Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza and Piccola Gelato Cafe

As if the holiday season didn't hold enough savory concoctions and mouth-watering sweets; then to add to the special foods, a spontaneous lunch the day after Christmas at Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza. I love pizza; it's my if-you-were-stuck-on-a-deserted-island food. And I've had all sorts: from Mellow Mushrooms chewy crusted pie to a completely crunchy Sicilian crust at Mamma Rosa's in Dothan, AL.

Anthony's, newly added to the shopping center off Turkey Lake Road down the road from Whole Foods, is a sporty clean restaurant that warns that it's crust is "well-done". Heated to 800-900 degrees F. in a coal oven, they weren't lying -- the crust is a combination of crunch and chew. The bottom is charred and crunchy but right underneath to toppings is a nice soft bread.

The decor of the place is a movie and music hall of fame. Black and white photos of Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles, Muhammad Ali, and others hang on the walls. Several flat screen TVs distract from the food at hand. The bathrooms are another story. Men beware: scantily clad females were the story reported (now all of you are going to go use the bathroom; really, just go before you leave the house). The woman's room is a bit safer, just poor pictures of Brad Pitt, George Clooney in the main entry and Elvis, Johnny Depp, and James Dean in the stalls (all fully clothed, mind you).

The waitress informed us that you can get half and half on any pizza except the one with eggs. We got the Paul and Young Ron (meatballs, sausage, ricotta, and sweet or spicy peppers--definitely would go with spicy peppers next time); Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella; and pepperoni. I enjoyed all three but the T,B, & M had the best crust because there wasn't any sauce for it to absorb. FYI: you can get sauce on the side for no extra charge. The waitress ended up bringing the first pizza to the table and serving. That sure threw me off! I'd prefer to pick my own slices but I had to remind myself that the intentions were good. I took a look around and none of the others waiters seemed to be doing. Maybe it was just her style or maybe that's what they do for bigger groups; either way I can handle serving it up myself.

In the end, the two 16 inch pizzas fed all 6 of us. We agreed it was a decent pie and I wouldn't moan if we decided to go back.

Across the street is the sinfully delicious Piccola Gelato Cafe which we entered at my request. Mostly white with accents of black the petite cafe was sadly empty (I hope that isn't the norm). Our server said we could try samples, "as many as we liked" (they had me at hello). I stuck to the traditional flavor of chocolate chip for my sample; but flavors ranged from lemon to a nutella flavor. While we split a small cup, my mom inquired regarding the production process. All the flavors (24 daily, 100 in all) are made on the premise with milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla. (How many desserts these days are made with just a few basic ingredients? Just goes to prove that you don't need corn syrup and hydrogenated oils to make something taste good.) Then depending on the flavor, additional ingredients are added to this base. Let me tell you: it's better than ice cream. Cleaner, fresher, denser but not heavy, gelato is my new favorite. How is it that Italians know how to do it better? Better version of ice cream and always better pizza. Take a trip and check out both of these places: dinner and dessert. Hmm, this might be conspiracy...

Anthony's must have: Tomato, Basil, and Fresh Mozzarella (with sauce on the side)

Anthony's next bite: Paul and Young Ron with spicy peppers

Piccola's must have: Gelato, I don't think any of their flavors could be bad

Piccola's next bite: can you guess? Gelato!