Chris Bianco

Chris Bianco on Jamie Oliver, the Local Chefs He Most Admires, and What Makes an Awesome Pizza Awesome

Chris Bianco Pizzeria Bianco, Bar Bianco 623 E. Adams Street, Phoenix, 602-258-8300; 609 E. Adams St., 602-528-3699 Pizzeria Bianco/ Trattoria Bianco 4743 N. 20th Street (Town & Country), Phoenix, 602-368-3273 Pane Bianco 4404 N.Central Avenue, Phoenix, 602-234-2100, pizzeriabianco.com See also: -- ... More >>

5 Things to Eat and Drink This Weekend in Metro Phoenix

Looking for something to put in your mouth this weekend? We've got you covered. Check out what's on our plate. See also: - Your Cheat Sheet to This Sunday's Check, Please! Arizona Festival at CityScape - 8 Great Guacamoles in Metro Phoenix 29th Annual My Nana's Best Tasting Salsa Challenge Great ... More >>

Chris Bianco to Open Pizzeria Bianco in Tucson This Fall

Tucson's downtown restaurant scene is on fire, and it's about to get even better. James Beard Award-winner Chris Bianco plans to open a second Pizzeria Bianco on East Congress Street, right next to HUB Restaurant and Ice Creamery. See also: -- Popular Flagstaff Restaurateurs Expand to Tucson (Not ... More >>

10 Best Things I Ate in January

Like a lot of folks in the Valley, I was stricken by germs of the nastiest nature this month (so many hot toddies and TV). See also: The 10 Best Things I Ate in 2012 But despite the lingering ailments, I still managed to find some great eats for January. From old favorites to new finds and cheap ... More >>

FnB's Charleen Badman Tells Food & Wine Her Favorite Places to Eat, Shop, & Sleep in the Valley

Legendary Valley chef Charleen Badman of FnB, her Scottsdale restaurant she owns with partner Pavel Milic, is no stranger to the spotlight. See also: Charleen Badman and Pavle Milic to Open FnB on Craftsman Court and Tastemakers 2012 - Charleen Badman So not surprisingly, the Arizona native and a ... More >>

Chris Bianco's Italian Restaurant Gets a Facelift (And We've Got the Photos)

Since it opened early last year, James Beard Award winner Chris Bianco's Italian Restaurant in Central Phoenix has had its fair share of troubles. There were complaints about portion sizes, uppity staff, uncomfortable seating -- and then, as if things couldn't get any worse, Bianco parted ways last ... More >>

Carol Steele Is the Godmother of the Phoenix Culinary Scene

Top Five Phoenix Food Stories of the Week

Every week, there's a cornucopia of Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you're like most people, you probably just don't have the time to get to all of it. It's kind of like those burgers at Old Town Whiskey; it just won't all fit in your mouth ... or in this ca ... More >>

Chris Bianco Writing Pizza Cookbook with Local-Food Movement Guru Gary Nabhan

See also: Pizzeria Bianco Makes Food & WIne's 25 Best Spots for Pizza in America See also: Behind the Design of Pizzeria Bianco, Italian Restaurant and Pane Bianco with Chris Bianco Word's been out for a while that Chris Bianco's writing a book -- but Chow Bella just got the scoop on his co-author: ... More >>

Chow Bella's Top Phoenix Food Stories of the Week

Every week, there's a cornucopia of Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you're like most people, you probably just don't have the time to get to all of it. It's kind of like those burgers at Old Town Whiskey; it just won't all fit in your mouth ... or in this ca ... More >>

Bianco's Italian Restaurant: Great Lunch, Great Back-Story

A friend and I met for lunch at Chris Bianco's Italian Restaurant the other day and I was so pleased to find an independent serving lunch (in the summer no less!), especially when it's a restaurant wedded to local and seasonal ingredients. Flooded with natural light and hung with a unique collectio ... More >>

Chow Bella's Top Phoenix Food Stories of the Week

Every week, there's a cornucopia of new Phoenix food news, features, and reviews to report here at Chow Bella. If you're like most people, you probably just don't have the time to get to all of it. It's kind of like those burgers at Old Town Whiskey; it just won't all fit in your mouth . . . or in t ... More >>

Chris Bianco Changes Up the Kitchen at Italian Restaurant, But Is That Enough?

