The Platter Fest at California Pizza Kitchen

This sports season, California Pizza Kitchen has come up with a new pop-up menu 'The Platter Fest'. Enjoy the T-20 games with the 3 platters on offer and one can enjoy the same with delectable mocktails and cocktails.

There are 3 platters on offer, A veg platter, Non-veg platter and a Combo platter. Each platter has 6 different appetizers and can be shared by 2 or 3 people. I tried the Non-veg platter which had Chipotle grill chicken, Sonora chicken roll, Cilantro Baked fish, chicken nuggets, fish finger and delicious chicken basil bruschetta. The platter is served with a bowl of sasla, sour cream and chilli cheese dip.

The fish fingers were crisp and tasted well with the chilli cheese dip. Sonora chicken roll was good to taste with Salsa or chilli cheese dip. Cilantro baked fish was a salty to my taste but the taste was mellowed with sour cream. Instead of chicken nuggets, I had chicken wings on my platter which tasted delish with chilli cheese dip. Chicken Basil bruschetta and Chitpotle grill chicken became good appetizers for my mocktail.

The 3 drinks from the pop-up menu had mocktail and cocktail option which can be combined with the appetizers. I tried the mocktails - Orange Mojito which was a refreshing drink with fresh oranges, Orange juice, lemon and mint. Mango Ecstasy which was my favorite and contained fresh Watermelon Chunks, Mango Puree topped with sparkling Water. My least favorite was Electric Blue which was very sweet for my taste Fresh Malta Orange, orange juice, Ginger Ale, with a hint of Lychee topped with Blue Curacao.

For the Combo platter, chipotle grill chicken, chicken wings, Cilantro baked fish, chili cheese toast, Margherita roll and spicy garbanzo fritters was served. The veg options on the platter was impressive, I have always been a fan of chili cheese toast and Margherita rolls and they were delectable even without a dip. Spicy garbanzo fritters were spicy but dry so this had to be had with a dip.

While, I did not try the Veg platter, you can try them next which served Mediterranean roll, Mexican quesadillas, Corn Baja croquettes, Spicy garbanzo fritter, Chili cheese toast and vegetable bruschetta. So head to CPK, as it is fondly called, and enjoy the platter before you enjoy their pizza's and pasta's for main course and not to forget their lip-smacking desserts. The option is limited for platter but then they have some platters on their regular menu too. Have the platter when served hot as you would not enjoy the appetizer when it has turned cold.

You can enjoy The Platter Fest from 7th March to 31st March 2016 at your nearest California Pizza Kitchen while you watch some amazing T-20 games.

Pizza trails at California Pizza Kitchen

The world is on your plate again at California Pizza Kitchen, fondly known as CPK. Pizza trails is back with 10 different pizzas from different countries for a month long festival. I was honoured to cover this festival again at CPK, Indiranagar outlet which is my favourite outlet too.

After a hectic day, all I need is good food to unwind. Stepping in for dinner, I started my evening Kiwi Mojito which had fresh Kiwi’s, lime and mint. The cocktail version of this had Bacardi which was enjoyed by others. For a refreshing drink, I preferred Kiwi Mojito. I also tried Blue Horizon and Melon Duo. Melon duo had watermelon and musk melon mixed but musk melon overpowered the taste and I did not like the mix. Blue Horizon was another refreshing drink with a blend of crushed lychee, orange juice and lemons with a splash of ginger ale and blue curacao.

Tried all the 4 starters from the festival menu. Starting with Charmula fried fish which were Charmula marinated fish fingers served with lime cream sauce. I enjoy fish fingers a lot. For veggies, they have an option of Harissa fried cottage cheese which was served with ranchito dip. The name clearly says that it is Harissa marination. I preferred fish over cottage cheese.

Next was Lebanese grill chicken, which was grill chicken in a Lebanese style chili marination. This should be had with ranchito dip. I expected this to be spicy but it wasn’t. Mexican veg wrap was last appetizer served which was my favorite. A Mexican inspired wrap with fajita spiced vegetable served with their homemade green chili sauce. The taste of the wrap was superb and the green chili sauce added to the spice.

It was time for pizza’s to flow in. It was a tough decision to choose few pizza’s out of the 10 available pizza’s, but left the choices to the manager whose recommendations always work for me. Started with Romesco Pizza which had Romesco sauce on crispy thin crust dough topped with roasted peppers, zucchini, green olives, cherry tomatoes garnished with chopped parsley. I have had Romesco pizza earlier which was my favorite during my last visit and this was a different version to it with more ingredients, nevertheless I still liked it.

Non veg pizza had to be next so it was Zesty meat ball pizza which had zesty chicken meat balls on a crispy thin crust with spicy marinara sauce, basil, jalapenos and cherry tomatoes. This was pleasantly different but not spicy as I had expected.

Peri peri pizza was next which is highly recommended. A traditional crust which has a South African twist with mushroom peri peri sauce topped with bell peppers, black olives and cottage cheese finished with cilantro. After a dose of jalapenos and cherry tomatoes in earlier 2 pizzas, this was refreshing with different spices and surely became my favorite for night. Actually every pizza is different and has a distinguish taste, but Peri peri pizza was a delightful change from the pizza’s served during the night.

