The Best Pizza Place In West Virginia Bakes Pies In The State's Only Coal-Fired Oven

New Haven-style pizza is known for being made in coal-fired ovens, and one restaurant in West Virginia has set out to preserve this way of pizza-making. West Virginia might be known as a fast food capital, but one of the best pizza places in the state has committed to using domestic anthracite, the oldest and cleanest coal there is, to fire up handmade pizza dough. At Mia Margherita, artisan pizzas are pulled out of a coal-fired oven and brushed with garlic olive oil. With chewy middles and a slightly charred crust, these pizzas have delighted customers. "It was not a mistake to stop here," encouraged one visitor on TripAdvisor. "We'd do it again!"

Mia Margherita's approach is meant to honor some of the coal-mining immigrants of the early 1900s and the very first pizza oven that was used in the United States. Ingredients to make pizza are sourced from local dealers, and Italian imports keep recipes unique. The restaurant lays claim to being the first and only coal-fired pizzeria in the state, and the coal used to keep the oven hot is nearly free of smoke and particulate emissions. A list of pre-designed artisan pizzas like chicken pesto, Americana, and West Virginia via San Francisco comes topped with ingredients like grilled limoncello chicken, pesto, pine nuts, fresh mozzarella and ricotta, and the restaurant's original pepperoni.

Mia Margherita's pizzas are garnished with Parmigiano Reggiano, and customers can build their own with toppings and bases to suit dietary preferences. "I am so glad we tried this place [on] our last night in West Virginia. The pizza was the best [gluten-free] I ever had," wrote a customer on Facebook. Other visitors have raved about coal-fired wings and pepperoni rolls and have insisted that this is the kind of stop that is worth driving for. Calzones, salads, paninis, hoagies, flatbread, and entrees like shrimp linguine offer options for any appetite. "Calamari and [house-made] chips are great appetizers," encouraged one reviewer on TripAdvisor. "Love the [coal-fired] [thin-crust] pizza. You can pick the toppings to build your own."

Mia Margherita provides both catering and carry out in addition to a menu that includes smaller plates like stuffed hot banana peppers, meatballs, risotto balls, and pepperoni fried potatoes. While some restaurants can't maintain quality for dishes that are taken away, Mia Margherita has proven to be trustworthy. "We ordered [takeout] about 3-4 times during our 9 day stay in Bridgeport," gushed one TripAdvisor reviewer. "Food was very good! We had the spaghetti, chicken parm, Italian wedding soup, pizza, wings and tiramisu." The visitor noted fresh ingredients and well-balanced flavors before recommending the stop to those considering what to eat in the area. Old can certainly be gold, and Mia Margherita is proof.