When pizza guru/restaurateur Chris Bianco brought chef Claudio Urciuoli onboard to run his generically named Italian Restaurant -- which opened in Central Phoenix last January -- the partnership promised to be interesting, at the very least. Both men have earned stellar reputations for their meti ... More >>

Pizzeria Bianco Makes Food & Wine's 25 Best Spots for Pizza in America

Pizzeria Bianco, celebrated pie master Chris Bianco's award-winning Heritage Square eatery, continues to secure its place in history as a pilgrimage-worthy destination with a nod from Food & Wine magazine as one of its 25 best pizza spots in the U.S. Chosen from new and established pizza places fro ... More >>

In A New Space Behind Pane Bianco, Hayden Flour Mills Is Back In Action

Last August, a large wooden crate arrived at the sandwich shop Pane Bianco. In the crate -- bearing an Austrian return address -- was a 1600 pound stone mill and sifter: the sole piece of machinery that would revive Tempe's century and a half-old Hayden Flour Mills brand for which Mill Avenue was na ... More >>

Crescent Ballroom Now Open for Lunch

For those who can't get enough of the urban-cool vibe at Crescent Ballroom, downtown's mid-size live music venue that opened last October in the revamped 1917-era building formerly occupied by Bentley's Nightclub, the venue is now open for lunch -- at least its kitchen is anyway. Once open for dinn ... More >>

Chris Bianco: Behind the Design of Italian Restaurant, Pizzeria Bianco, Pane Bianco, and Bar Bianco

​Local chef and restaurateur Chris Bianco takes obvious pride in his food (after all, not every pizza in Phoenix can beat out a pie from New York City).  But equal to the fresh ingredients, including his own tomatoes, mozzarella, and family pasta recipes, are the environments that Bianco cr ... More >>

Ten Favorite Gourmet Pizza Shops in the Valley

Since pizza -- a basic dish associated with Naples but not exclusively so -- was taken to America by Italian emigrants, shops selling the flat disks topped with goodness have popped up on nearly every street corner. And since most folks have a cherished neighborhood hangout that offers up simple a ... More >>

Once Only Available to Chefs, Sogno Toscano Olive Oil Gaining Popularity with the Public at Scottsdale Fashion Square

Jennifer Woods Glenn Wagner, Vice President of Sales - Retail Division for Sogno Toscano ​While doing some evening mall errands at Scottsdale Fashion Square earlier this month, we noticed an olive oil kiosk named "Olive Oil Boutique." At first we weren't too excited; this appe ... More >>

Pizzeria Bianco Named One of 20 Favorite Pizza Spots Around the U.S.

​Just barely into the New Year and pie master Chris Bianco's Pizzeria Bianco has received a saucy seal of approval from Food Republic, the site for "men who want to eat and drink well, and to live smart." Named as one of the 20 favorite pizza spots in the country, and alongside other winners ... More >>

Burros, Beer, and Beats at Cocina 10 in Downtown's Crescent Ballroom

Get this: al pastor pork burrito.​When a new spot opens in town, we can't wait to check it out -- and let you know our initial impressions. Share a few photos, some menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review, but instead a peek inside restaurants that have just op ... More >>

Does Jamie Oliver Have A Secret Pizza Partner in Phoenix? Yes, He Does -- Never Mind.

​Chris Bianco​Well, that was short lived. The rumor I posted at 10:58 today, that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is pairing up with a "well-known Valley pizza master," a.k.a. Chris Bianco, has been proven to be true (thanks "Guesty McGuest!") Ah well, at least I got to use the photo of Lau ... More >>

Chris Bianco, Iron Chef Jose Garces, Jonathan Waxman, and Others Cook For National Fundraiser For Childhood Cancer Research

Edward Dai, The Epoch TimesChef Jose Garces (right) prepares deliciousness at the Great Chefs Event in Philadelphia to benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand. ​Seems as if celebu-chef Chris Bianco was in The City of Brotherly Love last week to show a little love of his own. ​Bianco joined 36 oth ... More >>

Lunch at Pizzeria Bianco: Same Great Pizza, Much Shorter Wait

VisitPhoenix via Flickr  It's the biggest Phoenix food news since the invention of the chimichanga: Chris Bianco opened his famed pizzeria for lunch. Twitter and Facebook lit up, and so did our faces when we realized that finally, after years of avoiding the famed Three Hour Wait, we cou ... More >>

Five Veggie Dishes We'd Give Up Meat For

Where's the beef? Not on this plate. ​In honor of Meatless Monday, we present five meat-free dishes from Valley restaurants that we'd happily eat all week long. 1. Mongolian Delight, Loving Hut It looks like beef, smells like beef -- even feels like beef when you bite into it. But th ... More >>

Urban Campfire Flaring Up Again?, New Family at Young's Farm and Opera at The Olive Mill

A round-up of tasty morsels from Valley food blogs. Chow Bella contributor Carrie Wheeler shared on her personal blog Cracking Good this great picture of Chris Bianco's canned tomatoes. Bianco worked with canner Rob DiNapoli to preserve these beauties. Not surprisingly gorgeous packaging. Carrie ... More >>

Penzeys Spices Shutters Scottsdale Store, Moves into Tempe Marketplace

​We credit everything from Food Network to the national attention drawn by celeb chefs Beau Mac Millan and Chris Bianco to new restaurant concepts such as Cycle for the upswing in local culinary interest. Still, we were surprised when a new Penzeys Spices location popped up at the still-tre ... More >>

