Bonobo - Portland, Maine

Located at 46 Pine Street in Portland's West End, Bonobo is a classic neighborhood eatery. With a painted cement floor, painted tin ceilings and an eclectic decor, the restaurant can seat roughly 30 patrons. On the weekdays, Bonobo serves slices of pizza from its "on the go" counter just inside the door, making it a viable lunch option for those in a hurry.

The Saturday we dined, we had plenty of time for a leisurely lunch and chose a seat in the nearly empty dining room. We perused the wine list, which features mostly moderately priced Spanish, Italian and French wines, but opted instead for Maine Root Sarsaparilla and Root Beer. I love Maine Root's products, which I first tried many years ago at Flatbread where our then-favorite Flatbread waiter, Matt Seiler, first served his experimental brew to the public.

We decided to order appetizers, a good decision given that the pizza took more than 30 minutes to arrive after ordering. I chose a teacup of Butternut Squash Chowder ($4), a liquid broth that was filled with chunks of squash, potatoes, bacon, smoked onions and tomatoes. The soup was surprisingly oily and I only ate a few bites before turning to my husband's Caesar Salad ($6). Topped with white anchovies ($1 surcharge), the Caesar was made with lightly dressed crisp, romaine lettuce, pungent shaved Parmesan cheese, and crunchy homemade croutons. While Bonobo's Caesar is perfectly adequate, it was bland; I prefer mine with more garlic and lemon.

Bonobo's pizza comes in one size - 13". My husband and I couldn't agree on how to top our pie ($15) so we ordered a 1/2 and 1/2 pizza ($1 surcharge). There are so many wonderful sounding choices, such as the "Marley" with jerk chicken sausage and pickled hot peppers, the "Goat" with spinach, roasted red peppers and goat cheese, and the "Barbie" with BBQ pork, roasted red peppers and cheddar cheese. I finally decided to top my half with the special of the day: artichoke hearts, spinach, roasted chicken, leeks, Parmesan, garlic and cream. My husband topped his half with the "Smoky" - which has just been reintroduced to the menu for the fall - and consists of roasted winter squash, roasted onions, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, leeks and cream.

Cooked in a wood burning fireplace, the piping-hot pizza had a light, thin, crisp crust - almost like toasted pita bread. The roasted winter squash was caramelized and sweet - a delicious topping particularly paired with the Gorgonzola and cream. My half held a plentiful amount of garlic, spinach, and moist, roasted chicken. I loved that this pizza was not heavy or greasy.

Bonobo certainly is not your ordinary run of the mill "house of pizza." Their thin and crisp crusted pizzas feature fresh, unusual toppings; the restaurant itself is laid back, yet sophisticated enough for a casual date night on the town. Though I wouldn't make Bonobo a regular destination, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to dine there again when in the area.