CPK, Way More Than Just Pizza

California Pizza Kitchen

2800 N. Main Street #872

Santa Ana, CA 92701

Of course when you think of California Pizza Kitchen, you think of their iconic BBQ Chicken Pizza, but CPK is rolling out a new menu and a new look. CPK restaurants across Orange County have been going through the conversion of expanding their menu to include lots of new dishes that are featuring seasonal and locally sourced foods. They not only have retooled their menu, but their cocktail program and decor as well. In other words, if you haven't been to CPK for a while, you have been missing out. We were recently invited by CPK to experience all that is new here.

Not only have we not been to CPK for a long time, but we hadn't been to Main Place for a few years. There's quite a lot happening here. This shopping mall is going through a pretty radical makeover, with lots of new shops and enhancements to the mall taking place. Of course I'm pretty intrigued by the restaurant side of things, and there's plenty new here, or at least on the way. Wokcano and Lucille's will be joining the newly opened Panini Cafe, Blaze Pizza, and Dog Haus very soon. Even CPK is expanding their patio, which is still under construction, but will be great for dining outdoors.

Not only is a makeover going on outside the restaurant, but a new look for CPK has happened inside as well. They say they are going for a rustic, modern look, utilizing sustainable materials, and I'd say they nailed it. The restaurant features a wide open feel, thanks to the large glass window near the front of the restaurant, the spacing of the tables, and the open kitchen, where you can catch the chefs doing their best to feed their hungry patrons. All this was pleasing to the eye, but I was ready for my stomach to be pleased, so let's take a look at some of the new menu items at CPK.

As quickly as we sat down, we were given two of their latest cocktails to try, the California Ginger Crush and the Blueberry Ginger Smash, (both $8.79). We had a disagreement at our table as to which one of these we preferred, but both vanished rather quickly, so it's safe to say our party of three liked them both. These labor intensive cocktails utilize fresh juices and herbs in them. My favorite was the Crush, which included Absolut Mandarin and Citron, muddled mint, and fresh lemon and orange. I loved the combination of the citrus with the mint in this one. Katie and George were more partial to the Blueberry Ginger Smash, mostly because this reminded them of their younger days consuming whiskey. Joining the Jack Daniel's in the glass was an organic agave nectar, ginger, fresh blueberries, lime, and cranberry juice to finish it off with. George told our waiter that these kinds of drinks would entice him to bring a date to CPK. Better update that EHarmony profile George.

What do you do when you can't decide on just one kind of soup? Well if you're at CPK you get their Two In A Bowl ($7.99). I don't think I've seen this on any other menu, but you can choose two of their signature soups served side by side, in the same bowl. Perfect for people who are indecisive. I really enjoyed both of these, the Baked Potato Soup and the Farmers Market Soup. The baked potato soup used a thick potato base, and utilized bacon and scallions in it. The farmers market soup used squash as a base, then they threw in some veggies, added some cream, and then drizzled some olive oil over it. The result was another nice, thicker soup, which satisfied me more than a normal vegetable soup would. This will be very good when it finally cools down around here.

Next up they brought us out two flatbreads for us to try. The Smoked Ham and Swiss Flatbread ($8.29) is off their new menu at CPK. The very sturdy flatbread was layered with Emmentaler and goat cheeses, smashed garlic croutons, caramelized onions, and plenty of ham. I thought this was going to be a little too overwhelming, but the flavors played nicely with each other. I was definitely more partial to the seasonally inspired flatbread that they brought out for us, the Maine Lobster Flatbread ($11.29). They do not use the bad parts of the lobster here. No, they use the very good tasting claw meat, which they generously used to top the flatbread, along with light mayo, herbs, shaved red onion, and arugula. Exactly like a lobster roll, but in flatbread form. Now you don't have to go all the way to Boston for your lobster fix.

It had been about ten minutes, so it was definitely time for another cocktail, and our wonderful host obliged with this California Roots ($8.79) beverage. Appropriately, this was a drink that featured fresh avocado, along with mint, Svedka Vodka, agave sour, and a unique fennel salt rim. This drink came across as fresh and clean, and I really liked the creaminess that the avocado brought to the table.

