Chris Bianco Reveals His Top LA Pizza Picks - Exclusive

Chris Bianco is a talented and dynamic chef featured in the first episode of Netflix's new "Chef's Table: Pizza" series. Though he was born and raised in New York, Bianco made a name for himself in Phoenix, Arizona. This talented pizza chef is also a skilled storyteller who manages to give a greater meaning to everything that he does. His passion for pizza and people shines through in both his food and his energy. "I always say I'm in the relationship business. Everything is based on the relationships I have with my family, my friends, the people that come in our restaurants, and former strangers," Bianco told us.

Though Bianco calls Phoenix home and has four restaurants there, he recently expanded to Los Angeles. His restaurant, Pizzeria Bianco, is located in downtown LA, and though it just recently opened, it is already busy beyond belief. During an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, Bianco gave some insight into his favorite pizza spots in Los Angeles as well as his fun friendship with Jimmy Kimmel. 

Considering that the Los Angeles pizza scene has exploded over the last few years, we asked Chris Bianco to share some of his personal favorite spots. "There's Pizzana from Daniele. There's Domacelli. There's Superfine, Pizza Downtown, Danny Boy's for New York style ... There's Pizzeria Sei, which is ... a kind of Korean-inspired pizza [from] this sweet young chef who's really talented," Bianco told us. "I haven't had it yet, but it looks amazing. My chef, Marco, went there and said it was great."

If you're looking for a classic Detroit-style pie, Bianco said that Apollonio's has a Detroit-style pizza that is amazing. Of course, Pizzeria Mozza is a classic that has been around for years and can't be missed, according to Bianco. He continued by mentioning Chef Evan Funke, whose restaurants Mother Wolf and Felix have taken the pizza scene in LA by storm.

"Evan Funke's doing great things, and lots more ... You could probably roll back to too many to list. Roberta's is out here," shared Bianco. "That's when I go back to, 'This place did need what I do.' I needed to be a part of something. In this food community, I try to patch some quilts with good things."

Chris Bianco has made friends in LA outside of the restaurant community as well. Jimmy Kimmel is one of the most famous talk show hosts on television — but in addition to being a skilled comedian, Kimmel is also a skilled chef. Kimmel and Bianco became fast friends after meeting a few years back, and this dynamic duo has managed to learn a lot from one another. According to Bianco, Kimmel is even capable of running his own pizza joint, should he choose. 

"Jimmy could run anything he wants. Jimmy asks really good questions. That's one of the main things I learned from Jimmy. To get better answers, you need to ask better questions," said Bianco. However, Kimmel's cooking skills also expand beyond pizza. "He's a good cook — not just with pizza, but barbecue and with anything, because he's so studious as to what makes anything good. He has a good palate. He knows what he likes. He's one of a kind, for sure."

All episodes of "Chef's Table: Pizza" are now available to watch on Netflix.