Bossa Nova

"Perhaps this is the way Brazilians do it."

Here is yet another place that doesn't specialize in pizza, and yet another place that my girlfriend Kelly would tell me not to bother with. Not because it isn't good, I have eaten there more times than not, and it is a great place. It just isn't strictly about pizza, even though they have more than 20 different toppings combinations. Which in my opinion, are some of the best topping a place can have. The place as you can see is labeled brazilian cuisine, which seems to be similar to Italian except with more skirt steak and hummus. This of course is a very laymen observation on culinary culture. I only know pizza, and pizza is Italian, or greek as some people say. Anyway...

Like I said, they have many different toppings, that all sound appealing. I ordered a simple prosciutto, mozzarella and oregano on half, the other half Margherita. The large 16'', is between 15 and 20 dollars depending on what you get.

The pizza I always remembered being pretty good here. Perhaps being in a restaurant setting especially one that does not specialize in pizza, makes you think of pizza differently almost out of context from other great pizzas. You expect something different or perhaps you expect nothing at all. Today I picked up a pizza like I have with every other place, and I expected everything. Unfortunately I was let down.

I could tell there was something wrong when he handed me the box. I had to hold it with 2 hands because it so was heavy. The reason of course, as you can see was the cheese. It was put on heavy, really heavy. I have to say the cheese was fresh and milky tasting and tasted very good, just way, way too much of it. Then you throw the prosciutto on top and the whole thing is a mess, the floppy thin crust can't support the rest of the pizza. Luckily after 10 minutes the cheese gets pulled off when you grab a slice and the crust doesn't need to support the cheese because it already fell off. The crust is the same story, very dense and bready, not crispy at all. This was cooked in a wood fired oven, even. Again the crust tasted pretty good and wasn't dry, so it was enjoyable to eat, but to thick in the back and too flimsy in the middle. The sauce between these two monsters was barely tastable. Even the strong basil leaves had trouble staying afloat and reaching your taste buds with all the cheese.

So unfortunately, when you stack it up to the others it isn't any better than average. The ingredients are fresh but the ratio and overall style and technique are off. Perhaps this is the way the Brazilians do it. I love the place I love the food and one day when I am eating there I'll probably order the pizza again, but I won't ever look at it the same way. (It is like the pizza cheated on me...)

Bossa Nova - 7181 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood (reviewed location)

212 S. Beverly Drive Beverly hills

685 N. Robertson Blvd West Hollywood

10982 W. Pico Blvd. West LA

Price: $$

Overall: