Gerardo's Pizzeria

I flew to AZ to visit a sound healer in town, Valerie Sanjali Irons, at Aumbase Yoga and Sound Studio. While visiting, I found a cool cigar shop in town and after browsing and making my cigar selection, the guys there gave me a recommendation to try Gerardo's Pizzeria. Valerie gave me great recommendations, so I figured these guys would too. While I don't eat calamari, my friend who ordered it said it was well seasoned and cooked nicely. She liked it a lot. She's also gluten free, dairy free, etc. Everything bothers her. We were curious how she'd feel the next day, but she said she felt a lot better than she would have if we ate at any other traditional restaurant with the same ingredients, so we feel like their above-and-beyond ingredient sourcing made a big difference. I tend to be a pizza snob since I'm from the east coast. you can't go wrong with good wood fired pizza though and of course it was delicious. While out hiking, someone we met from Long Island, NY gave me a recommendation to try Pizzeria Bianco when I was back in Phoenix. It's apparently rated top 5 pizza in the country. I ate there a day or two after Gerardo's, so I was able to compared their pizzas. While both were good, Gerardo's definitely had more depth of flavor and I preferred it. I was excited to try their chocolate ricotta cheesecake, but turns out it's really chocolate cake with a thin layer of cheesecake or mouse on top. Still good, but I jump at the chance to have ricotta cheesecake since I don't see it often. We heard it was a challenge to get a table and it was certainly full when we went. We got the last table inside, but it's obviously a well loved restaurant in the area. Glad we went.

Do not rely on Google; no gluten-free pizza & just one gf pasta option. Waitress was a bit put-out about my asking. Underwhelming experience for our family.