Coal Vines Opens in Shops at Legacy

by Steven Doyle

Last Thursday marked the first glimpse of the pending Plano installment of Coal Vines in the Shops at Legacy, the coal-fired pizzeria that serves up some great wines and pizza. The occasion allowed the franchisee to work with the concept corporate chef, Samir Dhurandhar who also oversees the other Phil Romano restaurants Nick and Sam’s Steakhouse as well as Nick and Sam’s Grill.

The evening was action packed as 200 guests filtered into the cozy restaurant to celebrate the opening as well as raise funds and awareness for Paws in the City, the no-kill rescue mission that is committed to ending the overpopulation, abuse, neglect of Dallas area dogs and cats. The group has also drastically undermined the City of Dallas animal shelter since 2005.

The evening was followed up by smaller previews for friends and family both Friday and Saturday evening of last week with plans of being fully operational within days.

Concept Founders Phil Romano and Joseph Palladino

The operation is already running smoothly even under the past few days stressful conditions. The crisply thin pizza is adorned with excellent toppings that you would expect from such a concept, but we found the hidden secret that is not on the menu – the meatball pizza. The thin sliced meatballs are placed heavy on the pizza adorned with a great marinara and their fresh mozzarella. To test the secret menu, I stopped anonymously by the Uptown location Sunday evening where the waitress was thrilled I knew about the great topping and within minutes had the pie once again.

Another thrill on this menu are the Seafood Risotto Cakes, Bruschetta and the Smoked Salmon Tartar that is happily adorned with goat cheese, avocado and a pomegranate vinaigrette.

Within weeks there will be another franchise location opening at The New W Hotel in  Austin. This will join the only out-of-state restaurant for the franchise that is located in the beautiful digs at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.