I know I should have expected as much, but I'm going to admit that I've been impressed by the passionate discussion about this new business, and it's menu - and about pizza. God help any one of us who is put under such a microscope, however - in the early days of life (as in the life of this restaurant).
Given the discussion thus far, how could I now walk into the eye of the storm tonight, not venture to
Coalfire for dinner tonight? What kind of LTH foot-soldier would I be, if I shirked my responsibility? I did it for
la causa!
Because I work Downtown, don't have a car and I live far north, I went for dinner after work, arriving at Coalfire about 5:30 p.m. I chose today for my first visit because it's the first work day of the week for the restaurant, and it had started to rain before I left the office - not much chance of running out of pizza dough or turn-away crowds, I thought. Going to dinner here was a late-afternoon decision and the several friends I called to invite to join me were otherwise occupied - so this was a solo journey.
I'd just walked through the door and stopped to get my bearings when a woman rushed up to me, handed me a menu and explained how to order; she asked if I was taking food out, or eating in. She accompanied me to a table by the window and advised she'd bring my food afte I ordered it.
It's a comfortable room; high ceilings, uncrowded layout, lots of light coming in the front windows; clean. Four diners sat at a table to my right, one woman at a table in front of me, and a table of two women in the distance; a couple of guys were waiting for take-out orders.
I decided to create my own pizza instead of opting for one of the house combinations. Mushroom, red onion and black olives - that was the selection.
There were as many employees as customers: a cashier, two guys making pizzas, a guy standing around watching and doing little else, and the owner who was the only person working the oven. Oh, don't forget the waitress - or whatever they call her. That's a lot of payroll.
The cashier brought me my pizza about 15/20 minutes after it was ordered; I estimate that there were three orders placed before mine (to give you a frame of reference about production times).
After I'd taken out my camera to capture the moment and was downing my first piece of the pie, a recently arrived diner got up from his table and walked across the restaurant and over to me and asked, "Are you an LTHer?" "I saw you taking pictures." It was "Olde School", who'd posted earlier in the discussion about getting to the restaurant door only to find there was no more pizza dough. We introduced ourselves and talked about this current discussion of Coalfire and pizza.
My first impression of the pizza was that it should have stayed in the oven a little longer; the crust was too soft and there wasn't enough of a
char on the exposed/baked dough. It was light, though - and that was another noticeable thing. I wasn't impressed with my choice of toppings; they were okay, but I probably should have gone with the house suggestions this first time.
Another thing that stood out was the lingering after-taste, the cheese, maybe the sauce - it was pleasant and unexpected. I didn't bring wine or beer with me as I would typically do - so I was eating the pizza "raw", but with a few sips of Diet Coke; not much to interfere with the flavors/taste. After I left the restaurant the taste stayed with me for an hour; that's unusual (in my experience).
My pizza didn't seem to have much in the way of herbs/spices added to the topping or sauce - it wasn't bland tasting, but didn't have a noticeable/typical flavor; I don't know if I like that or not. There's a container of oregano on each table, pepper and salt, too and some red pepper flakes to add a "kick," for those in search of something more.
I checked-in on Olde School a couple of times; he ordered two pies (pictured above): a White Pizza and a Sausage. He offered me a sampling of his fare, but since I'd finished my own pie already, I declined the gracious offer. The White Pizza was a thing of beauty.
As I was sitting with Olde School talking pizza, and critiquing the restaurant operation - a young lady walked over and asked if we were from LTH (she'd seen me taking photos of Olde School's pies). She and her companion at dinner don't post here, but they read regularly - and they'd been following this discussion and decided to sample Coalfire. The four of us (the second young lady joined us) discussed the restaurant, pizza, Brooklyn-style vs. Bronx-style vs. what Chicago has to offer, etc., etc.
The women are from New York, and pronounced the Coalfire pizza "genuine" and "excellent." They're are well-traveled chowhounds and it was interesting for me to hear their comments, and the comments of another well-traveled - and egg salad sandwich sleuth - Olde School go back and forth critiquing pizzas - and restaurants in Chicago.
I'm no pizza expert, but what I ate I liked; a successful dining venture.
Even though I've visited just once, I have the strong sense there's some conflict - confusion - in the operation of the restaurant, a searching for it's identity. The owner may be trying to please too many people, instead of following his dream or personal preferences. The owner is at the back of the house with nobody seemingly in charge of the "front." The kitchen staff seemed inexperienced; on the job training, it seemed to me.
The potential for excellent food is clearly there (though, if the owner doesn't let other staff learn how to work the oven - is he going to man the place every day it's open?) and the walk up and order, then sit down style likely won't best serve the place.
I also get the sense the owner may not understands his or the restaurant's potential in that excellent location - and that the present design of the space will create conflicts between sit-down diners and people walking in and out - through the tables - to get to the back to order take-out and/or pick it up. This place could probably do a fantastic delivery business, if organized properly. But take-out and sit-down, in the environment as it exists there at the moment, and assuming business will grow in the near-term - won't work well together during peak hours, IMO.
There's probably room for another 20 people at tables - and experienced wait staff will need to be recruited if sit-down is what the focus will be. The woman working the tables today wasn't much of a waitress and seemed inexperienced - but she did have a nice personality/demeanor.
The man has sunk some real money into the restaurant, but to take it to the next level will, I think, require additional capital and staff or a partner who has that type of "next level" experience to establish efficient/financially successful operations.
I know we all wish Coalfire a successful and long life - turning out unique and high-quality pizza pies. Thanks to Olde School and the anonymous ladies - the “lurkers” for the conversation - and for the comments of others, here in this discussion . . . comments which prompted me to visit tonight.
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