Phantom Gourmet: Red Heat Tavern In Wilmington

WILMINGTON (CBS) -- At the Red Heat Tavern, there is some seriously hot stuff happening.

Located in Wilmington, Massachusetts, this casual, affordable restaurant is big and bustling with high ceilings, a wrap-around bar and a busy open kitchen.

That's where executive chef Alan Frati and his team put out plate after plate of fire kissed comfort food from meatloaf and mac and cheese, to burgers, wings and juicy steaks.

Just about every dish is infused with a great smoky flavor, thanks to Red Heat's specialized Josper Oven.

"It's a Spanish style oven. It kind of dually acts as a grill and an oven," Frati says. "So this is coal, it's actually coal used from Brazilian wood."

"By utilizing the coal (EDIT) we're able to create a high heat. We cook between six and eight hundred degrees. So we rapidly cook our food. It infuses a lot of smoke flavor," Frati says. "It's a great piece of equipment that we're really lucky to have. It give our chefs a great opportunity to use something that you don't have in a regular restaurant."

And since this oven gets so hot, if you can't stand the heat, this definitely ain't your kind of kitchen.

"As you can see, it's really hot back here. So you kind of have to have, as a chef, a certain type of stamina to work this station, it's very difficult, much more difficult than working your traditional grill."

But once you taste this food you'll be loving what's coming out of the oven at the Red Heat Tavern.

Red Heat Tavern can be found at 300 Lowell St. in Wilmington, and online at redheattavern.com

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.