When ordering pizza at Coal Vines in Sugar Land, choose the special of the week. Past offerings have included chicken with Dr Pepper barbecue sauce, New England-style white clam, and chicken Alfredo pizza, which blew us away with its layers of flavor. Marquez somehow turns chicken into a pizza topping without drying it out. A favorite from the menu is the meaty Bolognese, a pasta-as-pizza dish that’s difficult to resist.

Dallas import Coal Vines offers much more than just pizza, including deft pasta and seafood dishes as well as a Sunday brunch with breakfast calzones, an omelet station, and a pancake station—yes, a pancake station, equipped with as many topping options as a Baskin-Robbins. By day, it’s a great spot for a quick lunch of salads and sandwiches. By night, it’s a casually elegant spot for excellent thin-crust pizza and wine by the glass (and if you want to splurge, the Joe’s Wine Cellar list offers a few big-boy wines at fair prices).