Discussion of Robin Garr's Coals review

[Robin Garr]

Last week's Voice-Tribune column, a return visit to Coals for the enjoyment of Voice readers.

Coals ranks high among the city’s pizzerias
Voice-Tribune review by Robin Garr

Hold on a minute! Didn’t we just write about pizza last month, with a report on Frascelli’s in Crestwood?

Well, yeah.

And not that long ago, around Christmas, didn’t we review Di Orio’s, a new pizzeria in St. Matthews?

That, too.

I told you that pizza was getting to be the next really big thing. If the rate of pizzeria openings in the East End continues at current rates, there could be a pizza joint for every family in town by 2031.

That prediction won’t likely come true, but even if it did, I’m prepared to guess that Coals Artisan Pizza will remain near the top of the heap. Its combination of skilled chefs, a coal-fired pizza oven that rages at 1,000F and a classy venue gets it all right.

Coals stylishly fills a sizable space on the promenade section of the Vogue center – as best I can make out, its exposed brick north wall may be the place where the old Vogue’s movie screen used to be. Both a lunch spot and an evening destination for the booming St. Matthews club zone, it boasts the atmosphere of a classy-yet-casual dining room; no mere pizzeria this, you’ll find no checked tablecloths, plastic ivy or wicker-wrapped Chianti bottles here.

Coals, as far as I know, is currently the only place in Louisville using a traditional coal oven, which burns hotter than wood-burning ovens or gas- or electric-fired ovens common in most local pizzerias.

Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes.com:
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/coals ... -pizzerias

Coals Artisan Pizza

The Vogue Center

3724 Frankfort Ave.

742-8200

Web: http://www.coalsartisanpizza.com

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/coalspizza

Very good and accurate review based on our experiences there. I just wish they'd start making their calzones!

Very good and accurate review based on our experiences there. I just wish they'd start making their calzones!

Thank you Mark!

I was in Seattle when the review came in. Thank you again Robin! We were trying to figure out last weeks surge and now we know .

As far as featuring the calzone I have struggled with this dough. Turns out a well fermented dough does not appreciate being stretched thin with a rolling pin. It comes out tough and really chewy. I learned through the years the best calzone ran through a sheeter first which makes the dough paper thin and wonderfully even in thickness. That is another reason why I don't like hand stretching dough for calzone. We continue to experiment with various dough formulas until we get that calzone just the way we like it.

I wanted to add that the service my wife and I received from Coal's Wednesday night was maybe the best restaurant service I have ever had. I wish I could remember the guys name who waited on us. Didn't miss a beat.. and the place was packed. The only nit pick was that we were seated right by the entrance to the kitchen, but it actually ended up being pleasant as we struck up conversation with some of the friendly staff and I guess somebody has to get the "bad" table stuck in the back corner.

We both commented that we would expect the level of service we got if we were paying $100+ for our meal, and here we were walking out the door for $32 (plus a well deserved $10 tip).

Pizza was very good (I wouldn't call it best in town - maybe personal preference. Ours was cooked a little unevenly). Salads were fresh, house dressing delicious and the tiramisu was very good - and made in house we found out.

It's kind of a drive for us suburbanites, but I would not hesitate to recommend or go back. Great job all around.

I'm pretty much of a pizza traditionalist...no foo-foo ingredients, just a good old fashioned pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pie is my normal "go to" thing. So we stop in to see our friends at Coals the other night and our server Joshua did an outstanding job of "selling us" on the Buffalo Chicken pie...After trying it I guess I guess all I can say is "All Hail to Chef Mike" !!! This was absolutely-positively-without a doubt one of the best pies I have ever wrapped my taste buds around. If you enjoy pizza (and who doesn't) and if you enjoy Buffalo Wings you should run...not walk...RUN to Coals to get yerself one of these Buffalo Chicken pies. AWESOME !!!

[Robin Garr]

"All Hail to Chef Mike" !!!

Word. This guy is one of the better chefs around, and interestingly, before he was at Coals, he ran the little quick-service fish counter at Seafood Connection, and he did a hell of a job there, performing far beyond expectations for the venue. If he comes up with a wacky sounding pizza idea, I'd be inclined to trust him.

If you enjoy pizza (and who doesn't) and if you enjoy Buffalo Wings you should run...not walk...RUN to Coals to get yerself one of these Buffalo Chicken pies. AWESOME !!!

I have had the Coal's Buffalo Chicken pizza. As you say, it is very good. When we had it, it was a feature special, and not on the permanent menu. So, it might not be available all the time.

If you like these kind of things, then get thee to ye olde Cafe Lou Lou and try their Buffalo Chicken Pizza. It's more of a Mac Truck vs. the Coal's BMW Coupe, but it is also very good... if you really do like Buffalo wings.

I wanted to add that the service my wife and I received from Coal's Wednesday night was maybe the best restaurant service I have ever had. I wish I could remember the guys name who waited on us. Didn't miss a beat.. and the place was packed.

Agree 100%...We usually have Joshua or Jamie as servers. Jamie is great but I'd put Joshua in the top 1% of the top 1%. Great guys, both very friendly, very professional, very efficient.

[Robin Garr]

Agree 100%...We usually have Joshua or Jamie as servers. Jamie is great but I'd put Joshua in the top 1% of the top 1%. Great guys, both very friendly, very professional, very efficient.

Maybe. I have this quirk, though, that I hate what I consider fawning service - hand-wringing, bowing, scraping, offering to lick my boots. Some of that comes with being recognized as a food writer; some of it is in the DNA of certain places. Vincenzo's, Mozz ... and I got it one night at Coals. Maybe it's just me, but I desperately wanted to tell the guy (1) to relax, and (2) to leave me alone so I could relax and enjoy myself. I have no idea who it was, except it wasn't Mark and it wasn't Mike.

Agree 100%...We usually have Joshua or Jamie as servers. Jamie is great but I'd put Joshua in the top 1% of the top 1%. Great guys, both very friendly, very professional, very efficient.

Maybe. I have this quirk, though, that I hate what I consider fawning service - hand-wringing, bowing, scraping, offering to lick my boots. Some of that comes with being recognized as a food writer; some of it is in the DNA of certain places. Vincenzo's, Mozz ... and I got it one night at Coals. Maybe it's just me, but I desperately wanted to tell the guy (1) to relax, and (2) to leave me alone so I could relax and enjoy myself. I have no idea who it was, except it wasn't Mark and it wasn't Mike.

We have made some staff changes at the restaurant. I agree with you completely with that type of service. It would certainly drive me crazy if I had to deal with that.

The only issue that we had with the service at Coal's was that our waiter stopped to take orders and explain the menu to 3 other tables before taking ours back to the kitchen. That's more then a little irritating to watch.

BTW, we had a fabulous dessert. It was special offering with "fresh mozzarella" ice cream. Easily, in our top five favorite desserts. Whatever that was needs to be added to the permanent menu, pronto!

That would have been the bread pudding as our dessert of the week. Wait til you see next weeks pick.

The only issue that we had with the service at Coal's was that our waiter stopped to take orders and explain the menu to 3 other tables before taking ours back to the kitchen. That's more then a little irritating to watch.

Good lord, damned if you do / damned if you don't.

The only issue that we had with the service at Coal's was that our waiter stopped to take orders and explain the menu to 3 other tables before taking ours back to the kitchen. That's more then a little irritating to watch.

Good lord, damned if you do / damned if you don't.

haha Steve I feel your pain every time I get 5 tickets at once.