Noon.
Dallas. Texas.
Intersection of Cedar Springs and Maple.
64 Degrees and Sunny.
I've been driving around all morning and have built up an incredible appetite, and I'm craving something that isn't easy to find in Dallas, a good, real-deal, hot Italian sandwich on fresh baked crusty bread, the sort of sandwich you'd get at a pizza joint fresh out of the oven, stuffed with choice of poison...meatball, sausage, veal, chicken, cold cuts, etc. I had a particular hankering for the cold cut variety, but I wasn't picky given that I couldn't put my finger on a spot where the perfect sandwich would be.
I was in Uptown, and there just happened to be a parking spot out in front of Coal Vines, a place I'd never been but have wanted to try, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I'm glad I did.
First off, this place has a great atmosphere, kind of fancy Italian meets casual corner restaurant. The front opens up to make it kind of an indoor/outdoor place all at the same time, and there is a very nice wine bar to snug up to if you're flying solo, as I was.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a much more diverse menu than I anticipated for this pizza joint, including a blackboard full of specials which complimented the pastas, entrees, pizzas, salads, etc. that made up the menu. I thought it was just pizza, and was hoping for a sandwich, but now will come back to try some of the other items. (I have ZERO idea why I've never looked at their menu online, I'm typically all over that.)
I was disappointed, however, to see that my sandwich options were limited to two chicken based sandwiches. I'm not typically a chicken guy outside of the chicken cutlet sandwiches you may find in the Italian sections of New York City. Nonetheless, I went with the simplest of the two, a breaded chicken breast, marinara, and mozzarella.
BOOM!
It was awesome. Bread was exactly what I hoped for when I was thinking sandwich. The chicken was well seasoned and fried perfectly, the marinara sparingly and appropriately used, and the cheese tied it all together. Then there's the fries. Wow, these things were good. Lightly seasoned and perfectly cooked, these things were tossed in the fryer along with fresh sage, rosemary, and slivers of garlic, which not only flavored the fries, but came out with them so I could eat them too.
All in all, good spot, and I'd go back, but it's not cheap, so I'd probably look to it for a business lunch or dinner instead of just a stopping by place. I still want to try their pizza.
Summary
Atmosphere: high-end Italian meets corner pizza shop, trendy, good for business lunch, good for groups, great patio seating, good for a date, good for a glass of wine, good peoplewatching, good if you're flying solo.
Food: Italian, pizza, pastas
Dog Friendly: doubt it
When to Go: lunch, happy hour, dinner
Crowd: businessmen, Uptown yuppies, hotchicks
What to Order for the First Timer: give the pizza a shot unless you're craving a sandwich
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