I was invited to lunch with Pizza Expert and Big G, and I had to pick the place.  I always wanted to try Coal Mine Pizza on Mizner Blvd in Boca Raton, FL (561) 826-2625.  Since one of my favorites, Red Rock Pizza, had recently closed, it seemed like a good choice.  I was excited to give this place a try.  It was a gorgeous day and after looking for parking for over 10 minutes we decided to sit outside.

I have noticed recently that down here in Florida, meatballs are listed as an appetizer on a lot of menus.  In New York, meatballs were always listed as a side.  Either way, I could not resist ordering one.  Both as an appetizer and on a meatball and ricotta pie.  We also ordered a large plain pizza.  It is safe to say that after the first bite of the regular pie, all 3 of us were terribly dissapointed.  A good crust is essential to a pizza, and I figured a place called Coal Mine would recognize this.

In my opinion  the crust had a striking similarity to matzah.  Pita and Nan were also used to describe the lack of flavor in the crust.  The pizza was also soggy, as shown in the picture.  And this droopy slice was fresh out of the oven.  The pizza with the meatballs wasn't much better.  And the pieces of meatball were diced into such small pieces that they were not enjoyable at all.

The appetizer meatball wasn't much better, and crumbled when cut into.  There is not much else to say.  It is a sad state of pizza in South Florida that an institution that claims such pride in its oven makes such a lousy pie.  2 of 8 slices.