LTH,

Had a very successful Coal Fire outing Sunday night. It was busy, but not packed at 7:30 our 4 pizzas came out exactly as asked, two, then a short wait while we devoured the pies, then the last two pizzas.

Pizza was spot-on, and Steve Z came up with an inspired combination, sausage and anchovy, though I am equally partial to the white pie.

Coal Fire Sausage and Anchovy


One small matter, while the pizza was well cooked, and very tasty, it seemed slightly less overall crisp, with just the slightest hint of sog/sag, than my previous visit. When J inquired as to our meal we had an exchange about degrees of crisp/doneness. J said he had (very) slightly backed off cooking time as some had been complaining about burnt pizzas.

We promptly ordered another pie and asked it go the full-distance, about 45 additional seconds in their coal fired oven. Needless to say I preferred the full-distance pizza, one man's burnt is another man's delicious.

Coal Fire Full-Distance Pizza



When J, who is very customer interactive when not so busy he is about to go blind, inquired about our full-distance pizza we all, including Jazzfood who speaks from the perspective of experienced chef, encouraged him to stay true to his original vision.

J


Enjoy,
Gary

By 9pm last night, Coal Fire had closed due to a broken water pipe in the basement.

gleam wrote:By 9pm last night, Coal Fire had closed due to a broken water pipe in the basement.

oh geeze, they should've used PEX!

Flip wrote:...After pulling Coalfire up on my LTH-GPS (thanks Gary)...

Am I missing something? Did Gary or someone else compile a POI (Points of Interest) list for a GPS device? If so, where can I find it? (a search revealed nothing...)

MKHesq wrote:

Flip wrote:...After pulling Coalfire up on my LTH-GPS (thanks Gary)...

Am I missing something? Did Gary or someone else compile a POI (Points of Interest) list for a GPS device? If so, where can I find it? (a search revealed nothing...)

Sorry to mislead... Us suburbabumpkins got lost and couldn't find the place. So I called Gary.

Flip

I did finally get to taste the pizza by making a concentrated effort to go at opening time on Saturday night. At ten after 5, I had no trouble getting a quick white pizza. It was really wonderful and as stated by someone else, Jay was really quite charming when not in the weeds. We even discussed adding a little herb or spice combination to his pizzas. Who knows, I think the pizza was great and would be happy to barter spices for pizzas!

Flip wrote:

MKHesq wrote:

Flip wrote:...After pulling Coalfire up on my LTH-GPS (thanks Gary)...

Am I missing something? Did Gary or someone else compile a POI (Points of Interest) list for a GPS device? If so, where can I find it? (a search revealed nothing...)

Sorry to mislead... Us suburbabumpkins got lost and couldn't find the place. So I called Gary.

Flip

Ah! You meant to refer to MealStar!

Regards,

MKHesq wrote:

Flip wrote:...After pulling Coalfire up on my LTH-GPS (thanks Gary)...

Am I missing something? Did Gary or someone else compile a POI (Points of Interest) list for a GPS device? If so, where can I find it? (a search revealed nothing...)

I made a Google "My Maps" map of the GNRs. Here's the browser version and here's the KML version, which you should be able to get into a GPS somehow, no?

I've experimented with some other stuff too -- see this thread.

Cathy2 wrote:Ah! You meant to refer to MealStar!

That is priceless. Among the many amazing things in it: where did you ever find the voice of the opening "automated" menu selections?--it's absolutely dead-on!

About ten minutes later: OK, I think I figured it out. There must be some service where you can type in your text, and it gets "read back" by Automated Lady. Right? There's no other way to account for what otherwise would be an uncanny impersonation beyond belief!

P.S. You were good too, Cathy.

No, the automated voice was done by a professional voice talent I know, Deb Doetzer.

Hats off to Deb. The writing is perfect, too.

Made a trip to Coal Fire last night at 7:30. There was no rush and we got our pies within 15 minutes. Brought a bottle of chianti and the hostess brought us some water. We thought the menu could stand to have an antipasti on it. We sat there just kind of staring at each other really, really hungry, but the salad didn't look all that great. If they have all these wonderful meats and cheeses anyway, why not make an appetizer plate out of it.
We had the hot sausage and the white pizza. The sausage was the hit as it had the most flavor. The white pizza came out first and we thought it was delicious, but could have used more basil, and cooking time. We'll add some hot salami or something to give it some more flavor next time. Only other suggestion is some olive oil at the table so we could dip the crusts in it. Our edges were nice and burnt on the sausage not so much on the white pizza. We actually surprised ourselves that we could eat almost both of the pies. They were so tasty. They were gone within minutes it seemed. Actually, just writing about this pizza makes me want to go back right now.

There was definitly more take out business than dine in business. It appears that Jay has his system down a bit better. He was super busy.

