Charming, Loveable Hammerheads and Coals- A.K.A Dominoes

SIGH......... Coals on the other hand..... I really feel let down that I was lured by incredibly unfounded gushing reviews of this place. Louisville is well stocked with first rate pizza joints that are the genuine article. It is true, however, that I have yet to encounter a first rate spot for artisinal, wood fired pizza. HOWEVER, Coals in no way fits the bill.We started with their so called arancini, which were the size of the size of olives instead of tennis balls (or golf balls at the very least), tasted like a frozen appetizer that could possibly be distributed by the "Hot Pockets" brand. Sauce that tasted of a can from Sams Club (which, when i requested a side of, was served to me ice cold), "fresh" mozzarella that must have been bottom rung because it was devoid of flavor,"caramelized" onions that would better be described as blanched, sausage that was barely apparent on the pizza and even less apparent on the palate. Frankly, I prefer Chuck E Cheese, and I seek out great pizza across the nation. The topper was that the atmosphere and service reminded me of a Fazoli's.

I agree that Coal's continues to have some service issues. I've been several times now, and the servers & host staff always appear to be stressed and rushed, even when they weren't on a wait. I don't know if it's a staffing issue, a training problem, or something else, but at least in my experience it does seem to be steadily getting better.

What time did you go to Coal's? The reason I ask is because the restaurant is very close to several neighborhoods with a lot of young kids. Noisy kids can really hurt a restaurant's ambiance, but unfortunately, short of banning kids altogether, there's not much the restaurant can do about it. I specifically go later in the evening (8 or 8:30) just so I'm not surrounded by children. (Sorry if I'm hurting anyone's feelings, here, but let's be honest - kids can be noisy, and sometimes we all want a kid-free night out.) Think about giving Coal's another shot & just going later at night.

[Robin Garr]

I'd tend to call bull****.

Actually, I've always thought there was something sweet about having imaginary playmates. Of course, most of us outgrow them when we're about 6.

I'd tend to call bull****.

Actually, I've always thought there was something sweet about having imaginary playmates. Of course, most of us outgrow them when we're about 6.

Haha...I actually edited my post to see if I rec'd "the standard response."

DD

[Robin Garr]

growing up italian, i can confirm tennis size (we call them rice balls) arrancini.
tennis size balls. rice, peas mozzarella and prosciutto. also their are many variations too. but the size is always the same. tennis size balls...
my uncle frank the chef always made these for me, huge tennis size balls...
if you go to nyc or brooklyn, or any place in ny you'll will get tennis size arrancini balls.
at coals they are just a smaller version of the big arrancini's. no big deal.

In fairness, though, Italian-American neighborhood cuisine in New York City has evolved a bit from Italy, and it's also worth remembering that New York Italian is rooted in Calabria and Sicily, mostly, which isn't entirely representative of Italy taken as a whole.

This may help explain why New Yorkers of Italian descent like orange pizza grease, which would horrify diners in the Old Country; and it may also account for variations in rice balls, which in my experience in Italy are called arancini di riso (with just one "r" in "arancini") and are maybe 4 or 5 cm, closer to a golf ball than a tennis ball.

Bottom line, I love Italian food and I love blue-collar New York Italian-American food, but I would be careful about mistaking one for the other.

[Robin Garr]

Haha...I actually edited my post to see if I rec'd "the standard response."

Was that it?

well derrick, i'm sorry you feel that way.
i don't reveal my foodie conversations with foodies on here, when asked not too.
i have respect for the words in "strict confidence" i'm no RAT, and that's why people respect me for that.

The only problem is you normally use "confidence" to hide behind when you make a statement instead of providing facts to back it up.

First rule of secret foodie club is you don't talk about secret foodie club.

well derrick, i'm sorry you feel that way.
i don't reveal my foodie conversations with foodies on here, when asked not too.
i have respect for the words in "strict confidence" i'm no RAT, and that's why people respect me for that.

Annemarie, you and I must have very different definitions of "in strict confidence." To me, this not only means not revealing the source, but also not mentionig anything about the conversation.

I'm not calling you a RAT nor am I suggesting that these conversations did or did not actually take place. However, it is very convienent to make statements that you can not, or choose not to provide verification to support. Maybe in these instances you should just keep your "insider info" to yourself. You certainly gain no respect by offering hearsay info as facts when you ultimately do not back up your "facts."

DD

Haha...I actually edited my post to see if I rec'd "the standard response."

Was that it?

No...but it arrived shortly thereafter. DD

but i know and that's all that matters. goes to show you that people can't express their true feelings of a dining experience (when bad) of a local indie of fear of being attacked, like the way i'm always attacked on here.
now i see their reasoning. best to sugarcoat it then put up with this bullshit...

Annemarie, if you knowing is all that matters, why not keep it to yourself?

People are welcome to express whatever they like on this forum, as long as Robin allows it. I have no problem with honest reviews of chains or indy / locals be they positive or negative, opinions are great too. The issue that I have is when people declare something a fact without providing eidence that it is a fact. Yeah, I'm not a big "just take it on faith alone" kinda person. I need some proof...otherwise, it might not be a fact. No one is attacking you...just asking that if you provide a fact, be prepared to back it up. If you cannot supply evidence as to its factuality, maybe don't share it...or at the very least call it your thoughts or an opinion.

I agree, there probably is some BS in this post. I just don't think it is within this percieved "attack."

