Innovative Pizza Bistro + Bar dining concept serves up equal portions of perfect crusts & specialty wines
BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ — The new Coal Mine Pizza located at Royal Palm Place in downtown Boca Raton is quickly proving itself to be one of the busiest pizza bistros in town. Having opened its doors in March of 2006 and staying suspiciously under the radar, this casual yet sophisticated eatery offering authentic coal fired pizza, pasta, subs, salads and a myriad of wines by the glass has been quietly earning its stripes through word of mouth — and word has it, the crust is quite perfect.
Serving up a whopping 200 pies a day and 500 customers nightly, Coal Mine Pizza is known for their exceptional pizza crusts, which they attribute to the utilization of a genuine coal fire oven and a secret dough recipe. The high temperature of a coal oven cooks the pizza in four minutes or less, with no browning of the sauce. The cheese stays pristine white and there is no residual oil left on the tin when you pick up the slices. The tomato stays red and you can taste the fresh flavor of the tomato in the sauce. In traditional deck pizzerias, however, the pizza cooks in 10-12 minutes, in which time the cheese gets rubbery and disintegrates, creating the orange oil frequently seen on top, and the tomato sauce begins to turn brown and acidic.
“Other pizza makers may cut corners with their cheeses or buy prepared tomato sauces, but Coal Mine starts by making homemade pizza dough, fresh mozzarella and signature pizza sauce daily,” says Director of Operations, Steve Lieber. “We use Grande cheese, known as the best pizza cheese on the east coast of the United States,” Lieber continues. “Although it’s twice as expensive as every other cheese, we feel that it’s worth it.”
Coal Mine also aims to utilize as many local ingredients as possible in its pizzas and menu offerings. “Sustainability is a big thing here at Coal Mine. We seek out the highest quality products available and strive to use local growers whenever possible,” explains Lieber.
So what’s the price for a perfect pie? Specialty pies like Coal Mine’s The Brooklyn and The Melt in Your Mouth Meatball & Ricotta Pie start at $16 for personal pies. Contemporary pasta offerings like the Penne Ala Ketel One Vodka start at $15. ‘Miner Sandwiches’ or subs like the Pennsylvania Coal Miner Cheesesteak begin at $10. Appetizers include Balsamic Coal Mine Chicken Wings and Giant Meatball Like Mom Used to Make starting at $8 and up. Also impressive are the rare vintages of wines featured on Coal Mine’s menu, not to mention the number of offerings both by bottle and glass — 30 and 70 respectively.
Coal Mine also offers a unique Specialty Truffle Pizza. Topped with truffles imported directly from Alba, Italy, this signature pie typically retails at around $150.
Additionally, Coal Mine Pizza has started merchandising their branded dough, sauces, salad dressings and pie stones, as well as a Pizza Kit, complete with dough, sauce, cheese, pizza stone and a choice of toppings. They even offer “Make Your Own Pizza” Parties for kids on the weekends, and have begun hosting cooking clubs for adults on occasion during the week.
“What we strived to achieve here at Coal Mine,” says founder Gary Rack, “is a local family restaurant offering the best pizza and the best wine list in South Florida — where everybody hangs out and gets to know each other. Thursdays or Fridays have evolved into a veritable ‘Who’s Who of Boca Raton’ in here with the presidents of local Universities and financial and political leaders mingling with each other. Everybody comes — and everybody feels at home. We’ve become a community restaurant with an appeal to all sectors,” says Rack.
Through the talents of their Pizza Master Walter Engel, Coal Mine Pizza also hopes to win big at the International Pizza Championships in Italy in 2010.
Coal Mine Pizza shortly plans to expand locations regionally into Parkland, Weston, Tampa and Orlando, then nationally to Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas and Las Vegas by the end of 2008. Soon to come — a new GR Restaurant Management, LLC venture “Racks”, a chic, European-style bar concept launching in Aventura this spring.
Founded by Gary Rack and GR Restaurant Management, LLC, Coal Mine Pizza is located at 399 SE Mizner Boulevard, Royal Palm Place in Boca Raton, Florida. Hours: Day M-F 11:30am-3:00pm, Sat-Sun 12:00pm-3:00pm, Evening Sun-Thurs 5:00pm-10:00pm, Fri-Sat 5:00pm-11:00pm. For more information please call 561- 826-2625 or visit the website at www.coalminepizza.com. To schedule a press interview, please contact Jennifer Pearson at The Gab Group, 561-750-3500 or email jennifer@thegabgroup.com.
