The Wind Attack

Fellow pizza enthusiast DCo¹, of the blog These Things I Eat, and I have been talking about a trip to Pizzeria Bianco for nearly two years. So when we both found ourselves on work hiatus at the same time, we decided to make that trip a reality.

Along the way we had stopped at a jerky and hot sauce shack in the middle of nowhere Arizona. They sold many different types of jerky, olives, honey and exotic hot sauces, including their own line of hot sauces. I picked up a couple bottles of the hot sauce and DCo¹ bought some jerky.

And we were back on the road again, driving into Phoenix around 2pm. When we arrived at Bianco, their parking lot was gated, because they don’t let you park there before 4pm. We parked at a nearby parking structure a few blocks away on Monroe Street. Bianco validated our ticket and parking was $8.

If you’re thinking that waiting in line for three hours for pizza sounds painful, you would be wrong. The wait was actually a very pleasant experience. The weather was absolutely perfect, not too hot with a cool breeze. Plus there was plenty of shade in front of the building so there was no risk of sun burn. Everyone in line was extremely friendly. We talked to a bunch of people and slowly our story of coming all the way form Los Angeles for this pizza traveled down the line. (Later we learned from one of the servers that they get customers from LA about three times a week).

At four o’clock, Bar Bianco in the building next door opened, and people were able to get drinks to enjoy in line. Neither DCo¹ or myself are big drinkers, so we firmly held our place at the front of the line. Besides, we were on a mission to save all the room in our stomachs for as much pizza as possible.

To that effect we passed on the antipasto and salad options when it came time to order. I came to regret this a bit when I saw other people’s orders come out, especially a delightful vegetable plate with wood roasted sweet potato and cauliflower. We also missed out on their beautiful looking rustic bread. We asked if we could buy a loaf of to take home and they politely refused on account of the fact that they always run out by the end of the night.

And the pizza?

We were both very pleased with the pizza. As we left, people waiting outside asked us if it was worth it. We both answered without hesitation that it absolutely was worth it. Every slice was a pleasure to eat and each of the four pizzas we had ordered had their own unique personality.

MARGHERITA

Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil

The Margherita was classic as a margarita pizza should be. The tomato sauce was more sweet than tart, the cheese was creamy, but presented in a quantity that didn’t overwhelm. The rustically placed fresh basil leaves didn’t make it into every bite, but made some bites extra special. The crust was crisp, yet also chewy and had a fully developed yeast flavor.

ROSA

Red Onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, Rosemary, AZ Pistachios

The Rosa was a whole different animal. I was a little unsure of how pistachios would play on a pizza, but their crunch was a welcomed addition. The parmigiano reggiano cheese was salty and slightly bitter and worked together with the pistachios to create a salted pistachio taste. The red onions were surprisingly not sweet, but rather retained their bitter raw flavor in the best possible way. I imagine this is from the super quick bake time in the very hot wood burning oven, heating the onions, but not allowing them to caramelize. These different bitter flavors all worked together to make a unique flavor, brightened by a splash of excellent olive oil and the occasional sprig of rosemary.

BIANCOVERDE

Fresh Mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Ricotta, Arugula

The Biancoverde takes the idea of salad on pizza and does it correctly. The arugula leaves abound atop this pizza and the bitter flavor contrasted with the oh so sweet and ever so creamy ricotta cheese. We couldn’t stop talking about the ricotta. It’s not at all grainy like some ricottas you might find, rather it was nearly as smooth as crème fraîche with a subtle cheese flavor.

WISEGUY

Wood Roasted Onion, House Smoked Mozzarella, Fennel Sausage

The Wiseguy was our least favorite, but that’s not saying that we didn’t like it. Neither of us usually eat pork, and although the sausage was well made and had a good fennel flavor, we weren’t totally into it. The wood roasted onion, on the other hand, was awesome. Sweet and slightly smoky with the most beautiful caramel color. This pizza had a generous amount of cheese, which was supposedly smoked mozzarella, however I didn’t taste a smoke flavor in the cheese at all. I think maybe if the smoke flavor were more prevalent it would have marry the fennel sausage and onion better.

DCo¹ had no hesitation in calling Bianco the best. All of his benchmarks for pizza were met.

I wanted something sweet from the sauce and milky from the cheese, the crust to be crackery on the outside but soft on the inside. For the color to be right golden brown verging on burnt. None of these are special things for a pizza to be, they are only what a pizza should be. Bianco’s execution is text-book perfection, but that sounds so antiseptic because these pizzas do have soul in them. It is with the text-book perfection that something special comes out. (In terms of video games, once Link had 100% life, he not only was perfectly healthy, but he also had a magical power of being able to shoot sword beams). I could go on and on about how wonderful the pizza is, but if you’ve been to a great place in NYC or somewhere else, you’ve probably eaten some 90% close approximation of the pie.

It is the best pizza in the United States in the same way that all the gold medalists are the best in their sport. Pizzeria Bianco edges out the competitors just enough to be the best, but they’re close behind. Comparing it to my current favorite back in DC, 2Amys, Pizzeria Bianco is better than 2Amys, but not by leaps and bounds. Motorino in NYC isn’t far behind. It’s a tough distinction to make based on everything just working right, a clock that keeps perfect time.

The best of a type of food that we all know is not going to change our worlds, but is the 100% proper execution of that food. We taste it and go “yes, that is how you make it.” And the only way that anyone is going to execute food 100% is because they have a passion for making it, and therefore that is where the love comes from. Anyone could get the same ingredients and instructions on how to make the food, but without a passion, there is no point. The final product is soulless and not special.
The rest of DCo¹’s thoughts can be read here.

Even more than the pizza, I enjoyed the experience as a whole. It was a very unique restaurant experience because it was not at all isolated. We waited in line as a group and then we dined as a group. You could feel the excitement from everyone who was waiting to try the pizza. For many, like us, it was their first time and we met some others who had been many times and were still willing to wait in line. Even though we sat at our own table, it felt like sitting at a communal table. We interacted with the table next to us and also checked in with some of our friends from line. I even felt the positive energy from the people we didn’t talk to; I knew that they were enjoying the food just as much as we were.

Our stomachs full of pizza, the remains of our four pies were boxed up to take home as an echo of our epic pizza experience. I was jonesing for a bit of chocolate (or butterscotch budino à la Mozza), but alas Bianco has no dessert menu. It’s just as well though, because the beautiful pizza flavors lingered in my mouth for the entire 6 hour trip home.

I was very glad that we finally and successfully made this trip. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to do this trip again, but I’d certainly recommend it to others! I’m happy that Pizzeria Bianco exists and that I had the chance to experience it.

Pizzeria Bianco is located at 623 E. Adams Street in Downtown Phoenix, AZ. They are open Tuesday-Saturday from 5pm-10pm. Plan on arriving at least two hours before opening if you want to get a table.
http://​www​.pizzeriabianco​.com/

Have you experienced Bianco too? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!