A Pizza Pilgrimage: Bianco and Mozza
Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix
The foundation of great pizza — literally and figuratively — is the crust. The best toppings are insignificant if the base doesn't rise to meet them.
In the world of pizza, Chris Bianco is a superstar. He has taken simple elements — flour, water, yeast and salt — and produced something far greater than the sum of the parts. Nancy Silverton, the renowned Los Angeles chef, said that eating Bianco's pizza was a life-changing event and that her goal was to make a pizza that could stand up to his.
In my view, it all begins with the flour at Pizzeria Bianco. He is a fan of high-protein flours that are freshly milled, something that made him a pioneer in the artisan flour movement.
But he's also concerned about the taste of the water that gets mixed with the flour and the quality of the salt. He may start with simple ingredients, but he's looking for outstanding qualities in each.
And the result shows. The crust has fantastic flavor, coupled with a texture that is crisp on the outside but still chewy on the inside in a way that echoes the best artisan breads.
Bianco's favorite is the one named after his father — the Sonny Boy — and was the one we consumed. Topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, sliced soppressata and dark olives, it provided a salty kick and a mouthful of flavor with every bite.
The original downtown location of the casual eatery is small and may require a wait (ours for a late lunch was about 20 minutes), but this is the kind of pizza worth a wait — even if it's double or triple that time. It undoubtedly was one of the best pizzas of my life.
Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles
If Nancy Silverton's goal was to produce a pizza that would stand up to Chris Bianco's, she has succeeded.
Silverton has a foundation that is equal to Bianco in texture and in taste, although the Mozza crust has a sweeter edge and hints of more underlying flavors — perhaps from the addition of small amounts of rye flour, wheat germ and barley malt in the mix.
The toppings on Silverton's famous pie were also a world apart: tomato sauce, squash blossoms and burrata. It was a real feast for the eyes as well, with the green and orange streaks of the squash blossoms covering most of the pizza and bits of red sauce peeking through now and then. The pie was finished with large dollops of burrata that had been drizzled with olive oil and topped with ground black pepper.
For someone like me who adores stuffed squash blossoms, this pizza took the flowers to wondrous heights.
The upscale bistro was packed on a Saturday at lunch, so it was fortuitous that we had made reservations several weeks in advance.
And I'm so glad I had the chance to consume the Mozza pizza. It, too, was one of the best pizzas of my life.
It's impossible for me to rank one above the other when it comes to Bianco or Mozza. They're equally impressive pizza purveyors, and together they have set a new bar for excellence.