pizzeria bianco

On their way to Tucson for a wedding, Zach's best man Devin, his wife Leslie, and his mom Marilyn spent a day with us in Phoenix. We had a grand old time. We took them to some local places to eat. For breakfast we went to Lolo's Chicken and Waffles. It was pretty good, but they looked at me like I was crazy for eating my chicken and waffles together. That was how I have been told it is traditionally done and it seems like one of the novel things of going to such a place, but I felt like the little Walter Cunningham in To Kill A Mockingbird when he pours syrup all over his dinner. But I digress. For dinner we went to the famous Pizzeria Bianco. For those of you that don't know about it, it has been voted by many places including the NYTimes to be "The Best Pizza in the USA." Surprising to find it in Phoenix, I know, but the owner Chris Bianco makes his own mozzarella and makes all the pizzas himself. Then, you literally watch the staff come outside and pick the herbs they are about to put on your pizza. The food is awesome, but you have to get there early -- if you aren't one of the first 40 people there, you stand a good chance of waiting several hours to get in. Thanks to the clock in the rental car being 20 minutes fast, we were the first ones there and the first ones seated. Granted we were there on a summer day, but the wait is usually not bad since you can go get glasses of wine at Bar Bianco and drink while you wait. I recommend it to all visitors. We are planning on taking Zach's parents when they come to visit. So far no one that we have taken has been disappointed. However, my dad refuses to go on the grounds that, "No one should have to wait that long for pizza." He prefers Red Devil... which is also awesome in a different way.

We went again recently with the Kerstings when Jenny Horvath was in town visiting. We didn't get there quite as early, but it was still looking like we would be in the first group to get in. Then a party of 10 people with a reservation showed up at the last minute. Frustrating, but I guess if you plan ahead, it pays off. I have tried to do so before on many occassions, but they only take a few reservations a night and they fill up immediately the day they become available and when you call them on the phone they are not nearly as nice as they are in the restaurant. Good luck to anyone who tries that route. We did get to spend a lot more time in Bar Bianco (pictured below) which is also really nice, but Jimmy was getting very antsy and kept pointing to the other building and saying, "Pizza!".... When we finally got in, he was pretty excited, but I am pretty sure he might not say it was worth the wait... John Kersting could possibly be in the same boat on that one too. Oh well, Jenny and Angela loved it.

I told Jenny and Angela I made my dress out of an old table cloth. I think they believed me for a little while. While it was a lie, it is a pretty good idea.