06-29-2023 Howard Magazine - Flipbook - Page 32
Best restaurants
Brothers Eric, left, and Justin Sharoky hold a Bianco Speciale pizza, which features tomato and spinach with a white sauce at Coal Fire Pizza, which has been voted
Howard County’s best pizza. PHOTO BY BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLOR
Best Pizza
Coal Fire - Ellicott City
5725 Richards Valley Road, Ellicott City,
410-480-2625, coalfireonline.com
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| Summer 2023 | howardmagazine.com
When making pizza, there’s one maxim
that Eric Sharoky knows to be true — from
experience.
“The hotter the temperature, the better the
bake,” Sharoky, 34, said.
He and his brother, Justin Sharoky, oversee operations at Coal Fire, the family-owned
pizzeria their father, Dennis Sharoky, opened
in Ellicott City with his partner Brian Kannee
in 2009. Now, there are five Coal Fire locations
across Maryland.
Part of the secret to their success is in the
name.
“Coal is one of the hottest fuel sources you
can have. You really get a special taste from a
coal oven for your pizza,” Sharoky said. “The
crust just has a unique crunch and flavor.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find the special
kind of oven at many other pizza joints in
Maryland, he said. The restaurant’s homemade
mozzarella, sauces and dough also set it apart
from the competition.
“People have been coming in for 14 years
now and getting the same pizza that they loved
last week and they know they can find that
again,” Sharoky said. “We’ve watched kids that
grow up and love our pizza now coming in
with their kids.”