This is a weekly feature designed to increase interaction among Little Rock foodies! I will post a “buzz word” on The Mighty Rib Facebook page. I will then ask for reader suggestions for one dish that includes the “buzz word” of the week. One is randomly picked, dish is eaten, review is written…all within a week’s time.

Our latest “buzz word” was chicken. Not surprisingly, we had several wonderful suggestions this time around. In the end, Ashli’s salpicão from Bossa Nova was randomly selected.

The gods must have been looking down on me for this one. The salpicão proved to not only be my favorite Buzz Word entry to date, but also one of my absolute best lunch dishes ever in Little Rock.

Yes, the salpicão was that good!

Do I usually spend $15.99 on a lunch entree? Hells no. Was the salpicão worth every penny? Absolutely.

Truthfully, this dish has way too much going on…which is typically something I detest in my meals. I generally prefer simple and fairly minimal ingredients. But the plethora of ingredients, textures, temperatures, and flavors are what make the salpicão successfully standout.

Cool, creamy chicken salad–loaded with shredded breast meat, sweet peas, and apples–lies on top of a bed of warm, fluffy white rice. It’s all topped with some wonderfully crunchy batata balha (potato sticks).

And I haven’t even gotten to the other half of the plate yet.

Yes, next to the chicken salad rests a delicious mista salad–comprised of greens, Mandarin oranges, house dressing, and a sweet almond crumble. The key is to get every element onto each spoonful. All the major food adjectives reside on this plate–sweet, creamy, crunchy, warm, cool, and acidic. Everything blends together in one amazing dish.

This was my first visit to Bossa Nova…the first of many. Thank you, Ashli!