Something will have to be done with the order system. If you have a hostess, why not just make her a waitress and take the order and bring the check? We had to tip her anyway for bringing the water and pizza etc.

Is parking decent by Coalfire? I'm meeting my husband in the loop after work and wondering if we should cab it over to Coalfire or not.

Also, are there any places nearby to stroll to afterwards for dessert? Thanks in advance....

tavogels wrote:Is parking decent by Coalfire? I'm meeting my husband in the loop after work and wondering if we should cab it over to Coalfire or not.

Also, are there any places nearby to stroll to afterwards for dessert? Thanks in advance....

There's usually plenty of room to park on Grand Ave in a 1 block or so radius. Can't help w/ desserts.

Grandstand for Italian ice is just west, as is the Burger Barron for Miller Lite. Lots of other places are nearby, many of which are documented here. Try Google local.

If you can get there by 7, A few blocks east of Coalfire on Grand is D'Amato's. A box of Italian cookies or a cannoli would do for dessert.

D'Amato's Bakery
1124 W. Grand

The hand dipped ice cream bars at The Twisted Spoke might make a decent dessert. It's a very short walk. It's not, however, a particularly scenic part of the city. Oggi Trattoria at 1378 W. Grand would probably have a decent cannoli (although I've never had one).

deesher wrote:The hand dipped ice cream bars at The Twisted Spoke might make a decent dessert. It's a very short walk.

wow this thread has really taken on a life of it's own!!

In Dish this week:

Dish wrote:Are the East–Coast–meets–Neapolitan pies at J. Spillane’s new Coalfire Pizza (1321 W. Grand Ave.; 312-226-2625) really that good, or have Chicago foodies gone insane?

Why does it have to be one or the other?

Surprisingly, despite being well qualified to answer both questions, Dish (who wrote a book on pizza) doesn't try to settle either one...

Mike G wrote:In Dish this week:

Dish wrote:Are the East–Coast–meets–Neapolitan pies at J. Spillane’s new Coalfire Pizza (1321 W. Grand Ave.; 312-226-2625) really that good, or have Chicago foodies gone insane?

No, Chicago foodies have not gone insane!

Was there last night, lot of takeout business, maybe a five minute wait for tables at about 8:30. Greeted by a friendly fella who was keeping tables cleaned and running pizzas, and not a single service issue in sight. Coal Fire was so heavily staffed that at least two people were running pizzas, one manning the oven (J), one making them and one checking orders. One of the runners checked in on us to make sure we enjoyed the pizza. Most people were BYO'ing and seemed to feel free to linger a bit over their wine after they finished eating. In short, the frenzy of day 3 seemed to be a blip in Coal Fire's history.

But more importantly, the sausage and hot salami/red pepper pizzas were outstanding. Bit of signature char on the crust, but not overwhelming so, and the middle soft, but not mushy. Can't wait to go back.

Does anyone happen to have a scan or pic of the menu? I forgot to take one with me when picking up takeout the other day...

PIZZA

Reg 14" (8 Slices) $11.99
Personal Calzone $7.99

Our pizza and Calzones contain our fresh dough, fresh mozzarella, and are cooked in minutes in our coal-burning oven. Pizza combinations can be done as a calzone.

TOPPINGS/EXTRAS

Vegetables $1.00
Red pepper, fresh sliced tomatoes, red onion, mushrooms, black olives, basil, anchovies

Meat $3.00
Pepperoni, calabrese hot salami, hot fennel salami, prosciutto ham, sopressata, hot & sweet Italian sausage, capicolla, meatballs, peppered salami

Extra Cheese $1.50
Fresh low mozzarella, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, pecorino romano

SALAD

Caprese Salad $6.99
Sliced hearty tomatoes bedded with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil

House Salad $7.50
Romaine lettuce with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and onion tossed with house vinaigrette

PIZZA COMBINATIONS

1. Margherita $12.99
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil leaf

2. Four cheese $13.99
Mozzarella, pecorino romano, ricotta, parmesan

3. Napoli $12.99
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, anchovies

4. White Pizza $13.50
Mozzarella, ricotta, pecorino romano, oregano, basil, black pepper, garlic olive oil

5. Pesto $12.99
Ricotta, pesto, black olives, olive oil

6. Fiorentino $14.50
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, hot calabrese salami, red peppers

7. Sausage $14.50
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, Italian sausage (sweet or hot), olive oil

8. Prosciutto $14.50
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto, basil

9. Meat $15.99
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, fennel salami, Italian sausage, pepperoni

BEVERAGES

Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Root Beer (12 oz can) $1.25
San Pellogrino Limonata, Aranciata $2.00
Pellogrino & Pana (16.9 oz), 20 oz Coke bottle $3.00

Ate here this weekend. It's been written up to death so I'll keep it short. The pizza was nothing short of fabulous. We ordered a sausage and a 4-cheese. Each had a gooey middle with a perfectly crisp crust. Perfection. We'll definitely be heading back.

