Reviewing Coalfire: Home to Chicago’s original coal oven pizzeria.

When it comes to Chicago pizza, visitors and locals alike all have their own opinion as to what’s their favorite: thin, deep dish, double crust, or stuffed. In the City of Big Shoulders, you can get it all!

Head on over to the award-winning Coalfire Pizza, Chicago’s original coal oven pizzeria with two locations in the city. Both have an 800-degree coal-fired oven that appears to cook the pies in an instant, but it’s really about two minutes.

When we sat down, I noticed all the tables had a large empty can of tomato sauce on them. I wondered what it could be for. Was it decor or functional? I would find out soon enough.

We first dug into the fresh House salad, which is made with bibb lettuce and tossed with radish, parsley, chives, and herb vinaigrette. Topped with crispy pumpkin seeds, the salad was crunchy and delicious. Other salads to try include their Caesar or the apple and endive salad.

What makes Coalfire Pizza so great is that it doesn’t compete with New York-style or even Chicago-style pizza. Instead, it combines the best of traditional pizza styles into something even better.

At Coalfire, they serve a delightfully thin-crusted, coal-forged pizza. When it comes out of the clean-burning coal oven, it’s piping hot and ready to serve. The first thing you’ll notice is the outer edge of the pizza is thin, yet flexible.

When they slid our fresh and steaming Black and White pizza on top of the open can, we saw what it was used for: to hold the pizza! Who knew? Our eyes lit up as we saw the roasted tomato sauce, black garlic, mozzarella, goat cheese, and chives pizza placed onto Coalfire’s special serving arrangement.

If you visit, you’ll soon discover an artisan pizza known for its crispy crust, full flavor, and perfect bake.

Coalfire is all about unique ingredient combinations. I’d suggest trying their honey and salami pizza, which comes with mozzarella, sauce, sopressata, honey, and Calabrian chile. For the best of Italian, enjoy their lasagna pizza with mozzarella, sauce, Berkshire sausage, sweet red pepper, whipped ricotta, basil, and garlic. The bacon jam pizza made with mozzarella, sauce, sopressata, bacon jam, and chive will satisfy your cravings for something savory.

Do you dare try the vodka meatball pizza with mozzarella, vodka tomato sauce, meatball, basil, Stracciatella, and Parmigiano Reggiano? I say go for it!

Coalfire Pizza’s ingredients are all locally sourced from artisan butchers and produce growers.

End your meal with a slice of Bang Bang Pie, which was apple caramel-flavored on the night we were there. Filled with plenty of fruity flavors, apple crumbles, and a buttery pastry crust, it was sweet and delectable.

From Chicago media to across the U.S., Coalfire Pizza always ranks high on everyone’s list. Among its many accolades, Conde Nast Traveler named it “The Best Pizza in Chicago,” the Chicago Tribune included it in “25 Best Pizzas in Chicago,” and Michelin Guide called it one of “Chicago’s Best Pizza Places.”