Ticoz - Phoenix

We went to Ticoz Friday night for a rare kid-free evening. The atmosphere was very cute, I got a little glowy bracelet when we gave them our name for the list. At 730 or so, there wasn't too much of a wait. We started at the bar with their house mojitos. They were simple, elegant, delicious. I could have done without the little fabric flower on a skewer garnish, though. I keep thinking I'm going to get splinters in my drink. We moved to a teeny tiny table DIRECTLY under an air-conditioning vent. Freezing, freezing, freezing. We started with the standard chips and not-so-standard three salsas. One was a delicious pineapple salsa, one was a simple, standard salsa fresca, and the other was unremarkable. We ordered an appetizer of "guacummus" which is what you would expect if guacamole and hummus had a baby. It was very good, served with chips and grilled pita wedges. We were very pleased with the wide selection of vegetarian entrees. At the waiter's suggestion, Husband got the Coconut Ginger Curry Rice, which was lick-the-bowl good. I should have asked for a recommendation as well, because my Chicken Torta Sandwich was foul. Imagine that someone made the dryest tuna-fish sandwich in the world, with really cheap brown tuna, added a couple slices of fresh jalapeno, and put it between two pieces of grilled flatbread. That's what this 'shredded chicken' sandwich tasted like. It was disgusting. I ate about two bites of it and pushed it aside. The waiter didn't even ask if I liked it, let alone offer to get me something else. Luckily, by then I was on to the sangria, which very very nicely washed the grossness out of my mouth. Despite my notably nasty dinner, I am actually hoping to go back again soon, because there were so many things on the menu that looked good, and the other things we ate and drank were exceptionally good. So the sandwich, the inattentive waiter, and the bathroom (single occupant, with a 'my Sun City grandma went to ikea' look to it) will be forgiven with another visit, I am quite confident.

Pizzeria Bianco - Phoenix

Just be prepared to wait a really long time, and you'll be fine. Pizzeria Bianco serves great pizza, in a cute atmosphere, and it's worth it to go. Once. Husband and I went on a Friday night, and were quoted a four hour wait, which explains why we did a happy dance when our wait was "only" three and a half hours. When I go to a place known for its pizza, I usually just want to taste the pizza itself, as opposed to just a bunch of cool toppings. Anybody can have cool toppings. Hell, California Pizza Kitchen has cool toppings, but that doesn't mean it's great pizza. So if it's supposed to be a good place, I usually get margherita pizza so I can taste what's going on here, and PB did not disappoint. It was great pizza; I was really happy with it. There other stuff is just OK, the antipasto platter is banal, the bread isn't that good (though the dipping oil is nice) but you're not going for the salad or anything, just get the pizza. Plan to camp out for a few hours, and curl up on a couch with a nice glass of Shiraz at the Bar Bianco next door, and you'll have a nice dinner. At nine forty-five.