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| - I love Cibo. I'm not fond of pizza and I don't like long Yelp reviews, but I've got to preface this with a ten-second backstory so you'll understand why I was there in the first place. I'll make it fast:
Amanda M is one of my favorite Austin Yelpers, who has since transplanted to London. A couple of weeks ago she sent me a totally random text: "I accidentally deleted all my pictures of a wonderful restaurant Andi & I went to in Phoenix, and I just want you to sympathize with me." Well okay then, I can do that. I feel your loss, been there, done that. Incidentally, Andi is Amanda's fiancé and a cool guy.
So here's how Karma works: Two weeks later I find myself in Phoenix, I have to eat somewhere, and I start thinking just because I'm a cool & sensitive guy, wouldn't it be fitting if I went to that restaurant and made a surprise photo montage for Amanda? Of course it would. That's what makes me a cool & sensitive guy.
But what caught me by surprise is Cibo really is a remarkable place. It appears to be a converted house, and the outside patio/garden/dining area strewn with tiny lights is truly a wonderful place to be. On any given evening, it's easy to see why Cibo is a popular Phoenix destination.
And it's also the best pizza I've ever had in a restaurant. I got a half Vegetariana and half Diavola, because Amanda said their spicy salami was really, really good. And she's correct. Perfect crust, perfect toppings. I'm pretty sure their cheese isn't coming from a can. The house salad and Nutella & strawberry crepe were just bonuses, and superb ones at that.
I wish I could be a little more specific on what made Cibo - and everything about the place - a wonderful and memorable experience for me. The quality of ingredients? The magical ambiance? The precise yet transparent service? Maybe it's as simple as completing my mission - I knew what Amanda's montage would look like before I even pieced the pictures together. And I posted it for you here.
You know that classic storybook rhetoric about the planets lining up correctly, and then everything falls into place in perfect harmony? Well, that's pretty much how I felt walking into Cibo, and that's exactly how I felt walking out. I'm not sure it gets much better than that. In proper Yelpspeak, that makes Cibo as good as it gets.
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