coals

Fairly new to the area, this Norwalk, Connecticut spot along with one in Portland, Maine are the only 2 Coals locations after the closing of the Bronxville, New York establishment. With a name like “Coals,” I thought I was getting a coal-fired pizza, similar to New Haven style; instead, they offer a unique, super thin, grilled pizza style. The actual pie is light as a feather, with the box weighing more than the entire pizza. Upon opening the lid, I was utterly shocked at the oblong oval-shaped, unevenly sliced, essential flatbread. When I called in the order, they said it would be ready in 15 minutes; this pie couldn’t have spent more than 2 mins on the grill and must have sat for over 10 minutes because it was ice cold when I tasted it, almost as if it had been refrigerated. With truly paper-thin dough, more like a cracker consistency similar to a bagel crisp and a bizarre grilled eggplant flavor, as if it were made from razor-thin crisped eggplant skins; the taste & texture of the dough is absolutely baffling. The fresh mozzarella was completely cold & congealed with some pecorino cheese mixed in for additional flavor; but the plastered texture was a total turnoff. The random splotches of tomato sauce are rather sweet, mildly tangy & modestly tasty but ice cold, similar to cocktail sauce. Some sparse basil is mostly decorative but also adds an unappealing garden flavor to the pie. This is not pizza; this is a flatbread appetizer. For $17 & change they should have taken my credit card with a gun & a mask. I felt completely swindled; 1 “pizza” is basically the equivalent to 2 regular slices. Not my style in the least, a total rip-off & overall brutal execution: the texture, the temperature, the quality & price are all horrific. Maybe their burgers & wings are better; but it doesn’t get much worse than this “pizza.”