Pane Bianco, a sibling restaurant of the iconic Pizzeria Bianco, earned itself a deserved place in the spotlight this week when it was named one of the best sandwich shops in America by USA TODAY.
In 2003, Chris Bianco decided that he needed a prep space to make dough and bread for Pizzeria Bianco. But he could not afford to maintain an entirely separate prep kitchen without any additional revenue coming in. So, he hired his older brother, Marco Bianco as head baker and opened up Pane Bianco as a lunch-only restaurant serving a small selection of sandwiches to-go. In 2012 Pane Bianco added indoor and outdoor seating for dine-in lunch.
"It's a sweet place," Chris said. "It's special to me and special to my family."
Bread baking has become family business for the Bianco brothers
Take one look at the Bianco brothers
today and you'd assume cooking runs in the family. But Marco said it was his younger brother who inspired him to step into the kitchen roughly thirty years ago. His background was in design and art, not bread baking, but when his brother asked for help, he was happy to oblige.
"We try our best to work within what we know, and we learn every day," Marco said. "From our history of living in New York, traveling and acquiring knowledge from sometimes just observing what other people are doing, we try to do something that's always very high quality."
Marco draws inspiration from places like New York and Italy, where bread is treated like a delicacy and careful attention is paid not just to the baking process itself but to its presentation in the shop.
"I follow my brother's philosophy," Marco said. "Highest level in a simple manner."
What's on the menu at Pane Bianco?
Pane Bianco's lunch menu includes seven signature sandwiches and a daily special market sandwich option. All sandwiches are served on woodfired focaccia baked in house by Marco. The sandwich options are mozzarella, prosciutto, soppressata, Italian combo, albacore tuna salad, roast beef and the "best in U.S." porchetta, which also won over our restaurant critic.
"I'm always experimenting," Marco said. "I'm always concentrating on flavor and baking quality, how it works with our sandwiches to make sure the bite is very good for the customer."
How to visit Pane Bianco in Phoenix
"In this city, there's some really good things. I'm just happy to be around and live long enough to see our city evolve. And we're happy to be a part of that evolution," Chris said.
Pane Bianco is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 pm. Monday through Saturday and for dinner (takeout only) from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Details: 4404 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. 602-234-2100, pizzeriabianco.com.
Reach the reporter at eddie.fontanez@azcentral.com. Follow @ERFontanez on Instagram.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: It's official, Chris Bianco's brother makes the best sandwich in US
