Pizzeria Bianco

There were a couple of false starts for chef Chris Bianco at ROW DTLA, the massive mixed office, retail, and dining complex in the Arts District. But almost three years after the closure of Tartine Bianco, he and his team are back in a different corner of the ROW, doing what they do best—kicking out incredible wood-fired pizzas and winning prestigiousawards. The dinner menu is short and ingredient-focused in an earnest way, with a few appetizers, a couple of salads, and a handful of pizzas topped simply but cleverly with just a few ingredients each. Take the Wiseguy, with wood-roasted onion, smoked mozzarella, and fennel sausage; the celebrated Rosa is equally simple, with a blanket of pistachios, a fistful of slivered red onion, and a scattering of rosemary over a bed of parmigiano-reggiano on that wood-fired crust. Salads and appetizers are market-dependent, from roasted vegetables to the seasonal salad, and the farinata and focaccia are under-the-radar treasures. Reservations are tough to come by, but sometimes you can sneak in if you show up right around opening. And if that doesn’t work, they’re doing New York-style pies at lunch, which is worth a visit in its own right.