Pompeii Coal Fired Pizza, Jacksonville

In the early 1900s, when firewood was a valuable commodity, a resourceful baker's head sprung a light bulb: why not try coal? Hence was born a different kind of pizza––one with a smoky, barbequed flavor and the pure heart of a coal miner's daughter. Pompeii Coal Fired Pizza takes this idea and gives it a modern pep talk, marrying oak wood and Pennsylvania-shipped anthracite coal to bake up new old-style pizzas in a stifling 850-degree brick oven.

Electricity takes a vacation as these furnaces evenly smoke thickly-sauced pastas, deli-style sandwiches, and house-made pizza dough. If Italy's anthem doesn't ring in your ears after eating golden focaccia bread and Italian-imported ingredients, you can grab a gondola oar and help the chef pound out a night's worth of juicy 8-ounce burgers.