Don’t be thrown by the name of Greenville’s new Coal Fired Pizza Co. — Bistro & Wine Bar. This is not a place to run in, grab a pizza, and go home.
Housed in the former Pelham Road location of Clemson-based Peppino’s Pizzeria which unfortunately closed its Greenville doors in the Spring of 2007, the new eatery is nothing like the pizza parlor it replaced.
It’s much bigger than its predecessor. The original section is the dining room while the expanded section is the bar which also has dining seating, too. It is also smoke-free.
The hostess said the wait would be about an hour and fifteen minutes to get a table in the dining room, but we could get a table in the bar area almost immediately. We opted for the bar. I like dim lighting at a place like this, and Coal Fired was pretty dark, but the brightness from the multiple mounted flat screen HD LCD televisions not only took away from the atmosphere, it almost became a distraction. I just chalked that up to being seated in the bar area, so I won’t hold that against them.
The biggest plus Coal Fired has in its favor is its wine delivery system that goes something like this. Your server gives you a wine debit card complete with microchip. He or she asks how much money you want to put on the card. You look puzzled and are then told that you walk up to one of what appears to be high tech soda dispensers and choose your wine. Each wine (Reds are in the front, and whites are in the back.) is available in different dispensed amounts (1 ounce for a taste, 1/2 glass, full glass) and costs different amounts depending on how much and what wine you order. You then swipe your card, select your wine, choose how much you want, place your glass under the dispenser, and Voila! You have your wine, and your card was debited the appropriate amount.
This is a great system for someone who is looking for something different to do with friends, but if you want to try several different wines, I’d suggest going to actual wine tastings where you learn about the wines you try and have the opportunity to buy them. Just a warning, this wine debit card can get expensive pretty quickly. The Mrs. and I started with a card of $40 and emptied the card’s value after two half glasses each. We then reloaded the card with another $60 and left Coal Fired with around $1.75 remaining on the card.
The upside is that you can sample a $200 bottle by paying $12 for a taste ounce. The downside is that you can also pay more for wines that are easily and more economically available in other places.
The service was great, and I appreciate all of the effort our server gave. We watched her interact with her other tables, and she worked hard. My water never went down more than half a glass before she was back at the table filling it again. We never had an empty plate or wine glass on the table more than a few minutes before she was there removing them from our table. We were with a group of friends, so she was doing all of this for a large table. Thank you, Michelle G.
The food was more than pizza. Actually, they should probably change the name because pizza almost seems to be an afterthought on the menu — taking a bottom section of a fold out piece. It’s actually more of an Italian restaurant.
I started with the caprese which was good but not quite what I expected. The tomatoes were slices of firm (what appeared to be) steak tomatoes instead of the traditional plum tomato. I liked the addition of the ham and roasted pepper but would have liked to seen and tasted more basil. I’m a sucker for mozzarella, and there was plenty of that and in thick slices.
The Mrs. and I had completely different dining experiences with our main dishes. She had a broiled sole that was buttery and mild. It was a fantastically prepared and presented piece of fish. Frankly it was one of the best pieces of fish I’ve tried in a long time. I ordered the Veal Parmegiano which was more of a disappointment. The overall portion was more then generous, but the veal itself was lacking and became lost in the heavy breading. The tomato sauce had a very watery consistency and was a little bland.
Overall, I’d give it a try at least once. The service was fantastic, the food was decent, and the wine dispensing system is enough of a novelty that its fun to do with a group. Be careful though, like I said, it can get pricey pretty fast. When the smoke cleared for us, the Mrs. and I closed out our full ticket at just under $200.
Coal Fired Pizza Co. is located at 8595 Pelham Road (Suite 100), Greenville, SC 29615 and is on the Internet at http://www.coalfiredpizza.com.
– Joe Merchant
After a significant rules change, reducing the time limit from 12 minutes to 10 minutes, American Joey Chestnut successfully defended the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt in the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Brooklyn, New York’s Coney Island.
Remember the old Mounds/Almond Joy commercial? “
