COALHOUSE: 85 HIGH RIDGE ROAD, STAMFORD
ABOVE: A 12″ pie with bacon at Coalhouse.
A NOTE FROM THE LBC: In light of the Advocate’s review of Coalhouse which is up today, I am bumping this post up. I have been back to Coalhouse since my visit on opening day and still find the crust to be seriously lacking. A lot of folks disagree with me on this, but I just don’t get it…
10/27/2009
There has been a lot of speculation about what the new Coalhouse Pizza is going to contribute to the Stamford pizza scene. With its prominent neon sign on High Ridge road, it has created a little buzz in the months since the Stamford Pizza Tour declared its list of winners.
I was hopeful: the addition of a coal-fired brick oven in Stamford couldn’t possibly be bad.
For a week or so, it appeared to be ready to open, but the “coming soon” sign was still in the window. Until yesterday.
I dropped in on their soft opening with a couple of friends and the first thing I noticed was the decor, which has a blues theme maybe more suitable for a barbecue joint. My table was plastered with photos of R.L. Burnside, an ornery S.O.B. of a delta bluesman who recorded the greatest song even written about a murderous, foul-mouthed drunken monkey. Even the menu items are named after blues songs. Though, I am fairly certain Muddy Waters probably wouldn’t eat the baby yellow squash on his namesake Hoochie-Coochie Man pizza at Coalhouse, he was a meat a potatoes kind of guy.
The pizzas come in both 12 and 16-inch sizes and with a variety of toppings ranging from standard to a little more exotic (poblano peppers, shitake mushrooms, even kimchi).
We ordered a standard margherita-type pie and a similar pie with bacon and peppers, both very reasonably priced at $7.75. I would actually prefer a heftier pie for a little more money, but then again, this gives you the opportunity to order a salad first instead of gorging on pizza, which I am known to do (and for well under $15).
I was surprised at how thin the crust is, thinner than any other pizza I have ever had. Ever.
In order to fire a pie in just a couple of minutes at 700-800 degrees, it has to be thin, but I’m not sure this is the pie for me. However, the menu is well thought out and I will be back to try some of them like the Shake Your Money Maker (my favorite Elmore James cut) with cherry-stone clams, roasted garlic and bacon.
The macaroni and cheese, which at $4.75 is also a great deal, comes hot from the oven with a crispy panko bread crumb crust. My only objection is that it could use a touch of cream or a little more cheese, but it’s pretty good.
A panko crust is also employed on the chicken wings which were not only well-seasoned and very tender but won the approval of the Advocate’s resident – yet anonymous – Buffalo wing connoisseur. Coalhouse offers about 15 different sauces for the wings and are either served with a traditional blue cheese or cucumber dill sauce. I’m definitely trying the spiced Manchego sauce next time.
From the bar, Coalhouse has a reasonably decent beer list with Stone IPA on tap and a well-curated but not excessively large list of bottled beers (Dale’s Pale Ale, Lagunitas IPA, Allagash, etc.)
I totally see what Coalhouse is trying to do here and I’m glad they are trying to set themselves apart, but the crust might be a deal breaker for me. We’ll see, I’m more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, particularly if that means eating more pizza.
–CP
BELOW: The macaroni and cheese.
I gave Coal House another shot today, feeling guilty for going on the first day, when they hadn’t quite broken in the kitchen.
It was better. The crust had a little bite to it. But I dunno, it’s still not quite there.
Maybe my standards are to high. After trying the absolutely STELLAR margherita DOC at Motorino in Brooklyn on Thursday, I might not find many pies up to par from here on out.
(http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/motorino/)
–CP
I did – although as delivery, not by walking in.
It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Not great. Not awful. If I was at Ridgeway Center and wanted a slice, I’d have no reservation about stopping in for one, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.
did anyone try nonnas pizza,
Yeah, I previously took issue with them for charging $18 for the lamb kabob plate, but I’m willing to give it another shot. I actually thought the crispy fish pita sounded good. I’ll try again.
–CP
P.S. Sorry for hijacking his post.
