Dinner at Bossa Nova – Dec. 18, 2013

I consider West Hollywood to be my hometown; I have lived here for close to 23 years. I have seen many changes and have always been very happy to be a member of this community. Bossa Nova is located in the hub of “Boys Town”, but also has 2 other local locations. Right across the street is David Cooley’s Abbey, and soon there will be a lot more new nightclub/restaurant right around the corner. Keeping up with all the expansion in this small area is demanding, but Bossa Nova is up for the challenge. 2014 promises to be a huge reminder for how popular this area is and how lots of remodeling and new venues will be starting up.

The Abbey used to be at Bossa Nova’s location, they moved across the street and blossomed into the packed house it is today. Now Cooley’s and Lisa Vanderpump’s “Pump” will be moving in on Santa Monica and Robertson. Bossa Nova has bought the dry cleaners right next door and has big plans to upgrade the property, keeping in line with all of the other new changes to this booming neighborhood.

What I want to rave about with Bossa Nova is their fantastic food, and so many different types of food to choose from. Yes this is Brazilian food, but they also have Italian dishes, Mexican dishes, so… pretty much anything you would desire you can get at Bossa Nova.

Here’s what I tried:

Coxinha, Brazilian delicacy made with chicken and cheese inside a fried breaded dough. Kind of like a croquette, but more Latin.

Mushrooms Appetizer, Fresh mushrooms sautéed in olive oil, garlic, parmesan and sherry sauce. Served with fresh sliced bread. These are whole button mushrooms, very fresh and a great starting appetizer.

Camarao a Brasileira Appetizer (Charbroiled Shrimp) Garlic charbroiled or sautéed shrimp served with yucca flour, salsa and fresh sliced bread. I loved these, there are big and plump, with great garlic flavor.

Bossa’s Salad, a wonderful salad with romaine, tomatoes, roasted almonds, Gorgonzola, homemade style croutons and onions, tossed in their homemade style balsamic dressing. I had this one with shrimp and was very happy. The best part about this salad is the crouton. They are very large, with nice garlic hints.

Gabriela’s Salad with fresh spinach, arugula, fresh basil, goat cheese, walnuts, croutons, red onions, chopped tomatoes and corn, again with their homemade style balsamic dressing. This one I had with the grilled salmon. They don’t give you a huge piece of Salmon, its cut thin, but really mouth watering.

Bossa Nova Sandwich with boneless chicken breast, melted Monterey jack, lettuce, mayo and their own salsa on toasted Italian bread. This sandwich is very juicy, and is simple, but really terrific.

Churrasquinho no Pao Skirt Steak Sandwich, charbroiled skirt steak with Monterey jack, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, on toasted Italian bread. I ordered the steak rare, and it was so amazingly tender, this would be my stand by sandwich.

BBQ Bacon Burger, charbroiled half-pound patty, Monterey jack, bacon, red onions, lettuce, homemade style BBQ Sauce on a hamburger bun. It is sweet due to the red onions and BBQ sauce, but I’m all about sweet and savory, so this burger is high on my list!

Cristiane’s Favorite Tornedor Grilled Filet Mignon Medallions wrapped in bacon topped with Madeira sauce and served with mushroom cream risotto, and charbroiled asparagus. Order these on the rare side and you will be very happy, but the real jewel of this dish is the risotto!

Pink Seafood Risotto with homemade style pink sauce risotto with sautéed shrimps and scallops. So the pink sauce is a tomato based sauce, but very light. The scallops popped in my mouth, and the risotto is cooked al dente, what an accomplishment.

Manuella’s Special Pasta with shrimp, chicken breast, prosciutto, onions with their own Cajun cream sauce topped with parmesan. I had this one with fettuccini, if you like spicy then this is the pasta to order, it is very tasty.

Dessert:

Colossal Chocolate Grande Cake, more then 14 oz. per slice. This cake is oozing with pure chocolate heaven, really a treat!

Here are the Wine’s I tried:

Chardonnay, CK Mondavi, CA. Any dish that has shrimp in it works well with this wine, there were so many shrimp dishes that it is hard for me to pick out just one.

Chardonnay, Irony, Napa CA. I would recommend this wine to pair with the pink seafood risotto, well-balanced fruit adds to the comforting ingredients in this amazing dish.

Red Blend, Hahn, GSM, Central Coast, CA. In Cristiane’s Favorite Tornedor there is so much earthy mushroom flavor, that the wine balances the rich nuances just perfectly.

Malbec, Las Moras, San Juan, Argentina. Absolutely hands down this is the wine to drink with the Churrasquinho no Pao Skirt Steak Sandwich. The meat is so tender and the wine is so fruit forward, it almost tenderizes the meat even more in your mouth.

Zinfandel, 4 Vines Old Vine, Sonoma, CA. I liked this wine with the BBQ bacon cheeseburger, the burger and its sauces are sweet, and the Zinfandel is very full bodied, so it stands up nicely to all of the burger tones.

Cocktails:

Caipirinha, Brazilian mojito with no mint, fresh lime, sugar, ice and sake. This little gem will make your entire troubles go bye bye, and will quench your thirst at the same time. All of this with no hard liquor, hard to imagine, but Sake does the trick in this very popular cocktail.

Passion Mimosa, with special passion fruit concentrate. Great drink for afternoon brunch, very light and refreshing.

Their outdoor patio sits almost on the street, but gets you very close to all of the action. The dining room is very casual with a kitchen in the middle. I suggested that they put the kitchen in the back when they renovate or have an open kitchen so that people can see the chef. Marco, my fantastic server and manager said that they plan to have the kitchen hidden away behind what was the dry cleaner. He says that they plan on doing full renovation that should modernize the place to keep up with all of the new restaurants coming in.

The vibe is very relaxed, with nice ambient new age music. A cleaver mural resides on the back wall and the dining room is eagerly awaiting its make over.

All things considered, I would choose this fantastic food over a lot of my many stand byes. There is just so much variety, and what they lack in other peoples standards they make up for in great food, and a fantastic attitude!

Bossa Nova
685 N. Robertson
West Hollywood, CA. 90069
http://www.bossanovafood.com

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