"Chris Bianco, America’s best pizza maker, is meticulous about everything, sourcing (and sometimes even milling) flour blends, hand-shaping mozzarella, and topping pies with tomatoes from his own California label. His wood-fired pizza — a little Neapolitan, a little American, a lot Bianco — defies strict categorization, but the result is always a light, charred-at-the-edges crust, offering just the right amount of chew. An expanded menu at the Town & Country shopping center location also includes beautiful salads, excellent pasta, lush chicken cacciatore, and a rice pudding that zips you back to childhood. The tiny pizza shop spawned a mini-empire, which includes Italian restaurant Tratto (one of the city’s best modern Italians) as well as sandwich-and-salad gem Pane Bianco. Hot tip: The legend lives up to the hype — expect a wait, but nearby bars make it easy to kill time." - McConnell Quinn