Oftentimes, there's just one choice to be made with pizza—which toppings to put on it. At Coal Fire, however, the decision process starts before that, as the restaurant offers three original sauces. Guests can choose from a classic plum-tomato version, a spicy sauce, or their signature blend with sweet and spicy notes. Cooks then ladle the chosen sauce onto aged, homemade dough that's crisped in a 900-degree oven fired with anthracite coal. This process gives the crust a crisp, charred flavor reminiscent of a Neapolitan pie or the Human Torch's steering wheel.

The pizzas are hardly the only distinctive item on the menu, though. Chicken wings are oven-baked—not fried—with seasoning and roasted onions. Flash-fried calamari is tossed with sweet and hot peppers, and baked mac 'n' cheese is studded with lump crab meat. All the while, bartenders fill glasses with wine and craft beers, which guests can enjoy at the bar.