Dining Review

Coal Fired Delights

A new gourmet pizzeria in North Kingstown

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Rhode Islanders know pizza. Pizza wasn’t invented here, but Rhode Island has been on the cutting edge of pizza innovation for decades. Nowhere else do bakeries turn out the simple but delicious pizza strips (nothing but crust and tomato sauce), and grilled pizza was invented some 30 odd years ago at Al Forno in Providence. Rhode Island has hundreds of local pizza joints scattered across the state, and everyone has their own favorites. Providence Coal-Fired Pizza has been burning its 900-degree oven in Providence for three years now and recently opened a new out post in North Kingstown.



Located in the former 007 Bar & Grille on North Kingstown’s busy Post Road, Providence Coal-Fired Pizza has created an upscale atmosphere to serve their pizza. The space is expansive with a large bar area, perfect for watching sports and plenty of well-spaced tables to seat parties of any size. In the summer, the restaurant will feature an outdoor beer garden. Inside, the wood floors and wood-burning fireplace give it a homey touch, while the rest of the décor is decidedly modern. The open kitchen is the centerpiece of the restaurant, and your eyes will immediately go to the impressive, giant sized Wood Stone Corporation Oven. The oven burns anthracite coal which is clean burning and very efficient with the heat reaching up to 900 degrees. There are plenty of big screen TVs scattered throughout the space – you won’t ever be far from the Bruins game. But unlike your local pizzeria, here you have cloth napkins and quality flatware to tackle your food with.



I recently met some friends at Providence Coal-Fired Pizza, and we all started off with something to drink. The cocktail list has a variety of choices priced from $9-$11. One friend sampled the Orange Basil Mojito ($10) and loved the substitution of basil for the usual mint. The beer list has many offerings, including many available on draft. I wish there were a few more local options available, but I really enjoyed my Revival Zeppelin Hefeweizen ($6). With our drinks, we sampled a couple of appetizers from the oven: Baked Goat Cheese ($8) and a small order of Coal-Fired Wings ($12). The goat cheese was creamy, warm and decadent and perfect for spreading on the poofy pillows of pita bread straight from the oven. The cheese was also served with tangy, saucy roasted vegetables, but for me, these were superfluous to the cheese itself. The Coal-Fired Wings were larger and meatier than the usual chicken wings served in a pizza place. No sauce was needed (in fact it would have masked the flavor of the chicken), and the wings were simply roasted with sea salt, rosemary and topped with onions.



When it comes to choosing a pizza from Providence Coal-Fired Pizza’s list of options, I wish you good luck! There were so many we wanted to try, we opted to order three individual sized pizzas instead of one large. The complex coal fired crust on each pizza was crisp on the outside but ended up a tad bit soggy towards the middle of the pie. We shared the BBQ Pork Pizza ($10), the Steak Pizza ($10) and the Clam Pizza ($10). The pork was the star of this pie; it was tender, juicy and flavorful. The pork shared space with roasted onions, homemade barbecue sauce, Monterey jack cheese and scallions. The shaved steak was beautifully complemented with Great Hill blue cheese, provolone, more of the roasted onions and crimini mushrooms. The menu said it also had hot peppers on it, but ours did not. It was like an amped up cheesesteak on a pizza crust. I loved the blue cheese and was glad that they included plenty of it. The idea of clams on a pizza scared me a bit, but I was glad I tried this unique concoction. This pizza contained local clams, sliced fingerling potatoes, rosemary, roasted red onions, pancetta and grated Parmesan Reggiano. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this pizza, and I was pleasantly surprised. The clams did not overpower the pizza like I had imagined they would. Instead, they provided a delicate, briny flavor. Of the three pizzas I tried, the steak was my favorite – the blue cheese put it over the top – but overall, I thought the toppings were all well crafted and executed.



There aren’t a lot of dessert choices here, but after all the pizza, you might not be hungry for it anyway. I needed a sweet bite of something when I was done, however, so I ordered the Butterscotch Pudding ($4). Though not fancy, the pudding reminded me of my Grandmother and provided a satisfying end to my meal.

There’s no doubt, Rhode Islanders love their pizza. Providence Coal-Fired Pizza has upped the ante by providing an upscale atmosphere and high quality, fresh toppings. Even if you have your own neighborhood pizza spot, round up the family, grab your date or go solo to sit at the bar and try North Kingstown’s latest foray into the pizza world. February is a great month to sit by the roaring fire, throw back some beers and let your taste buds decide if Coal-Fired Pizza might be your new go-to pizza joint.

Providence Coal Fired Pizza
6105 Post Road, North Kingstown
885-7499

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