Pizzeria Bianco

Friday night I had the privilege to have dinner at Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. Owner and chef, Chris Bianco brings a very personal experience to a local pizza shop in the middle of the city. Pizzeria Bianco, ranked one of the top 5 pizzeria's in the United States, is only open 4 days a week, when Chris can be there himself to make your pizza himself.

Get there early, put your name in, and head next door to the bar and have a drink and socialize for the next 2-3 hours for your table to be ready. Definitely worth the wait. Classy bar with no mixed drinks. Simply a few select bottled beers and two on tap. Other than that there is a handful of wines to choose from. When your table is ready you'll head over next door into a small room with less than 15 tables, and a nice brick oven where the chef is creating his masterpieces. Here you won't find your traditional pizzas, these are all special creations coming from Chris Bianco, and you just have to trust his taste. We ordered a few pizzas from the menu, and still wanted more. Our waiter headed to the kitchen to see how backed up orders were, and told us that he wasn't too far behind and to let us know what other pizza we wanted. For kicks, we told him to let the chef make whatever he wanted. About 10 minutes later here comes our pizza, not one from the menu. He had just taken a few random toppings that he thought would go great together, and oh did they... It was hands down the best pizza we had eaten all night. This sums up the whole experience. It's a personal experience. As we left, we walked up, thanked Chris for the great pizza, as he would greet and personally say goodbye to all of his guests.

That is how a small restaurant should be. Personal service to where you feel like you are their friend. From the business model to the ambiance to the food, this is my new favorite restaurant.