Pizzeria Bianco
Pizzeria BiancoPizzeria Bianco is a pizza restaurant in downtown Phoenix, Arizona established in 1987 that has earned very positive reviews by notable food critics. Nationally recognized for its pizzas, the restaurant's small seating capacity can lead to wait times that sometimes surprise casual patrons. The restaurant features a wood-fired oven and homemade mozzarella cheese used in pizzas primarily fashioned by the owner himself. In 2013, the restaurant established a second location in the Biltmore Area of Phoenix.
The restaurant was originally opened by Chris Bianco in 1987 in a grocery store which is now AJ's Euro-Market & Deli located in central Phoenix. He moved locations once before Pizzeria Bianco found its home in downtown's Heritage Square in 1996.
Bianco was born in the Bronx, and grew up in Ossining, New York. He had asthma as a child, forcing him to stay inside, where he watched his aunt cook. At age 13 he began working at a local pizzeria. In 1985 he won two plane tickets anywhere in the United States and whimsically chose to go to Phoenix. When he got there, he felt connected to the place, and stayed. He began making mozzarella in his apartment and selling it to Italian restaurants. Later, Guy Coscos, a specialty grocer in Phoenix offered him the opportunity to make and sell pizzas in the corner of his store. Bianco’s pizza was popular and he realized he could make pizza for a living. He went to Italy in 1993 to improve his pizzamaking. In 1994, he returned to open Pizzeria Bianco at Town & Country Shopping Center in Phoenix. In 1996, the restaurant moved to 623 East Adams Street, the historic site of Baird Machine Shop in Heritage Square. Bianco also operates Bar Bianco, located next door to the pizzeria in Heritage Square, and Pane Bianco, located in Midtown Phoenix.
Bianco cites Alice Waters, Suzanne Goin at Lucques, Mark Ladner at Del Posto, and Mario Batali as chefs who have inspired him.
...
Wikipedia
