Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix? Is that that good?

Just got the Peter Reinhart Baker’s Apprentice book and am loving it. He’s a huge pizza nerd and says that the pizza at Bianco in Phoenix is his favorite in the country (or at least he did back when the book was written). Anyone been there? Worth a detour if I should find myself down there?

I have been there a few times…it is very good… they have a prosciutto wrapped Gruyere cheese appetizer that’s on a bed of arugula that is out of this world good. The pizzas are what you would expect from a Neapolitan pizzeria. Definitely search it out if you ever make it to Phoenix.

Thanks for the feedback. Seems like there are many more options for traditional Neapolitan now, especially in L.A., but it sounds great.

we had a few excellent pies at Pizzeria Bianco last year. We went at 3pm for a late lunch on a Monday…no line. Def recommended.

We’ve enjoyed the pizzas at Pizzeria Bianco ever since he moved from Santa Fe NM to Phoenix. He used to have have a pizzeria here in Santa Fe. He makes wonderful pizza.

So that’s the trick? I’ve been by many times – wait times I’ve been quoted are between 2 and 3 hours.

It is definitely one of the best pizza spots in the country. Besides the traditional margherita they have a great range of pizza including the Rossa and the Wiseguy. My wife and I have been going to PHX for the past two Thanksgivings and we always build in time to go here somewhere along our trip. Always a wait but they do have the bar next door to wait.


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the pies

We just found out that he is opening a Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Tucson. Looking forward to it!

Suzanne, those are some great pics!

Absolutely…those are gorgeous. We have been to the one in Phoenix ( with the Krueger’s) several times as well as his earlier spot in Santa Fe. The pizzas are wonderful but use Suzanne’s idea and try to avoid the loooooong waits. [soap.gif]

Anyway, the pizzas are awesome but then again Chris is a Bronx guy! flirtysmile

Cheers! [cheers.gif]
Marshall

I’ve have seen and read reviews for the last few years and was able to go last night. I thought it was very good but would not rank it above Keste in NY. We loved this app that Bryan describes below. We went to the Town and Country location. Got there early and by the time we left it was full. Great service and solid pizza but I was a little let down based on what I have heard.

They are finally opening in Los Angeles.

Chris Bianco no longer makes pizza though due to the lung damage from breathing in flour (or something like that)

The pizzas were good from what I remember back in 2011. I don’t know of many places in southern California making that style at the time. But, no, they weren’t enough to overcome my “hanger” after waiting 3 hours to sit at the bar and have a pizza.

I ate at the Tucson location a few years ago. Still solid pies. Thankfully, no waiting. Too bad it closed.

I think it’s no longer the destination Oprah made it out to be back in the day, because there’s so much good pizza around now, but I wouldn’t turn one down if I’m in the area.

The have a 2nd location north of Downtown. I visit every time I’m in Phoenix but last July my sister was concerned about crowds and parking because there was a baseball game happening at the time, and we found the uptown to have equivalent quality and zero wait.

That would be the Town & Country location mentioned by Fred above. I haven’t been to that one. My wife’s office is a couple of blocks from the downtown spot, and I meet her there for lunch sometimes. As Suzanne says, later is better, wait-wise. I love the stuff, the plain Margherita and the Wise Guy in particular.

I know that you are crazy enough about pizza to have built your own brick oven (Respect!). I’m curious as to your take on the Bianco offerings.

Thanks!

I don’t think of them as true Neopolitan, but great pizza and great ingredients. True Neo is probably too soft/soggy for the average consumer and I think Bianco does a great job of pulling back from the edge just a little bit to give some crispiness. Neopolitan fans consider 900ºF oven and 90 second bakes to be average and 1000ºF+ 60 seconds to be nirvana, but at my house pulling it back to about 750º-800º and 2-minutes usually gets better reviews, and that’s I think where Bianco must be, given their style.

I’m vegetarian/pescatarian so no opinion on the Wise Guy, but I consider the Bianco Verde and Rosa to be classics, and the Margherita is top notch (which with 4 ingredients is really all about having top quality ingredients.) At home our main tomato is the Alta Cucina from Stanislaus, which is only available in restaurant-size cans, so when I don’t want to deal with opening a can that big, my go-to is Bianco di Napoli, which is also a Central Valley tomato sourced by Chris Bianco for his restaurants.