Yeah, this doesn't look like your grandmothers California Pizza Kitchen. When this Fire Grilled Ribeye ($25.99) hit the table, there was an audible gasp of excitement. This twelve ounce choice ribeye was prepared with a Pinot Noir sea salt and a blue cheese butter. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, with eye pleasing grill marks on both sides. Very tender, with lots of flavor coming from the meat. This had us quiet for a good long while as we were busy getting our fair share. This was accompanied by roasted fingerling potatoes and a lemon and garlic arugula salad. I was way more partial to the potatoes, as I've never really been a fan of arugula. I found this lemon-garlic dressing to be more lemon than garlic, and that made it too sour for my tastes, but the potatoes were fork tender and made up for the arugula salad.

Probably my favorite entree of the three that we tried on this evening was this Roasted Garlic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables ($18.99). The chicken breast came in a lemon and garlic sauce, with crispy skin on it. I liked the moistness of the chicken, and they got the garlic and lemon sauce right on this one. The poultry was placed on top of some very good veggies, which included tender carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, and Mediterranean herbs. Even though this looked like a hefty, more Fall feeling meal, this was surprisingly light. Very well done.

Probably my least favorite of the three entrees, but George and Katie's favorite was this Hearth Roasted Halibut ($23.79). Guess I did not have the same tastes as Katie and George on this night. They really loved the halibut, but I felt it needed a sauce or something. It was however placed on top of some very good butternut squash faro and baby kale, which was delicious. I was also a fan of the grilled asparagus, which was done nicely.

Thankfully our last drink of the night made it's way over, since we all had to drive home after this. I'd call this Coconut Blossom ($8.79) CPK's updated version of a pina colada. They use a mandarin blossom vodka, white tequila, agave sour, coconut puree, and fresh pineapple. Not overly sweet like a pina colada, you could taste all the elements of this drink as it passed through your lips, and down the hatch. Tasty, and it brought to mind the drinks we have had in the tropics, but made better.

By this time of the night we were all pretty full, but this S'mores dessert really intrigued me. It had a budino feel to it. This layered dessert came with kettle cooked chocolate pudding, chocolate chunks, crushed graham crackers, and toasted marshmallows on top. I really liked the insides of this dessert, but felt that there needed to be more pudding in here. The graham cracker crumbs and the marshmallow got in the way of my beloved chocolate. I'm trying their Salted Caramel Pudding next time for sure.

I left CPK with a new respect for them. As I've been writing this blog for six years now, I've found myself having changing tastes. I used to like eating in chain restaurants, but those days are becoming fewer and farther between. For the most part now when I eat in those kinds of restaurants everything kind of feels prepackaged, and not very fresh or good. I'm not being snobby, but that's how I perceive chain restaurants to be. I did not have that feeling as we were leaving California Pizza Kitchen. I loved the freshness of the food, I like that they are branching out of their comfort zone of pizzas, and that they have stepped up their bar program. Yes, I still saw lots of pizzas being ordered, but there were plenty of people trying these new items. It's pretty impressive for a restaurant that's been around for 30 plus years to want to keep things fresh, and give their customers greater options. We will definitely be back, and so will George, once his EHarmony mojo starts to work.

We would like to thank everyone at CPK for the invite to come in and experience their new menu items. We could sense that everyone we encountered is really proud of their food, and excited to share it with all of their guests.

If you want to experience the new CPK for yourself, head to their website for the location nearest you, by clicking here: http://www.cpk.com/

California Dreaming at CPK?

California Pizza Kitchen

321 W. Katella Ave.

Anaheim, CA 92802

Our good friend Adrienne was staying in the Disneyland area, for her birthday for a couple days. She and her family were going to be spending two, fun filled days at the happiest place on earth. We decided to skip the theme park, but we still wanted to help her celebrate her big day. We decided to meet her and Chris at the Garden Walk in Anaheim, which is Disneyland adjacent. I let them choose where to eat, and they came up with California Pizza Kitchen.

