Pizzaria Bianco - Phoenix

After much anticipation and salivating we have finally eaten at Pizzeria Bianco. This place is fantastic and well worth the wait. Reservations for this place have to be made a month and a day in advance of the day you want your reservation to be. It is a small, unassuming brick building in downtown Phoenix, almost in the shadow of the baseball stadium. The pizzeria is only open for about 5/6 hours in the evening and without a reservation it can be up to a 4 hour wait for a table in the winter, a bit less time in the summer because it gets a little hot out in the waiting area (which is outside in the sun). The menu is not large but everything on it is handmade at the restaurant and uses fresh ingredients from the back garden or local produce. We arrived about 15 mins before our reservation, which was when the restaurant opened, and there was already a crowd outside the doors. Inside there are maybe a dozen tables that get re-arranged depending on the size of your party. They use an old fashioned brick pizza oven to bake their crusty loaves and thin crust, hand tossed pizzas. Due to the small size and family/friend wait staff the restaurant has a wonderful close and comfortable feeling. The bring fresh bread and bowls of olive oil to your table to start you off while you are waiting for you pizzas. At our table we decided on the fresh tomatoes and hand pressed mozzarella salad and antipasto plate for appetizers. For our pizza choices we ranged from a classic 'margarite' to a 'wise guy'. These pizzas were phenomenal, so fresh and straight from the oven across the room from us. There was a bit of a pizza exchange as everyone traded different slices with each others to get a taste of everything. Despite the fact that people without a reservation are waiting in line outside for your table there is no rush for you to hurry with your meal as you laugh and share. We had a wonderful time and would gladly go back, just have to make our reservations now for next month. Hmmm maybe not, tempting but we won't be here. The owner seems to enjoy the small feeling of the restaurant and has no plans for expansion as making things bigger would cause the pizza to suffer and that simply wouldn't work. In a word delicious :D