Being a child of the 80’s, when Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Little Caesar’s reigned supreme, I only think of pizza in one capacity: delivery. I grew up in a relatively small town where there weren’t any true pizza parlors, so I never grew accustomed to the idea of eating pizza in a restaurant. Consequently, even today I rarely get the idea to go out for pizza. I mean, it’s just a phone call away. Why put forth the effort of getting dressed and driving to a restaurant?

I had been hearing about the California Pizza Kitchen chain for years before I finally decided to give it a try. In my area, there are CPKs located in or near two large malls – The Fashion Center at Pentagon City, and Tyson’s Corner mall. Both are always crowded. For some reason, I was really craving pizza while shopping at the mall, so I decided to finally sample CPK’s fare. Although there are definite hits and misses on the menu, CPK’s variety is what keeps me coming back for more. CPK offers a rather eclectic menu. Heck – its pizza menu alone boasts over 15 entries. At first glance, the creativity seems overwhelming … Pastrami Reuben pizza? Kung Pao spaghetti? I was intrigued, but a little suspicious, of such an offering. Needless to say, the creativity is a good thing for some menu items, but a very very very bad thing for others.

Soups and Salads – CPK at its finest!

While most people choose to dine at CPK because of their pizzas, their soups and salads should not be overlooked! I did not try my first salad until my third or fourth time at CPK, and I have not gone back!

My two favorite salads are the Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad and the Smoked Bacon and Gorgonzola Chopped Salad. What these salads share in common is a heaping plate of shredded lettuce and just enough dressing to coat the lettuce leaves without making the salad feel too heavy. That’s where the similarities end. The BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad is loaded with bite-sized barbecue chicken, white corn, sliced jicama, black beans, diced tomatoes, Monterey Jack cheese, and tortilla strips. It is mixed with an herb ranch dressing, and garnished with a lime wedge and cilantro. This is probably my favorite salad at CPK (and heck, probably my favorite meal!)

My second favorite salad is the Smoked Bacon and Gorgonzola Chopped Salad. It consists of shredded lettuce, sliced jicama, red cabbage, diced tomatoes, and handfuls of smoked bacon and Gorgonzola cheese. The salad is accentuated by either a garden ranch or Gorgonzola vinaigrette dressing, and it’s topped by a pile of buttermilk-dipped onion straws. I like everything about this salad except the onion straws – whenever I’ve had them, they were cold, greasy, and left a filmy residue on the top of my mouth. Plus, I just didn’t think the flavor did much for the otherwise delicious salad. Consequently, I order my salad without the onion straws.

While these are my 2 favorite salads, there are many more on the menu. For example, you can order an Oriental Chicken Salad (diced chicken breast, scallions, Chinese noodles, carrots, cilantro and Sesame dressing), a Field Greens Salad (field greens, walnuts, and pears with a Dijon dressing), a CPK Club Salad (diced chicken, beets, blue cheese, avocado and bacon with herb ranch dressing) and the Tricolore Salad Pizza (mixed lettuces, diced tomatoes and parmesan cheese atop a caramelized parmesan pizza crust). These salads are available in full-size (approximately $10) or half-size (approximately $7) servings. A full-size order of any of these salads is enough for dinner; a half-size portion is still pretty large, and makes a fulfilling dinner when accompanied by a cup of soup.

Speaking of soups, they are another high point of the CPK menu. CPK used to offer a unique Southwestern white corn chowder. It consisted of a spicy, dense tomato base, white corn, and tortilla strips. Sadly, it has since been removed from the menu. They have replaced it with a Sedona tortilla soup. As far as I can tell, there is nothing special about this soup – it’s got a thin chicken/tomato broth and some spicy flavorings, and it tastes just fine. But it’s nothing unique. CPK offers 2 other soups – potato leek soup and smashed pea and barley soup. I’ve ventured into the realm of the potato leek, but I refuse, refuse to eat pea soup. The potato leek soup is thick and grainy, with a pretty bland flavoring. Some cheese and pepper would kick it up a notch. CPK offers its soups in cup or bowl form. If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can order “two in a bowl.” That means they will ladle 2 soups in your bowl. Yes, the flavors will mix. And no, I have no idea why anyone would want to eat any of those 3 soups in combination with another.

Pizzas – does CPK’s creative approach taste good?