Combo appetizer platter. You get three choices. We had veggie liver (amazingly good and liver-like!), hummus and babaghanoush. My friend, although wary, had the crispy fish pita and after tasting it, I can’t wait to go back to get it for myself. I had the kofta kabob pita. Very good. Put their hot sauce on everything. We shared good, old fashioned carrot cake for dessert with a nice strong cup of Zumbach’s coffee. I’m telling every one I know about this place. The price is right, the food is great,it’s clean, I’m happy!
What are you ordering lately at Tabouli? I’m willing to give it another shot next week.
You are all missing the real gem in this shopping center, the recently opened Tabouli Grill. While everyone is bickering about pizza this restaurant has opened quietly and with grace. Service is friendly, atmosphere relaxing and the food is fantastic. We go there at least two times a week and have yet to be disappointed. Wait until Coalhouse gets there groove going and in the meantime treat yourself to some very satisfying Middle Eastern food.
actually yummy tummy,you are rite,but we are a group of friends that really appreciate ridgeway pizza,and yes ,if being there customers for 8 years,and some of us longer makes us affiliated with ridgeway pizza,then we are,we are neighbors in north stamford,and i am simply stating our experiences,which are facts about ridgeway pizza,based on our reviews of ridgeway and coal house,in all honesty,ridgeway is very good pizza,and nick the owner has donated to so many charitys and organizations,that we had to tell him to stop giving everything away for free.this kid does not know how to say no to anyone.he donated 60 large pizzas to rippowam school ,so the kids in the sixth grade can save money for a trip to europe.after the first 60 pizzas,he only charged them his cost.and that was because mrs mackie our neighbor and vice principal of rippowam school would not take anymore pizzas for free from him.he is donating all the pizzas this week to the stamford youth football,4th and 5th graders championship game this week,between the jets and titans,saturday at 11am at rippowam football field.believe me,what we wrote on these posts is true.see for yourself,we simply stated our experience.not at anytime did i lie about our reviews or favor ridgeway pizza in anyway,i simply stated the facts for my sister and neighbor mrs mackie about ridgeway pizza and coal house pizza,which you will see similar reviews coming in about coal house pizza and ridgeway.i have mrs mackies permission,that anyone who does not believe what i wrote on her behalf may verify it with mrs mackie herself at rippowan school at anytime.i am screen name pizzasrus,my sister is debbie and ripp teachers is mrs mackie,vice principal of ripp. my sister, and mrs mackie my neighbor did not have time to post,so while mrs mackie was visiting i simply stated her words on this blog with there permission,at a later time.i had no intention to mislead anyone on this blog,and if i did,i apologize for it.i am sorry,i will no longer post there opinions and thoughts for them anymore on this blog.good night tony..oh,i almost forgot,ridgeway pizza-nick, were on news12 for hometown hero.i am so happy for him,because he truly deserves it.. good night
So obvious that Pizzasrus, Debbie, and Ripp Teachers are the same person. And obvious that they are affiliated with Ridgeway Pizza. I like Ridgeway, but dude, you gotta chill with the posts. Or at least disguise your “writing” tendencies so that it’s less obvious and embarassing.
Anyhoo…I liked Coalhouse Pizza. Had the “Kicker” pie. It was tasty, and they also have really nice salads. Cannot wait to try the wings.
funny you should mention the sausage mr,healy,because ridgeway pizza uses deyulios sausage,and it is excellent with there thin crust pizza…they also carry the colony hot oil pizza.his father inlaw made the pizzas at colony for 20 years.now ridgeway has the recipe,i tryed it,excellent hot oil pizza on a real hand tossed italian crust,not cooked in a pan like colony.they have this brick oven that rotates ,and gets up to 800 degrees.nick ,the owner last week cranked the oven up to 750 degrees and cooked my pizza with the hot oil in 4-5 minutes.he has one of the best ovens money can buy,what a pizza it was,excellent crispiness. but like nick the owner told me last week,if your ingredients are not fresh and the sauce and dough are no good,it doesnt matter what type of oven you have.the pizza is still not gonna be good.he told me it all works together to make a good italian pie.dough,sauce,cheese and temperature.thanks for reading…tony
I tried the highly hyped Coalhouse on Election Day. The crust got my vote, but the sauce and cheese were way too skimpy and the sausage was dried out and looked like a cheap, frozen mass-produced product. It wasn’t DeYulio’s sausage.
