On the second night of our Phoenix road trip, me and Mark decided to forge ahead with the 2 1/2 hour wait and eat at Pizzeria Bianco. Last time we were in Phoenix, we walked right by the place unaware that it's generally considered to make the best pizza in the United States. We knew better this time.
So we plunked down outside and waited it out. During that time we saw plenty of drunk assholes. And Jerry Colangelo. I had no idea what Jerry Colangelo looks like, but Mark recognized him immediately (a common theme throughout the trip).
We're sitting outside, trying to decide what pizza to get. We have it narrowed down to one. We wait some more. We decide, well, maybe we should order two, that way we could have leftovers in the morning.
Spoiler alert: there were no leftovers.
Once we were seated, we decided on the the Wiseguy (Wood Roasted Onion, House Smoked Mozzarella, Fennel Sausage) and the Sonny Boy (Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Salami, Gaeta Olives). The pizza, for being as famous as it is, is surprisingly affordable, around fifteen bucks each.
There was a couple sitting next to us, who based on their conversation, were on either their first or one of their first dates. So we got to overhear a lot of their conversation. Like, how incredibly stuffed they were after ONE piece of pizza. Give me a freaking break. Nobody is buying that shit, I don't care how waifish you are.
So the pizzas come out. Here's Sonny Boy:
Couple of minutes later, they are both gone, probably to the horror of the liars next to us.
So, was it the best pizza I've ever had? Maybe. But not clearly so, and probably not worthy of a 2 1/2 hour wait (except just to say you did it, which we, uh, did). I liked the Sonny Boy much more than the Wiseguy, which I didn't really care for. Mark like the Wiseguy better. The crust is fantastic. Thin, chewy, with a little bit of char. The topping are of extremely high quality. The olives and the salami were definitely the best I've had. So, very, very good pizza. But there is an element of foodie hype going on. It was not a transformative experience, but it was a good one.
i realize the potential futility in my asking you of all people this but do they have vegan options?
ReplyDeletemy parents live in phx, and we're always looking for new spots to hit up.
I don't know what the criteria for vegan is, Plenty of the pizza's are vegetarian, with no cheese. In fact, the pizza I liked had tomato sauce, but no cheese. Here's what might be the ingredient list in the dough. http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Thin-Pizza-Crust-Pizzeria-Bianco-Phoenix-355977
ReplyDeleteIf you do go, be prepared to wait, as there are no reservations.
vegan= nothing from an animal at all.
ReplyDeleteof course, there's endless arguments about whether yeasts are alive or animal, or other minutae from neither the plant nor animal kingdoms.
i guess there's a big article that just came out that said vegans could eat oysters, since they can't feel pain. as if that makes them not animals.
I know that's the "pure" definition, but as you know it gets bastardized all the time by vegetarians.
ReplyDeleteIf you are a yeast eater, you should check it out. It's pretty damn good.
most vegans do eat yeast. it's usually non-vegans who even bring it up.
ReplyDeletewill definitely check it out.