All hail Chris Bianco's pistachio pie

When in Phoenix, must get pizza

I remember the first time I heard Chris Bianco’s name. I was standing in the original Pizzeria Beddia on East Girard Avenue and Shackamaxon Street in Philly’s Fishtown. As the pizzaiolo Joe Beddia kneaded forty pounds of day-old dough, he told me about his favorite pizzas in the world.

“Pizzeria Bianco was probably the first place that really got me into pizza,” Beddia said. “He’s a great guy, Chris Bianco.”

That was back in December 2015. I was a senior in college, and I was writing about Beddia for my final paper in a narrative nonfiction course—not long after Bon Appétit had named Beddia’s pizza “the best in America.” I knew that if I ever made it to Phoenix, there was only one place I needed to eat.

Fast forward six years, to 2021. My family went to Arizona over my 27th birthday. Fuck the sunset hikes and In-N-Out burgers—all I wanted to do was make a pilgrimage to Pizzeria Bianco.

So pilgrimage we did.

The pizza was so mind-blowingly amazing that, after our lunch, we got another one to go for later.

CAR ‘ZA!

I’ve been thinking about Chris Bianco’s pizza ever since. Even though he’s famous for his tomato sauce and the Margherita’s top-notch, it’s the Rosa—a white pizza topped with red onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, rosemary, and Arizona pistachios—that stole my heart (and my stomach).

Chris Bianco’s tomato sauce, up top in the yellow cans, at Gjusta in LA.

The next time I found myself in the Phoenix area, two weekends ago for my best camp friend Michaella’s wedding, I obviously had to go back to Bianco. Even Michaella, who grew up in one pizza town (Chicago) and went to college in another (New Haven), wrote on her wedding website that Pizzeria Bianco is, and I quote, the “best. pizza. ever.”

So I enlisted my future sister-in-law, Lily, and her friend, Hannah, to come with me and taste the manna. As soon as the smell of rosemary smacked us all in the face, I knew we were in pizza heaven.

And yes, the pistachio pie was every bit as good as I remembered. My only regret? That I didn’t get an extra one to bring home.