The Coal House

Good restaurants are NOT hard to find on the Jersey Shore, it's seeing what ones can survive the winters with just the locals patronizing them. Our friend & co-worker just partnered with a couple others to open a coal-fired pizza restaurant in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ and I have a feeling they will not have any trouble making it to Memorial Day, when our population swells. Hubster, some friends and I went on Friday nite to take a taste and I am already dying to go back. It was a lovely evening with a light snow falling and the air was electric with TGIF ~ everyone was happy to relax at the end of a week. The restaurants interior is more chic than the tavern feel of most places locally...tall ceilings, rich colors and fantastic lighting.

On to the good part! The menu is simple...salads, pizzas, paninis and a few dessert offerings. What makes CH unique is the "coal-fired" ovens, I can honestly say I didn't notice a difference between coal, or brick oven or regular pizza joints. What I did appreciate was the freshness of the ingredients, the simple menu that doesn't assault your senses (I do not need 47 toppings!), the great service and the fact that the pizza came to the table HOT!!

We sampled the house salad, antipasto, the original pie, the four-cheese, the whole wheat (they also offer gluten-free and vegan pies) and the white pie (my fave!). When it came to dessert, I can normally pass, but I was trying to absorb some FAB sangria my girlfriend made for the occasion (that recipe to follow...). We sampled the CH choco cupcake, CH Cannoli~~~heaven~~~cupcake and the cheesecake. All worth saving some room for.

Times like this I wish I had a huge readership to share with, but I will put this out there for my couple of "tri-staters" and anyone who may take a trip to the jersey shore @ some point! Check out the Coal House here: http://simplytakeout.com/thecoalhouse/coalhouse/