I know CPK is a chain restaurant, and as a food blogger I should thumb my nose at it for this reason alone. But I write this food blog, not only for the foodie in me, but as an every man's food blog. Places where lots of people eat, and lots of people eat at California Pizza Kitchen. Started in 1985, they operate over 260 restaurants worldwide. 12 of those restaurants are based in our very own corner of the world, OC. Their brand is in stadiums, airports, and even sold in grocery stores. I have eaten here occasionally over the two plus years I have written this blog, but this is the first time I have reviewed them, so let's see how it goes.

Chris considers himself to be an avocado egg roll connoisseur, so of course we had to order the Avocado Club Egg Rolls. These were filled with tomatoes, chicken, bacon, Monterrey jack cheese, and of course avocado. These egg rolls came with an herb ranch dressing and a Ranchito sauce. Chris believed that these egg rolls were just average, and I would tend to agree with that assessment. The bacon was not prominent enough for my liking, and the chicken was kind of lost here. On the positive side, the egg roll was fried nicely,  and came out hot.

Not content with just one appetizer, Katie also had the Mediterranean Plate. This dish came with white bean humus, a Greek salad, feta cheese covered with olive oil, and pizza-pita bread. I had some of the humus, and it was good, not great. Katie liked the Greek salad and feta cheese, but I did not have any of that. Not really my thing.

Located, not on their salad portion of their menu, but in the "Small Bites" part, they had this Wedge Salad. I love wedge salads, and this one was the perfect size. I did order this without tomatoes and chopped egg, ( I know I am weird, but I have a thing against hard boiled egg),  but it did come with bacon and a very flavorful blue cheese dressing. I liked this enough that I would get this again for sure.

Of course with a name like California Pizza Kitchen, the pizzas are definitely in the spotlight here. At our table, three of the four of us opted to get a pizza. Starting us off is the BBQ Chicken + Applewood Smoked Bacon.  This is probably their most popular pizza, and the one that really put them on the map. Toppings on this included red onion, BBQ sauce, a Gouda and mozzarella blend, cilantro, chicken, and bacon. Chris had no complaints about this pizza, and had no trouble clearing his plate.

The birthday girl, Adrienne went the South Pacific route with her selection, the Hawaiian Pizza. She felt this pizza was balanced perfectly. The sweetness from the pineapple, and the the saltiness of the ham, along with a crunchy outside crust, with a chewy inside portion. She could not have been more pleased with this pie, calling it, "Yummy".

The pizza parade continues with the White Pizza. This hue deficient pie contained a plethora of cheeses, (Fontina, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Parmesan, and Pecorino Romano), along with sauteed garlic spinach, and chicken substituted for bacon. Katie liked this pizza well enough, but thought that cheeses needed to be sharper.

Of course I am not one to conform to the masses, so I had to be different and shy away from the pizza, with this Jambalaya. This spicy dish came with blackened chicken, shrimp, Andouille sausage, ham, and scallions, served on top of linguini. This dish was full of flavor and really punched back. I was a little disappointed with the amount of shrimp and meats in this. Four shrimp in this bowl, a few pieces of sausage, and a few bite sized morsels of chicken was not enough to warrant the $16 price tag here.

Our experience at California Pizza Kitchen can be summed up by one word, safe. I thought everything was alright here, but they are not going to take too many chances in the kitchen, and the food is not going to blow you away. It is fine enough though. A lot better than most restaurants around Disneyland. The service on this trip was great. The restaurant was very busy, and everything seemed to be running smoothly. In the end, the birthday girl seemed to enjoy her dinner, and we enjoyed spending the night with her.

Out of five cops, (because the first CPK was located in Beverly Hills, and I liked the movie Beverly Hills Cop when I was a kid), five being best to zero being worst, California Pizza Kitchen gets 2.5 cops.

For more information on California Pizza Kitchen, click here: http://www.cpk.com/