told by the man in charge,"You won't be disappointed," it was kind of a shame that I was exactly that - disappointed. Even my girlfriend, who is not always a big meat fan, asked if we were served the right pizza. I said that, yes, there is sausage on it, and saw others there with a similar pie. C'mon, is the sausage really that expensive that it has to be hoarded? There was not one piece on the pizza that was bigger than a baby's little fingernail, and there were maybe a total of 20 little pieces of that size. If it was my place I would have been embarrassed to serve it and call it a sausage pizza. I buy sausage from Bari regularly, living right down the street, and I know there is always plenty available. The four cheese was a better pizza, but it couldn't make up for the minimalist sausage debacle. It's too bad, because I really wanted to like this new place in my neighborhood. Oh, well. It was a good experience, I can say I've been there, but it is pretty low on the list of return places for me.

It seems to me that these pizzas are made this way for a very specific reason -- in order to cook properly. If there's too much riding on top, the crust finishes cooking before the cheese and toppings do. Striking a balance between these elements is difficult enough and with oven temps between 730-800 F, those thin-crusts cook very fast. I think Coalfire's pizza is a great example of 'less is more.' Now, is the price too high? That's certainly a valid question but as you say above, customers are "backed up out the door" and the market ultimately decides if the asking price is fair.

I think there's a time and a place for Coalfire's type of pie. I really like it. That doesn't mean, however, that I always want it when I want pizza. Sometimes I want a more "loaded up" style of pie or a deep dish, etc. Still, I think they're very good at what they do at Coalfire and since their stuff truly is distinctive and delicious, paying what might be considered a "premium" for it is ok in my book.

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