Pizzeria Bianco was recently hailed as the best pizza in the country by a New York food writer, Ed Levine, in his book, Pizza: A Slice of Heaven. The Ultimate Pizza Guide and Companion.  This mention made some news in Arizona of course, and both Levine and Pizzeria Bianco made it into the newspaper.  Where shall I begin?

Heritage Square is a quaint little part of downtown Phoenix, and in the late afternoon it can be almost empty, except right outside this little pizza restaurant.  Luckily I read the article above and noted the advice about arriving early and whatnot, but I was still shocked and amused.  My sister and I arrived at about 4:15pm to see the entire front patio filling with a casual crowd all waiting for that sign to flip around and say OPEN.  Some were drinking beer and wine.

As the restaurant itself was closed, a quick glance around revealed the source of this libation, from a small building next door.  The Bianco Bar, which has a home-like feel to it on the inside.  In fact, when you walk in to are in the foyer and must step to the right where the small bar and friendly bartender are to help you pass the time.  Not realizing the gravity of the situation at hand, my sister and I were content to mill around inside the Bianco Bar for a moment, but the bartender advised us that by 5pm when the restaurant opened, some 80 people would most likely be in line for a 40-seat dining room.

We took our pints outside and formed up behind a non-trivial number of people who had arrived after us, but who had the good sense to leave at least one person to queue up before heading to the bar.  Lesson learned.  We had about 30 more minutes to kill.

Once the clock struck 5pm, the casual crowd was now in a formal line at the door and a woman in black swung the door open and began letting people in.  The first forty people are let loose to fill the simple tables in what is essentially a brick oven kitchen with a seating area.  We would find that out much later, though, as we arrived at the door to enter our names on The List.  We were told, at 5:05pm, that we should expect a table at 6:40pm or so.

If you aren't in the first group, make sure you aren't far behind.  Not only will you be higher up on the list, but the Bianco Bar will be empty as people are sure to be in line, which means the 50 yards back to the bar will be met with plenty of room and no waiting at the bar.  Act quickly, find some seats, and relax.  In fact, enjoy the Bianco Bar, and ponder returning there.

We enjoyed a simple appetizer and some simple pints of beer-- all at typical prices-- and we actually ended up getting called for a table before 6:30.  Let's call it two hours from our arrival on scene to our arrival at a table.

There's a certain amount of pressure once you sit down, since you have a certain feeling that any time-wasting on your part will not be appreciated by those outside.  We glanced at the menu and chose the same pizza mentioned in the article linked above-- this was coincidence, as I just noticed the Wiseguy mention on re-reading it-- and my sister excused herself to visit the restroom.  Our waiter came over and asked me what we wanted, and was careful to point out that once I placed the order, there could be no additions later.  This is all-or-nothing on the first try, you see.  I got it right, apparently.

Our pizza arrived within 20 minutes, though I must admit I wasn't timing too accurately anymore.  There was a certain amount of din in the air with the wait staff moving around, pizzas being prepared, and our fellow diners in various stages of completing their meal at their sought-after tables.  It was placed on our table, and while I had seen other people eating theirs, it wasn't really apparent to me until we were faced with ours.  There it was.

Hmmmmmm.

I am no fan of mushrooms, my sister no fan of onions, so we added mushrooms to her half, moved her onions to my half, and added garlic to the whole thing.  This brought the price up to $15, which is not completely unreasonable.  Not on paper, anyway.  As we looked at it, we saw the toppings, we saw the crust, we took it all in.  Well, the taste would help with a final verdict, so we dug in.

Hmmmmmm again.

If you can imagine a pita bread or perhaps a thick flour tortilla with a thickened outer edge, all browned in a brick over with nice toppings on it, you can imagine what we were tasting at Pizzeria Bianco. No need for more Hmm'ing, the verdict was in on the second bite (though the first bite told the whole story).

A pizza has two critical components.  The toppings-- these can be just about anything, with or without sauce and cheese-- are essential, and the crust is defining.  An excellent crust can make mediocre toppings tolerable, but the same doesn't hold true the other way round.  What we had at Pizzeria Bianco was some tasty pizza toppings.  Period.

Before we finished our time at the restaurant, I overheard a patron speaking to the hostess over my right shoulder.  It wasn't quite 7:30pm yet, and the wait-- as she told him-- was 2 or 2 1/2 hours.  Longer than we had waited since they opened, but right about in line with our total wait.  I think this man accepted that assessment and added his name to the list, though had I been feeling a bit more honest at that moment i would have suggested he stop at the Bianco Bar and ponder another destination.

NYPD Pizza is a small chain of restaurants here in the Phoenix area that had been just about as good as I've had in quite a long time in the realm of pizza.   Both requirements are met and then some, with an excellent crust and a great selection of toppings [try the White Pizza for something different], and New York style re-heated slices available at the counter.