Pizzeria Bianco
Chris Bianco's LA room holds a Bib Gourmand and runs a handful of pies. The Wiseguy is wood-roasted onion, fennel sausage and smoked mozzarella.
Why go
The menu is short on purpose. A few pizzas, some antipasti and salads, sandwiches at lunch, ricotta gnocchi, and the guide's inspectors say the pies come out with remarkable consistency across all of it.1
The lines are part of the deal. They still snake through ROW DTLA, and the crowd splits between the dining room and the takeout window.1
The Bib Gourmand belongs to this address. Bianco's name has been on rooms in Phoenix for decades; the distinction on file here was given to 1320 East 7th Street.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Wiseguy. Wood-roasted onion, fennel sausage, smoked mozzarella.1
- Order: the Biancoverde if you want the other end of it. Fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, ricotta, arugula.1
- Avoid: a wide order. This kitchen is built around a few things done the same way every time.
What locals & experts say
- MICHELIN Guide California:
The margherita remains a benchmark in its simplicity, while antipasti, salads, sandwiches at lunch and ricotta gnocchi round out the menu.
1 - Standing: Bib Gourmand, MICHELIN Guide California, on the venue page for this door.1
Good to know
- Timing: Monday from 11am to 9pm off the guide's page. The rest of the week is not on that page, so check before a long drive.1
- Getting there: inside ROW DTLA, off East 7th Street in the Arts District end of downtown. The complex address is the mailing address; the shop is one unit inside it.
Verdict
should-visit — The Bib Gourmand on this page belongs to the Los Angeles door, which is the thing worth saying about a chef whose name has been famous in Phoenix for thirty years. The menu is a handful of pies and the guide says they come out with remarkable consistency, which is the harder trick at this volume. The Wiseguy is the one to order and it is built on wood-roasted onion, fennel sausage and smoked mozzarella. It sits here rather than higher because no LA critic's verdict was available to read this pass, and the queue is a real cost.