Lunch at Pane Bianco in Phoenix

Kirk is still busy, Cathy needs a day off, so Ed (from Yuma) does the food blogging here today. About a lunch that he and Tina had recently in Phoenix.

Back in 2010 when I told Tina that Chris Bianco’s Pizza Bianco had just been named the best pizza in the United States, she said, "I used to eat at his restaurant all the time when I lived in central Phoenix."

"Huh, you stood in line for 4 hours for pizza?"

"No, his other restaurant was my neighborhood sandwich shop." So if we were spending a weekend in central Phoenix, a visit to Pane Bianco had to happen:

The understated exterior of the restaurant was matched by the funky/shabby hipness of the interior. Having once aspired to being funky/shabby hip, I felt right at home:

The lunch menu listed a few "bar bites" for around $5, and sandwich and salad choices priced between $9 and $12. The other side of the menu had a limited selection of sodas, beers, and wines as well as the sparkling water we chose ($3):

I'm surprised I'd never run across Mountain Valley sparkling water before as it was pleasant tasting and refreshing. I also enjoyed the rustic looking tabletop.

We selected 2 sandwiches, both of which came with an interesting potato salad composed of thinly sliced potatoes, chopped apples, cabbage, shredded red cabbage, sliced red onion, and minced parsley. The mustard seeds, other spices, and light dressing gave it all kind of a central European flavor. The salad is in the foreground of this picture of the sopressata sandwich that had been Tina's favorite back in the day:

As you can see, the excellent salumi had been sliced paper thin:

The sopressata was wonderfully matched by the aged provolone. This was not your standard waxy tasteless Italian cheese, but a full flavored partner to the sausage, dry and a little bit crumbly. The woodfired onion was a nice touch as well. My only complaint – and really my only complaint about the whole meal – was that the homemade focaccia was a little tough and chewy as if it had been baked the day before. Nonetheless it was altogether a satisfying sandwich:

Our other lunch selection was the "market sandwich," featuring lamb that had been braised overnight:

We both thought the sandwich was unusual and interesting. The tender meat had a pronounced lamb flavor and was topped with chopped cabbage and roasted red pepper strips:

In both cases the sandwiches were perfectly simple and focused – no mayo, no mustard, no catchup, no sliced tomato, no pickles; just very good basic ingredients.

Pane Bianco, 4404 N. Central, Phoenix AZ 85012; (602) 234-2100.

Comments

[Cathy]

Read this and then had to go out for a really good sandwich for lunch (and we are talking about going back tomorrow). Pane Bianco looks great. Surprised the bread wasn't a bit fresher, with 'pane' in the name, but good that the quality of ingredients (and interesting slaw) made up for that part.

[nhbilly]

Looks good if only the bread held up.

[Ed (from Yuma)]

The bread held up wonderfully, billy. It was perfect in the lamb sandwich. And, Cathy, it's possible that their style of focaccia is meant to be substantial in mouthfeel, the better to hold up to fillings like the lamb. I also should add that we were there at the opening (11 am), so we may have gotten yesterday's bread. On the other hand, we picked up two outstanding baguettes to take home with us, which were still outstanding the next day.