The salad was great, however. It was huge and had plenty of fresh ingredients.
If Coalhouse wants to serve the best pizza in Fairfield County, they have a lot of work to do.
Had an interesting experience at Coalhouse on Saturday night. My wife and I were able to get out for the first time in a few months and we were really looking forward to a relaxing meal. Jim Gruenberger greeted us and offered complimentary drinks while we waited for a table. Nice touch, especially with Dogfish Head IPA on the menu! My suggestion… don’t overlook the salads in this joint. Ours was ample, fresh, and delicious. I did notice we were the only people in the entire restaurant with a salad on our table. Next up, mac and cheese. It was good and enjoyable, but there was nothing memorable about it. I wouldn’t order it again. Our pizza was slightly charred, but perfect crunch and just the right amount of broccoli rabe and garlic. Could have used a bit more sauce. I just couldn’t taste much of it. Then the call came from the babysitter that our 5 month old was crying and inconsolable, so we headed home after one slice. And as most thin-crust, coal oven fanatics know, you just don’t order the goods to go or for delivery. The trapped moisture in the box renders your pie, well, useless. Made it home to Pepper Ridge in about 4 minutes, but even the short ride couldn’t save the rest of the pie. Sigh. I will go back again, however. At the very least, it’s got the best beer list north of downtown (multiple Dogfish options and Magic Hat #9… hooray!).
Pizzarus, Debbie, Stamford Talk,
Yeah, I agree with all of your assessments. I Wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and didn’t think it would be fair to say I thought it wasn’t good on the very first day of the soft opening. But it doesn’t sound like things have improved much.
–CP
Hmmmm. Our pizza managed to be burnt AND soggy, but we did takeout, so I’m going to have to visit in person before I deliver my verdict! I did enjoy my salad, which is always important!
tryed coal house pizza today,the pizza was burnt,sauce tasted bland,and as for the thinnest pizza around,ridgeway pizza wins hands down,the owner of coal house pizza actually has no experience when it comes to italian pizza,he is also the owner of the shopping center there,mr grunberger,he really should stick to selling jewelry,but atleast hes giving it a try,gonna be hard to beat ridgeway pizza up the street,excellent pizza,and always consistent,with free delivery,just my 2 cents ,thank you and good night,tony
A thin crust is like the holy grail for me and my family. We always ask, plead, beg – the the point where we’ve even requested a BURNT crust. But alas it has never materialized. We think it’s because the dough is pre-portioned in balls, not spun to order – so the guys in the kitchen don’t have the wherewhithall to modify crust thickness. The only place that has even made an effort and come close is Sorrento’s on High Ridge.
Having said … for a thin crust and a price that doesn’t intentionally remind me that I’m being ripped off in Fairfield County, we’d go out of our way!
Can’t wait to try Coalhouse!!!
I tried the pizza last night and was a little disappointed. It has promise. The pizza is thin, but good. But, the pizzas are a little smaller than advertised. Yes, I actually measured with a tape measure because they just looked small. The 12″ was actually 10″ in diameter, while the 16″ was actually 14.5″. Also, the FREIGHT TRAIN pizza, which is advertised as having sweet italian sausage, was made undoubtedly (without question) with ground meat. Obviously, they are new and need to work out some kinks, but I find these to be some basic errors (especially confusing sausage and ground meat on a pizza that they have on their menu)
Looks delicious. Reasonably priced.
If it’s the same thinness as Fat Cat, then yes, a 12-inch can feed one person and still leave room for some greens. Nice.
Will have to try this soon.
Thanks for the review!
Yay! Sounds good and worth trying.
Mike, thinner than Sally’s and really no comparison, that would be unfair. But you are correct, about as thick as Fat Cat.
Ever had Fat Cat Pie Co.? Cannot possibly be thinner than that pizza. Also, Sally’s in New Haven has some of the thinnest coal fired pizza in CT as far as I know. I wonder if this can top that. Curious to try this place out.