What: The BBQ Free Range Chicken Pizza
Where: BB’s at The River, 71800 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage
How Much: $13.95 (or $9 at the bar during all-day happy hour, Monday through Friday)
Contact: 760-862-9800; www.bbsattheriver.com
Why: This pizza backs up the brag.
The sign in front of the restaurant said multiple things. It promoted a $19.99 prix fixe menu. It touted tasty burgers. And it said the restaurant served the best barbecue chicken pizza in town.
Game on, BB’s at The River. I’ll take one BBQ free range chicken pizza, please.
Inside, BB’s doesn’t look all that different than its predecessor, Acqua Pazza: It has a clean, contemporary vibe, with a great bar. The menu features California/American fare. The server said the pot roast was particularly popular.
Fair enough. But I was here to see if the pizza backed up the sign’s brag.
The verdict: While I won’t go so far as to say the BBQ free range chicken pizza is the best such pie in town, I will say it’s good. Really good.
First and foremost: The folks in the kitchen don’t skimp on the chicken, which is juicy and delicious: Every bite of the pizza (save maybe one or two near the crust) included chicken. Second: The sauce is indeed sweet and spicy, as promised on the menu—and it’s balanced. In other words, it’s neither too sweet nor too spicy; as Goldilocks would say, it’s just right. Third. There are just enough red onions on the pizza to make their presence known; any more, and they’d dominate the flavor. Fourth: The smoked mozzarella was gooey and delightful. Fifth, but not least: The crust was tasty. I would have preferred it to be a little thinner, maybe, but there was nothing wrong with what was on my plate.
How excellent was this pizza? I intended to eat only half of it, and take the rest home. But before I knew it, I’d devoured three-quarters of it—and I had to restrain myself from finishing it off. Good stuff, indeed.