DD

I have been getting the impression that certain people are sugar coating their reviews in effort to protect new business ventures. Louisville is now teeming with restaurants of all types. This city needs to have a resource for , so that the bad can be quickly weeded out, close their doors, and make way for something worthwhile.

While I generally agree with that impression, I can't agree about Coal's and find your evaluation to be both overly harsh and laughably mean spirited. The comparison to Dominoes is absurd.

Regarding weeding out bad restaurants through "good, impartial, restaurant write ups"... no, just NO. Reviews are fine and dandy to gain an initial impression, but a restaurant will, and should, succeed or fail on it's own merits and the impression left on actual diners, not just critics. Thank God reviews like yours (which I assume you consider to be a "good, impartial, restaurant write up") are not the baseline by which restaurants should be weeded out to close. Coal's does great business and has been doing so for quite a while now. Customers return because they LOVE the pizza. I can't count the number of times we've been back. And while there have been a few odd service moments, it's nothing that hasn't happened at dozens of other restaurants, dozens of times, and certainly nothing worth calling out on a public message board - the food has never faltered for us. Not your kind of pizza? That's fine. "AKA Dominoes" not fine. You prefer Chuck E. Cheese? I start to wonder why I'm even taking your post halfway serious...

I have been getting the impression that certain people are sugar coating their reviews in effort to protect new business ventures. Louisville is now teeming with restaurants of all types. This city needs to have a resource for , so that the bad can be quickly weeded out, close their doors, and make way for something worthwhile.

While I generally agree with that impression, I can't agree about Coal's and find your evaluation to be both overly harsh and laughably mean spirited. The comparison to Dominoes is absurd.

Regarding weeding out bad restaurants through "good, impartial, restaurant write ups"... no, just NO. Reviews are fine and dandy to gain an initial impression, but a restaurant will, and should, succeed or fail on it's own merits and the impression left on actual diners, not just critics. Thank God reviews like yours (which I assume you consider to be a "good, impartial, restaurant write up") are not the baseline by which restaurants should be weeded out to close. Coal's does great business and has been doing so for quite a while now. Customers return because they LOVE the pizza. I can't count the number of times we've been back. And while there have been a few odd service moments, it's nothing that hasn't happened at dozens of other restaurants, dozens of times, and certainly nothing worth calling out on a public message board - the food has never faltered for us. Not your kind of pizza? That's fine. "AKA Dominoes" not fine. You prefer Chuck E. Cheese? I start to wonder why I'm even taking your post halfway serious...

Basically this is it. I don't swoon over Coal's pizza either but to compare it to Chuck E. "the rat" is just trying to be mean. I agree that independents and chains are looked at differently here - that's not sugar coating that's just a built in bias that I mentally take into account.

As far as Dominoe's goes- it's not the worst pizza I ever ate - in fact the new thin crest isn't half bad. So when I'm tired, hungry, and don't want to move off the couch - we've been know to order a delivered Dominoes here in Prospect.

Hammerheads - I agree with the OP. Steve P doesn't like the ribs - that's cool because there are lot's of other wonderful things to eat - mac n cheese balls? Been quite a bit - would go more often if it weren't such a fur peace.

Chuck e cheeses or Dominoes? Really??? To each their own I guess.

My first Coal's visit was last night. The combination of crunch and chew with the crust was perfect, mouthwatering sauce, flavorful cheese, fresh basil....their margherita is not only the best I have had in Louisville (have yet to try Garage Bar), but better than I have had in many places in Europe, including in a couple of joints in the country beginning an "I".

I don't work for, nor do I know anyone at Coals. No sugarcoating here either.

`

The OP's post reminds me of how I line up with the critics to the movie "The Kids Are All Right." I knew it was a critically acclaimed movie when I went to see it (it's @ 94% on Rotten Tomatoes). I pretty much hated the movie. Could tell most of the people in the theatre loved it, if for no other reason than the round of applause the movie received when it concluded. I have trouble articulating why I dislike that movie, partially because I have nobody to bounce ideas off of. Everyone loves the movie so much they can't even begin to help me work through my dislike for it. I'm also partially convinced my level of dislike is slightly higher because I expected to see a movie that was THAT good, and I didn't.

People think I'm crazy when I tell them I don't like that movie. I try to articulate what I didn't like about it, but it ends up coming out as, "well it just was horrible."

I'm not totally a fan of the OP's post, but I think it's admirable to post one's review that goes against the stream of the larger community. I'd bet part of the disappoint results from expectations (so many people have literally praised Coal's), but there's surely another place that disappoint develops from. Probably something having to do with that subject idea "preference" such as the size of a particular menu item.

As for these two establishments, I'm not a fan of Hammerheads based solely on the menu. Just not my cup of tea. And Coal's - I don't eat pizza, so I'll just have to stay oblivious on this one.

I wasn't going to post, until i saw this

I'm not a fan of Hammerheads based solely on the menu. Just not my cup of tea. And Coal's - I don't eat pizza,

I'm always horrified when I see that a person doesn't eat pizza.

I haven't had the pleasure of Coal's yet, but I enjoy Hammerheads, although I have "attempted" to go to Hammerheads several times and they were already closed or closing. So they're now on the "call before we haul" list.

Shawn

I am biased when posting about locals on the forum, only because I accept that negative experiences can happen while dining at restaurants and that all of those experiences can be resolved at said restaurant without involving the forum.