The spot: Inspired by coal-oven pizza joints like Frank Pepe’s (New Haven, Conn.) and Lombardi’s (New York City), Chicago bar industry vets Bill Carroll and J. Spillane opened Coalfire, a one-room West Town pizzeria in May. They’ve got the only coal-fired pizza oven in town, and because coal tends to heat more evenly than wood, it turns out near-perfect thin crusts. Coalfire’s top-selling 14-inchers include an Italian sausage pie ($13.99) and a pizza margherita ($12.99), with the traditional fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato. We like the pesto pizza ($13.99), its crisp crust topped with a dash of olive oil, pesto, black olives, ricotta and a bit of mozzarella.
The bottle: It’s a long walk to the closest liquor store, a CVS near the intersection of Ogden and Milwaukee Avenues, so Coalfire servers often steer customers across the street to Cafe Fresco. The Italian cafe is licensed to sell liquor to-go, so you can pick up a bottle for the road. Try the Gravity Hills Tumbling Tractor Zinfindel ($15), a juicy red with hints of currant and chocolate and enough acidity to stand up to tomato sauce. Coalfire doesn’t charge a corkage fee, and if you’re drinking beer or a lighter wine, they’ll ice down your stash in a giant tomato can. (The containers double as pizza stands.) Carroll says he’ll eventually apply for a liquor license and start serving beer and wine, but Coalfire will remain BYOB until at least the end of the year. --M. Kathleen Pratt, Metromix print editor
