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October 5, 2007

Coal-fired pizza

Matt Teri posted this comment under an earlier pizza post. I'm repeating it here because I've been meaning to do an entry on Phat Pug. It's gotten a lot of attention on Chowhound.com.

I recently tried a pizza from Phat Pug, in Perry Hall -- their claim to fame (or their schtick, depending) is that they use an actual coal-fired oven.  I was pretty darned impressed with the pizza -- thin and crispy, with some tasty burned spots and a really excellent (sweet-ish) sauce.    Anyone else been up there yet?

Here's the info courtesy of the Chowhound board. (Phat Pug doesn't have its Web site up yet.):

The Phat Pug Coal Fired Pizzeria
8814A Bel Air Road
Perry Hall, MD 21236
410 256 5700

If you want to know more about the process, here's an article from Pizza Today.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:57 PM | | Comments (5)
Categories: Pizza
        

Comments

Supposedly they are opening a second location in Federal Hill, which is desperately in need of a superior pizza joint.

If you Google coal oven pizza you'll find that a lot of places are using coal ovens again.

Federal Hill has an amazing pizza joint - Thirsty Dog (I'm not giving in and calling it "Dog Pub").

I enjoyed the Phat Pug pizza. It took a long time for it to be made. I think they can only 'fire' one at a time. I also had a cheesesteak and was impressed. I live in the Perry Hall area and there are not many good subs or pizzas around. (I used to like Chubby's grilled pizzas, but they have sold the place and the new pizzas were nothing special.)

Iwonder if they are using a special coal or "coke" or briquette. Simply using a coal fired oven exposing it to the smoke/gasses is lethal. Coal contains many dangerous hydrocarbons including benzene in sufficient concentrations to be dangerous. That's why steel mill coking plants are in violation of air standards. Coal is over the edge compared to cherry or oak hardwood.

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About this blog
Richard Gorelick was appointed The Baltimore Sun's restaurant critic in September 2010. Before joining the paper staff fulltime, he contributed freelance criticism and features articles about food to area and regional publications. Along the way, he dispatched for short-distance trucking companies, shilled for cultural non-profits, and assisted in cognitive neurology research – never the subject, always the control.

He takes restaurants seriously but not himself, and his favorite restaurant is the one you love, too.
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