Wood Stone Chef, Tim Green

Wow, my recent visit to Phoenix and Tucson tells me that Arizona knows pizza!

The Parlor
The Parlor, is using a Wood Stone Fire Deck 9660 (WS-FD-9660) with the gas flame on one side and a screaming wood fire on the opposite side. The Parlor is exactly that, an old beauty parlor. Owner, Eric Mei has left not only the name sake but is using the salon chairs as stools at the bar. By looking around he has created a awesome atmosphere with much of the old building parts. The place is very exciting, filled with people having a great time, very casual. Service staff working in basic T’s and having fun. The food is awesome – the pizza rocks – cooked in the Wood Stone at about 600 degree floor temperature the pizza cooks in 3 – 4 minutes. It has great structure with the same carmelization that you would expect out of a traditional Napolitano Pizza but with a bit slower bake holds on to more of the crispness that seems to be the craze and popularity of pizza today. Along with this great baked crust the ingredients and how they are married on the pizza were fabulous to the pallet. If you are in Phoenix you need to stop by The Parlor. Ask for a pizza not a perm. www.theparlor.us

Pizza Vivace
Heading South on Highway 10 to Tucson is Pizza Vivace. Located across the street from St. Phillips Plaza on Campbell Street. Dan Scordato has done a great job capturing all the diners needs here for great Italian Food. Restaurant Vivace, a bit more elegant with the full menu sits adjacent to the pizzeria that serves the same high end ingredients with a bit more of a casual yet very classy setting. Pizza – Salad – a couple of appetizers and desserts – Great wine and beer – they fill the place up. The pizza is baked in 3 minutes in a very hot Wood Stone Fire Deck 8645 (WS-FD-8645). Justin, the pizza aioli has truly mastered the oven and bakes each pizza to perfection. Along with the light, crisp, carmelized crust the ingredients on the pizza are over the top. The pizza here can be enjoyed with a cold beer or a fine Italian wine. It was nice to sit the owner (Dan) at the bar. Everyone coming in or leaving says hello to him, complimentary words are spoken – what a great neighborhood! Every neighborhood need a great pizzeria like this one. www.pizzeriavivace.com

Zona 78
Around the corner is Zona 78. This is one of 2 locations both using Mountain Series Wood Stone Ovens. Zona 78 maintains a full dinner menu. This is a very family oriented restaurant satisfying all the needs for simple Italian dinning. When you walk in the front door, you can’t be more than 20 feet from the oven. The gas flame burns bright – baking their great hand tossed dough. The dough is fresh and finished off with great ingredients. www.zona78.com