Many things come to mind when hearing "fire", often times with positive associations: Beavis and Butthead; Michael Stipe singing "Orange Crush"; and now Fire Artisan Pizza in Coeur d'Alene. 

This is a good pizza spot, one we'd rank up with South Perry. Consider that high praises. Is Fire worth the trip to Coeur d'Alene alone? Yes. A forty minute drive to get a good pizza in a really nice locale? Why wouldn't you want to do that?

Here you have a wood fired oven which makes a bubbly crust crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. In terms of the almighty bite, Fire gets it right. The flavor might not be quite up there with, say, Veraci's, but it's still perfectly serviceable, just a wee bit on the light side.

That aside, we have no complaints about the toppings. Our "Parma" came with some nice slices of prosciutto, and we really liked the gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese mixture. It all balanced out to a a creamy texture with a mellow taste, flanking the meat perfectly alongside the truffle oil.

The "Crimini" was a bit more subtle on the flavors. It was fresh tasting, for sure, and I'm guessing the garlic olive oil was supposed to give it a kick, though a bit more garlic would have been appreciated. Still, that's nitpicking, and we enjoyed this pie too.

Fire's pizzas remind us a lot of what we see around the Valencia region of Spain, which is somewhat of a rarity in these parts. Again, consider that high praises.

Finally, a special mention of the interior. This is a wonderfully designed restaurant, one that mixes a bit of the Northwest with a potpourri of European styles. The space is comfortable, and when mixed with excellent service and quality pies, we will add Fire to our pizza rotation. A great spot.

We have mentioned Chocolate Apothecary before, and we will gladly mention it again. Because, really, there are many things to like about the chocolate shop in the Flour Mill. Many things, although their opening hours are not among them. Sunday, 11 to 5? OK. 9 to 7, Monday through Thursday? No problem. 9 to 4 on Friday? Well… Closed on Saturday? Huh.

We're all for supporting a local business and such, but the local business should also support us. One important aspect of that is to have opening hours that actually benefit the customer. I understand the reasoning behind these hours here and all, but, anyway…

When the store actually is open, it is one that is pretty awesome. They do, of course, carry Chuao chocolates which, at $6 a bar, aren't a cheap pleasure, but a great pleasure all the same. There's a good selection of other bars too, many with some "creative" flavors. Add to that a selection of chocolates aimed at cooking and baking, and you got yourself a good variety here. The only other place we can think of that is comparable is Latah Bistro. (In case you didn't know, you can buy bars there too.)

Grabbing a hot chocolate—Chuao used for many of them—is also well worth while.  We're not talking anything quite as intense as Jacques Torres's Wicked hot chocolate (worth checking out if you hit NYC) but this is the real stuff at any rate.

We like the Chocolate Apothecary. We wish the hours were a bit more… open… but what can you do? Go there when it's open, and grab some chocolates. You owe yourself that much.