PIGMON wrote:But the real star of Coal Fire’s pies is its bread. Damn, I just love this stuff! The crust is airy and well blistered, bubbles galore, and with absolutely beautiful pliancy and chew. Most important of all, it has wonderful flavor.

Amen, brother!

I made my first visit to CF this past Friday, purposefully waiting a few weeks after the grand opening hype died down. CF was doing a brisk business and the pizza was among my favorites in Chicago.

My favorite feature of the crust was it's inconsistency of texture. The fact that some edges picked up a nice char from a hot spot while others maintained a moderate crispness and chew. Each piece was unique with it's own special character. I'm a guy that likes charred food every now and again, and a few burnt edges on my pizza made me happy.

I don't have much to add beyond that but gobs of praise and a few more pics:


White


Sausage

Best,
Michael

I had the opportunity to try Coal Fire (Coalfire?) last week as well, and was as impressed as expected given the accolades here.

We probably tried 6-8 different pies over the course of a couple hours.

I preferred the meat pies most, the sausage (from Bari) and the Fiorentina. Both were excellent.

The anchovy I found too salty for my taste, and the Margherita had cheese of disappointing quality.

I bemoan the fact of so much high quality pizza available in Chicago so shortly before and after my departure.

We retired to the Matchbox afterwards, where we were treated to a bartender railing against those idiots at LTHForum who swamped and then panned J's place.

Good times.

Steve Dolinsky just aired a segment on WLS about Coalfire, so look for the HH effect to kick in soon. BTW, the visuals were great, beautiful close-ups of the pies cooking in the oven. Made me drool.

I was at Coal Fire tonight, with three friends. The restaurant has progressed a bit since my visit the first week of operation - a noticible change was the additional staff is working, including an additional (or two) persons taking care of the tables (not waitstaff, though). At 5:30 a half dozen tables were occuped. At 8:00 when we left the place was full. The majority of customers tonight appeared to be "local" - folks from the neighborhood.

The Pies:





We had two pie's for four people, and the "White" pie really stood-out as the best. We ordered a house salad and splitted it amongst the four of us. I brougt some wine to accompany the pizza.

Two good friends with whom I enjoyed the pies:



Things seem to have been going well for the restaurant and staff - and customers (including me and my friends) were enjoying themselves. This was a relaxing dinner with three friends (plus me) - nice, enjoyable.

In light of the new medical research showing that laser jet printer toner is more carcinogenic than second hand smoke, would anyone care to wager how many cigarettes a CoalFire pizza cooked "full distance" is?

Because I in NO way, shape, or form happened to eat an entire white pizza, with added red sauce and hot Bari sausage, in traffic on the Eisenhower tonight. That would have been just gluttonous, and I'm glad I did NOT do that. [/burp]

Would you believe its taken me this long to get to CoalFire even though it's only about 2.5 miles from my house? Well, finally made it tonight.

I'm an east coast transplant and though I've adjusted to the whole Chicago pizza scenario I'll always prefer East Coast style thin crust, pie cut thankyouverymuch.

We ordered a pepperoni and a white pizza, and enjoyed them both, very much, for what they were. Don't feel the need to make the Spacca comparison, I really think that would be apples to oranges--though many would argue they are more similar than different.

The service side of things is a little awkward, as has been noted before. You are seated by a hostess, of sorts. Then order at the counter. Then, same hostess brings your pizza to you (once she figures out which one goes to which table, which she seemed to be having marked difficulty with).
There's also a busboy of sorts, who did nothing other than bring water and clear plates. Oh, and you have to ask for water when you order. Tap water. And, you have to repeatedly send up a road flare to get more water, get a box for leftovers, get the bill, get your change, etc.

Then, how are you supposed to tip? They didn't really do a "full" waiting job...but they did do something. Not to mention, after the table next to us left the hostess and busboy descended on the table and openly discussed the tip they had left, in full view of the whole dining room, and rather loudly.

It's a pizza joint, I don't really need white glove service but if I'm doing, ostensibly, 75% of the work myself then I wouldn't think I should be leaving a 20% tip. I don't know, maybe I'm overanalyzing it but it felt a little awkward to me. Not being a restauranteur myself I'm not sure what could be done to improve the system, really, but I'm sure it works well for them since they only need to have two people on the floor.

That being said, the pizza was very, very good and merits a return, you just have to go into it realizing it's more like a deli than a restaurant--and don't be afraid to flag people down when you want water or what have you--all our requests were handled pleasantly and quickly once we made them--but it took us a little while to realize we weren't really being looked after, so to speak.