Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Is anyone making coal fired pizza in the DC area. Is it legal here?....

The only one I know of is in Ellicott City.

Can anyone else speak to this? I'd be particularly interested in finding out if this really is a legal hurdle.

Posted

I've read that emission laws prohibit coal burning restaurants and that pizza places that still do it have been grandfathered in.

Is this true or even a law for every state? Not sure.

Posted

I have not found any evidence that it is illegal to build and operate coal burning ovens anywhere in the country, with the possible exception of the construction of new ovens in Manhattan (and even that I am unable to confirm, and I am seriously doubting the veracity of this often cited "fact"). It appears that New York and California have adopted some operation and emission standards regarding the use of such ovens.

Some googled material that touches on the issue:

click

click

click

coal oven pizza guide

Posted

Can someone explain what the allure of coal fired pizza is? It sounds gross to me.

IIRC, coal can get the ovens to higher temps that cook the pizzas very quickly. This helps to get that thin crispy crust that folks like. I am sure that others can provide much more history and detail as to why it is superior.

Posted

I am not a member of the coal-fired cult, but any list of The Great Pizza Places of the Northeast will skew heavily towards coal ovens. Whether it's the heat source that makes Pepe's, Grimaldie's, Totonno's and so on superior pies, I cannot say, but there is certainly a correlation between coal-fired ovens and good pizza.

Posted

I walked past Pi Pizzeria in Adams Morgan last night, and they have a sign out front that clearly implies that it's coal oven pizza (I can't remember the exact words, but it was pretty blatant). Piero's Corner in Fairfax implies the same thing. What is going on here?

Posted

Blue Ribbon Bakery in the West Village in NYC has a coal fired oven they use for breads. The crust is harder and crunchier than most other hearth breads I have had. So the effect goes beyond pizza.

Having said that, my mentor in LA, Evan Kleiman, opened Angeli Caffe almost 30 years ago when fire ovens were not available. She made one of LA's best pizzas in a gas fired Blodgett deck oven that sttod the test of time. The last time I ate one of her pizas, maybe 4 years ago, it was as good as or better than any pizza I have had in the US.

Posted

I'm not sure coal fired pizza is necessarily guaranteed to make better pizza. You need really good ingredients, really good dough, and a knack for knowing hot to get that pizza right. I used to be drawn to the concept of coal fired pizza, but in reality I am just drawn to really excellent pizza.

Posted
On 12/30/2017 at 5:28 PM, Pool Boy said:

I'm not sure coal fired pizza is necessarily guaranteed to make better pizza. You need really good ingredients, really good dough, and a knack for knowing hot to get that pizza right. I used to be drawn to the concept of coal fired pizza, but in reality I am just drawn to really excellent pizza.

It doesn't make better pizza; it makes for a hotter oven.

Posted
48 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

It doesn't make better pizza; it makes for a hotter oven.

The Story of Coal was an article written by the infamous Scott Weiner. If you  live or have been to NY,. you may know him and have been on his  wildly entertaining  pizza tours.  I had the opportunity to meet Scott, and his energy and devotion to pizza is unlike I have ever seen , ever.  I may have left a bad impression on him on the account I judged him on his favorable review of  a square pizza he had at Little Caesars. I still am trying to flip that impression. You rarely get the chance to redeem a bad impression.  

Hot in here,

kat

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...