On to CPK’s specialty – the pizzas! These pizzas are available on the standard white crust, or a special honey wheat crust. These crusts are of a medium thickness – just like your average hand-tossed pie. A few pizzas are offered on a thin crust, though they tend to be inconsistent in their thickness from time to time. All of CPK’s pizzas are meant to be a personal serving size, but there are many times I have split a pizza and a salad with my friends. Most pizzas cost under $10.

My personal favorite is the Tostada Pizza. It’s just weird enough to be good. A pizza crust is topped with a thin smear of black bean paste and melted Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese before it’s baked in the oven. Then, it’s topped with shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, herb ranch dressing, and tortilla strips. Lime marinated chicken is available for $2.00 extra, but I usually don’t go that route. I know this pizza sounds weird, but it’s actually really good. It reminds me of a doughy taco salad.

Another variation of the Southwestern-themed pizzas is the Santa Fe Chicken pizza. There’s no tomato sauce on this one, but the crust is topped with Mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, lime chicken, cilantro, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. I like the crisp lettuce on the Tostada pizza, but this is another good offering. My other pizza favorite is the thin crust Sicilian pizza. The crispy, wood-fired crust is topped with ample servings of Fontina, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. But that’s not it – you’ll also get spicy tomato sauce, crispy Capicola ham, and sweet Italian sausage. When the crust is truly thin and crispy, this pizza is delicious. However, I’ve had inconsistent results with the thickness of the crust. Sometimes, it’s virtually indistinguishable from the regular crust pizzas.

I’ve tried the Hawaiian pizza and the Sweet & Spicy Italian Sausage pizza as well. Both were simply average. The Hawaiian pizza was topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pineapple chunks and Canadian bacon. It melted into a gooey mess, the toppings were sparse, and there just wasn’t enough flavor in this bland pizza. The Italian sausage wasn’t bad. It definitely had flavor (from the spicy sausage, of course) but the flavor would have been better suited to a crispy, thin crust pizza. Instead, the toppings weighed down the doughy crust. Onions, red and yellow peppers, and chunks of sausage topped this average pizza.

OK, so I told you before that CPK offers some weird, eclectic fare. Have you ever been in the mood for a Caramelized Pear & Gorgonzola pizza? How about Rosemary Chicken & Potato pizza, or Jamaican Jerk Chicken pizza? And let’s not forget the Pastrami Reuben pizza and the Japanese eggplant pizza, both of which make me want to lose my appetite. You couldn’t pay me to sample these pizzas, so I can’t give you a review of these dishes. But that’s OK – you probably wouldn’t want to try them anyway. If you do, at least CPK offers a pizza guarantee - if you don’t like what you’ve ordered, they will replace it with a new pie.

Pastas – CPK’s creativity is its downfall for these dishes.

All I can say about CPK’s pasta dishes is, “Run! Run far away!” Somethin’ just ain’t right with these dishes. I mean, what can you expect from Tequila Lime Fettuccine or Kung Pao Spaghetti? My boyfriend tried the Tequila Lime Fettuccine, and it was truly disgusting – a greasy mix of spinach fettuccine, chicken, red and yellow peppers, red onions and cilantro in a tequila-lime and jalapeño cream sauce. My friend ordered the Kung Pao Spaghetti, and it was similarly disappointing – with pasta, scallions, chicken, chilies, and Kung Pao sauce, the flavors just didn’t meld properly. Other pasta entries seem benign enough, but I’m fearful nonetheless - Chicken Marsala Marinara, Portobello Mushroom Ravioli, and Fettucini with Garlic Cream Sauce are probably safe choices, but why gamble? Besides, do you really trust a pasta menu that also features Jambalaya (with linguini, believe it or not) and Thai Linguine listed back-to-back?

Drinks, desserts, etc.

CPK offers a fairly standard beer and wine list, with most wines by the glass running $5-6 apiece. Other than that, they offer Pepsi products, Arizona lemonade, and … my personal favorite … Hawaiian Punch. How can you not like a restaurant that serves Hawaiian Punch? CPK’s dessert menu does not disappoint. Choices range from a key lime pie to a chocolate soufflé cake. Both are satisfying but not spectacular. CPK also offers a kids’ menu, complete with bland pastas and miniature pizzas.

Both CPK restaurants near me are always crowded. However, they don’t take reservations. If you’re in a hurry, you might try eating at the bar. The restaurants also do a bustling carry-out business. The waits are never too long, because the service is very efficient and rapid. I have never had bad service at a CPK restaurant. Overall, I would recommend CPK for its variety. Its salads are wonderful, as are some of its pizzas. Avoid the more exotic-sounding dishes, and you should have a good dining experience!


Recommended: Yes