Coming Soon: Payton Curry's "Curry-ousity"

​Last week, former Digestif and Caffe Boa chef Payton Curry announced he'd found the perfect location for his new pop-up-restaurant concept. Thursday afternoon, Curry signed a temporary lease on the classic Welcome Diner building at 10th Street and Roosevelt in downtown Phoenix.  Curry plans ... More >>

Spring Training Eats: West Valley

Peoria Stadium sure holds a lot of hungry restaurant-goers.​Spring training is in full swing, and this food critic is betting that it won't take too many games before you baseball fans will get tired of all the beer and brats -- or at least all the brats. Looking for a place to chow down be ... More >>

Pane Bianco Opens for Dinner Service

Pane Bianco, the Italian sandwich take-out shop owned by James Beard Award-winning pizzaiolo Chris Bianco, now serves a full dinner menu from 4 to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.  "We wanted to expand the experience at Pane, with iconic dishes from my childhood," Bianco says. The rest ... More >>

A First Look at the New Litchfield's with Chris Bianco

The restored exterior of the original Wigwam Resort building.​Yesterday, co-owner Jerry Colangelo unveiled the first $7 million wave of renovations to the historic Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park. The resort's main building is near unrecognizable unless you're old enough to remember when H ... More >>

Chef Announced For New Eatery to Replace Red's Steakhouse at the Wigwam

​After recently celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa is undergoing a $7 million rejuvenation that includes a new signature restaurant to replace Red's Steakhouse. Brian Cooper (former exec sous chef at Lon's and sous chef at T. Cook's) returns to the Val ... More >>

Chris Bianco's Lemon Focaccia

​Like just about everyone in Phoenix, we're fans of Chris Bianco and the amazing things he does with bread. Making trips to his sandwich shop, Pane' Bianco, at 4404 N. Central Ave. is on heavy rotation in our travels. However, right now the whole team is off on their annual summer break, the sho ... More >>

August 30 In Blogs: Tom Horne, Dumperfoo, Phase 54, Chris Bianco, and a 69-Car Wreck

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Chris Bianco Branches Out to the Wigwam

Until Chris Bianco's asthma problems interfered with his day-to-day routine as Arizona's most famous pizzaiolo, the James Beard award-winning chef was a permanent fixture at Pizzeria Bianco's wood-burning oven, where he often watched the Phoenix Suns on a tiny TV next to his workspace. Former Suns o ... More >>

Bianco's Got His Own Olive Oil

​I've seen this olive oil plenty of times on the shelf at Pane Bianco (along with other gourmet items I don't necessarily need, but want -- sometimes just for the packaging), but didn't stop to really examine the label. Recognize that? It's the facade of Pizzeria Bianco at night. Apparen ... More >>

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern in Arizona Is Made Even More Bizarre, Thanks to Confusing and Creepy Play-Date With Chris Bianco

​So last week, Andrew Zimmern goes on a quest for real Sonoran cuisine in Arizona on Bizarre Foods and hooks up with Chris Bianco, the wait-in-line-for-two-hours pizza guy of Pizzeria Bianco. Huh? What? Why? Were all the Mexican foodies in the Valley busy? Did Silvana Salcido Esparza, owner of Bar ... More >>

The Blaze 1330's Guest DJ Week: Who's Spinning and When

​Arizona State's student radio station is always a fun throwback to the glory days of college radio, and perhaps the best showcase of that spirit is the annual Guest DJ Week.The long-running tradition -- which I participated in last year -- started yesterday with restaurateur Chris Bianco and loca ... More >>

Chris Bianco is Deejaying Today

Just got the word that local celebrity Chris Bianco will be spinning tunes instead of pizza dough today. He's set to be a guest DJ on ASU's The Blaze 1330 AM today from 1 to 2 p.m. Ever talked music with Bianco? Dude's got great taste, actually -- I've run into him at a Calexico show, he clued me in ... More >>

Chris Bianco Stays Away From the Oven at His Famous Pizzeria

​A story posted on AZCentral this afternoon appears to have drastically slowed the newspaper's website (numerous attempts to log on stated that the link was broken) -- all because of two magic words: Chris Bianco. If you can manage to get through to the article, it details how the James Be ... More >>

More Bianco Love From Gourmet and Food Wine

In case you had any doubt that people are actually making pilgrimages to Phoenix for some Pizzeria Bianco action, get a load of the double-whammy of national media props for the restaurant -- which comes on the heels of Martha Stewart's six-page feature on Chris Bianco. This month, Gourmet features ... More >>

This Week In Chow Bella

Another week has come and gone leaving us to ponder the upcoming events that will shape our lives and, more importantly, our dinners out. But before we move on, let's have one last look at the blog posts from this week: Caffiend: Dutch Bros. ER-911 Big Feature on Chris Bianco in Martha Stewart Li ... More >>

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