There is a new name in town for pizza, and it seems to think it’s the boss. That is not the case with Boss Pizza Co. located in downtown Bakersfield at 1525 18th St. It is more like an unpaid intern in the pizza business.

Blink and you might miss this small restaurant located next to On The Rocks. I have been waiting for this place to open since I heard about it on Facebook. The thought of a fresh place to get a thin and crispy pizza seem liked a great addition to have in the downtown area, especially with all the business workers looking for a new lunch spot.

Boss Pizza Co. is like the Subway of pizza places with quick and customizable orders. For those not willing to live on the edge of their slices, they can try one of  10 specialty pizzas which go from the more traditional like their all meat pizza called the Carnivore to something more bizzare like their jalapeno popper pizza.

I walked in ready to dive into an oasis of pizza choices and to my surprise I was greeted by multiple employees upon entering. The young lady behind the counter was ready to serve me and even offered to tell me about a couple of their specialty pizzas. I asked her what was their most popular pizza, and she said the Westchester or the Boss Combo. I went for the less traditional Westchester with its creamy garlic sauce, chicken, red onion, artichoke and sundried tomatos topped with a pesto drizzle.

They write your order on a sheet of  wax paper that they place under your dough, from there it goes to the next worker in the line who then places your toppings on the pizza. This gentleman also greeted me with a smile as I watched him make my pizza. He made quick work of putting together my pizza and then it was handed to another worker who actually  puts in into the oven.

I walked to the register and paid for the pizza, which was reasonably priced at $7.95. There I was offered a dessert called a Boss Bar, which looked like peanut brittle on steroids. I chose to take a rain check on it, but it looked amazing.

By the time I went to fill my drink at the soda machine, they had my pizza cooked and at my table. The presentation of the pizza looked amazing and I was ready to take my first bite.

The one problem is that once I took my first bite, I was immediately dissapointed.

The pizza was bland with the only flavor that I could actually taste was the red onion.  I then ate the toppings individually and I was left with the same feeling as before, nothing had flavor and the artichoke tasted old.  I forced down one slice and despite my best judgment tried another slice hoping for the best.

After another bite, I sprinkled cheese and chili flakes onto my next bite and was finally able to enjoy a bite. I shouldn’t have to sprinkle those two things onto a pizza to make it good, it should be good on its own. Those are condiments, not essential toppings.

I had high hopes for Boss Pizza Co. and was severely let down. One day I will try it again, but this time I will stick to a more traditonal pizza because they can’t possibly do any worse than this visit. 2 out of 5 Stars