Successful Pizza and Much More

Back in 2008, I posted about Pizzeria Bianco and its owner/chef who had just been awarded "Best Pizza in the USA" by Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines and by the New York Times.  Well, the success of Chris Bianco's tiny restaurant back then has led to the opening of a second location at Town and Country Shopping Center (above) and two sandwich shops and most recently, a fine dining restaurant called Tratto which quickly became one of my favorites.

If you dine at the pizza place or the restaurant, you can count on a line of people waiting to get in.  However, at this location, you can watch the chefs through the window while you wait.

Or, you can just enjoy the atmosphere of this great, vintage shopping center with its brick walkways and trees with twinkling lights.

I went there for a late lunch this last weekend and snapped this photo of the inside of the pizzeria.  You can just barely see the fire roaring inside the wood-burning oven behind that counter.  This time I ordered the spaghetti with meat balls and ate every last bite.  Delicious!

P.S.  I'm happy to report that Town and Country Shopping center has still maintained that old world atmosphere and has grown like crazy around the perimeter.  Back in 2008 when I posted about the shopping center, there was talk of tearing it down to build a high-rise building.  Thankfully that was not done and center is busier than ever.