| rev:text
| - Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they expanded the restaurant. We were seated in the new room in the back; it was like being in a restored Tuscan farmhouse with all the candles, paintings, chandeliers, firewood, books and such. At our table, even though it was still light out (just after 5pm) they already had 2 candles lit, and along with fresh flowers and pepper grinder and salt, this shows how much pride the owner has in this restaurant.
FOOD: I think I had the best dish at the table, the pappardelle with bolognese. I think they seriously improved this dish, as this is the most authentic, with rich sauce; the best I have had in a long time. I just loved the thin sheets of obviously homemade pasta. The lasagna verde was also very good, but I think they should have just eliminated the red sauce and done more of a bechamel. I didn't care so much for the chicken involtini; it was a little dry, dense and tough, as if it was precooked and then reheated.
There was also a new sign indicating Pizzeria Bianco, probably because they now have a wood-burning pizza oven. However, I hope this isn't the same pizza that people wait over an hour for at their sister restaurant because I wasn't too impressed with it. We tried the margherita: the crust wasn't that thin or crispy on the bottom; sauce was great but cheese was scant and not very bubbly hot. Having lived in Rome, Italy I guess I was expecting that type of pizza so maybe this is supposed to be more like what you would find in Florence. However, the homemade bread and olive, brought to the table at the very beginning, is just amazing.
SERVICE: top notch, professional; our waiter was well-dressed (like all the other staff) and non-obtrusive. You can tell he timed everything accordingly, waiting for us to finish the appetizer, unlike other Phoenix restaurants where I have to wait to order my entree to avoid getting served too fast.
HIGHLIGHTS: ambience, simple fresh and high-quality ingredients, service. I will be back to get the spaghetti with an order of meatballs. I eyed them at another table and they looked amazing even from 20 feet away!
|