And while Alan couldn't be talked into a 200 mile round trip excursion that time, you can probably imagine how excited we were to actually be in Scottsdale / Phoenix this past weekend with an opportunity to try this pizza perfection.
Located right in the heart of the city on East Adams Street, up close and personal to Arizona State University's campus, sits this little converted brick house with a wood fired pizza oven surrounded by a bar and about a dozen small tables. There's no reservations and it's popular so you have to be prepared to wait it out.
It was a gorgeous evening and the wait we were told would be about an hour. Since we'd smuggled a bottle of wine we'd brought to Arizona with us and glasses from the hotel, we parked ourselves outside in an empty tent with a folding table and chairs (the tents were set up in preparation for the next day's Rainbow festival) and chatted the time away.
Finally called in by the super nice waiter, we got a little table near the front and talked strategy. Jeff & Dana warned us that the pies were personal sized. Seeing one on the table next to us, I was thinking they weren't that small! But I could see from the gleam in Jeff's eye that it was best to order a bit too much then to not have enough. You can see from the menu excerpt below what the choices were with the last two being white pizzas, no sauce. Jeff & Dana were planning on getting two Margherita's and I liked the sound of the Biancoverde - being sold on it once our attentive waiter informed me that if I wanted sauce on that one they would be happy to oblige. Alan ordered the Wiseguy, also with red sauce.
Pizza
- MARGHERITA - Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil 13.00
- MARINARA - Tomato Sauce, Oregano, Garlic (No Cheese) 12.00
- ROSA - Red Onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, Rosemary, AZ Pistachios 13.00
- SONNY BOY - Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Salami, Gaeta Olives 16.00
- BIANCOVERDE - Fresh Mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Ricotta, Arugula 16.00
- WISEGUY - Wood Roasted Onion, House Smoked Mozzarella, Fennel Sausage 16.00
And then it was show time!! Four pizzas delivered and miraculously all fit on the table. And you know what? Jeff wasn't kidding!!! HOLY COW this is excellent pizza!! I ate 7 out of the 8 slices on my Biancoverde and thought it was perhaps the best piece of pizza I've ever had. The ricotta giving it a little more richness than a standard pizza and the arugula adding a peppery component against the sweetness of the red sauce....this is a friggin' awesome pie.
I tried the Wiseguy and really liked that one as well. The only change that would have been nice there is if the onion pieces weren't so huge. But pushing some of them out of the way so they didn't over power the sausage and we're talking about a pretty fantastic meat pizza.
All in all - go here, wait as long as it takes and order one per person. You won't be disappointed, we promise!
Jenn's rating: 90
Zagat: 26-19-21
I've included the write up from Zagat on this post since it looks like they are spot on as well...
“Believe the hype” say surveyors of this “cult legend” in Heritage Square, which cranks out Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas so “extraordinary” (thanks in part to locally sourced ingredients), they could very well be the “best on the planet”; though you should prepare for a “long wait” (“absolutely worth” it) to get into the “quaint”, brick-walled dining room at dinnertime, things have “greatly improved” now that hours have been “expanded” to include lunch, when “lines are almost nil.”
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