The #3 Pizza in America is in Phoenix?

Who doesn’t love a good list? The DailyMeal just came out with the 101 best pizzas in America, and as you might expect, roughly one-third of them came from New York state. In its analysis, The DailyMeal says, “…most of America’s best pies are still in New Haven, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix.”  {record scratch} Phoenix?

Pizzeria Bianco’s Marinara pie ranked THIRD overall on the list, single-handedly putting Phoenix on this pizza map.

We were just in Phoenix over the weekend and I can vouch, the pies coming out of Pizzeria Bianco are something special. Aside from the wedding we were in town to celebrate, a stop at Pizzeria Bianco was #1 on the list of priorities.

The lines at Pizzeria Bianco have been the stuff of legend, but with the opening of a second location at Town and Country and Pane Bianco also serving pies, we arrived just before opening on a Friday and didn’t have to wait at all. The Marinara is the pie that made the list, but a Margherita is my go-to Neapolitan pie.

Exposed brick and duct work.

The Margherita and the Wiseguy (wood roasted onion, house smoked mozz &  fennel sausage).

These pies are everything they’re cracked up to be.  The crust holds up and doesn’t fall limply like some “Neapolitan” pies in our neck of the woods. The sauce is clean and fresh.

The empty plate speaks for itself.

Before the pies come out, you get a few slices of ciabatta with olive oil.  This gorgeous bread is also available at Pane Bianco for $4 a loaf. And if you’re interested in the Bianco diNapoli tomatoes, grown and canned in collaboration with Rob DiNapoli, you can pick up a can or two while they last at Pane Bianco (and have great coffee next door at Lux Central).

Lux Central was on the list provided by the bridge and groom. Had I known Pane Bianco was right next door, and that close to our hotel, we might not have headed downtown.  We stopped at Lux before heading out for our morning tour at Taliesin West. More on that in a minute.  Lux is a gorgeous little coffee shop in a converted 1950s-era brick building.  Great baked goods, a good vibe and excellent coffee. I was only a little surprised to learn that the original Lux started in Seattle and was moved to Phoenix by its previous owners.

Then, Taliesin West. We did the 1.5 hour Insights Tour, and truth be told, for an architecture nerd it really isn’t enough time to really capture the place.  We also weren’t able to get quite the full tour as there was an AIA event that morning.  

Apparently the most photographed spot on the Taliesin West tour: a cactus growing out of a wall.

Breezeway.

How’s this for a school bell?

It’s almost enough to convince me to camp. Almost. Except for the rattlesnakes, scorpions and other critters.

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