The last one was Verdure pizza, I was very hesitant to try this one as it was topped with arugula leaves, olive oil and parmesan cheese with some exotic vegetables on homemade pizza sauce. As you know arugula leaves are bitter and I did not want to try it after an awesome peri peri pizza. But to my surprise, I liked it as the entire bite of the pizza actually balanced the taste and it was truly different.
The veg pizza’s at CPK have always been different and always been my favorite so non-veggies, do not skip tasting the veg pizza’s here :)

Time for desserts, which one shouldn’t ever miss at CPK. The festival menu had 3 desserts at offer. First was Banoffee bombe which was the best dessert of the night. One shouldn’t miss it and I hope they get this on the main menu as it is irresistible.

Some more presentation on the banoffee bombe could just add to the delight.

Second was Epiphany, a moist cake with californium almonds, topped with dates and whipped cream and chocolate fudge sauce. This did not live up to the expectation, it basically did not have any taste, till the last bite I was figuring if the entire cake had any taste or not.

Last was Enigma, which had multi layers of mascarpone cream, sour cherries, silk dark chocolate mousse and crispy granola served in a jar. This dessert was sweet and the sour cherries and crispy granola in between broke the monotony of sweetness. It was a refreshingly different dessert.

So enjoy the pizza trails and many other appetizer, dessert, cocktail and mocktail to offer on ‘The world on your plate’ menu from 15th October 2015 to 15th November 2015. Do let me know if you find any other pizza interesting which I should try :)

Pizza's starting from Rs. 245 at California Pizza Kitchen

I have been to California Pizza Kitchen (CPK, as it is fondly called) many times. Sometimes to celebrate International Pizza and Beer carnival, a regular at celebrating Mexifornia or simply when few new pizza's are introduced. I have never been disappointed at CPK, during every visit some dish touches my heart and becomes my favorite. The pizza's start from Rs. 245+, comparatively to the notion of CPK being expensive. Read on to know what I tried during this visit and what became my favorite.

For some mocktails, I had Mango mint ecstasy which had mango juice, mint, lemon topped with soda is my usual favorite. Mango tango which has Mango juice, orange juice, passion fruit syrup and lime juice was also enjoyed. I did not Aloha much which had apple juice, lime juice and strawberry juice. Make sure you have chilled mocktails eor else you may not enjoy them. These 3 mocktails are priced at Rs. 210

As it was raining, I wanted to try their Chicken wild rice chowder, it is their secret recipe of shredded chicken, roasted peppers, corn, wild grain rice in a cream base and other spices, its more than soup, its a chowder. Do not expect hot soup, here the soup is warm but tasty. This is priced at Rs. 155

For appetizers, I have usually had full portions of a particular dish, this time I made an exemption and tried the Non veg combo platter which had Spicy chicken supreme, Crispy fried sonora and Barbeque wonton rolls and Hummus with pizza pita bread. This could be enjoyed with one veggie friend who could eat the pita bread ;) Spicy chicken supreme is my usual favorite. The platter is priced at Rs. 645

I couldn't resist but have Lettuce wrap with chicken, it has wok seared shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, carrots and green onions tossed in soy ginger sauce along with chicken. It is served with spicy ginger sauce and iceberg lettuce cups. The lettuce cups are always fresh. This is priced at Rs. 525 and is my usual favorite.

Time to try the pizza's. As the pizza's are starting from Rs. 245, I had to try the Traditional Cheese pizza, traditional crust with home made pizza sauce, fresh basil and lots of cheese. Simple and yummy, especially the hint of basil.

Next was Roma Basilico, traditional crust topped with home made pizza sauce, fresh basil, red onions and sliced roma tomatoes, keeping it simple yet exquisite. This was my most favorite pizza of the evening.

Roasted Mushroom & Pepper, another new addition pizza which has a traditional crust topped with Spicy Baja sauce, mozzarella cheese, red onions, roasted mushroom & bell peppers, I chose this with chicken. But as I am not a mushroom fan, I did not enjoy this pizza. 

Florentine was served next, a thin crust pizza with a mushroom pesto spread with melting mozzarella cheese complementing the fine taste of fresh garden spinach, cherry tomatoes and garlic. Spoilt for thin crust, I like this pizza.

Garden Veg was the last pizza for the night. It had Garden greens, spinach, green peppers, Anaheim chillies & mozzarella cheese on a thin crust, as per my request with freshly made green chilli sauce. I felt like Popeye while having this, just greens.

I have always enjoyed the veg pizza's at CPK more than non veg. Time for desserts, Tiramisu, 3 hours preparation time which gets wiped out in 3 minutes. Sticky toffee pudding, my most favorite dessert was enjoyed again. 

American butter cake was a new dessert which I tried, rich american style butter cake combined with delicious Philadelphia cheese topping, served warm with vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce. I liked this dessert too. 

Red velvet cake was also had but I enjoyed the other desserts more. I never noticed their home made ice creams, so I gave Roasted hazelnut scoop a try which was good. The desserts at CPK have always been good and filling. They are priced between Rs. 225 - 405. I enjoyed my meal and the experience of dining was great.

Offering a whole new culinary trip, California Pizza Kitchen has created a teaser video: http://on.fb.me/1HGfbE1 which can help you win an exciting surprise at the restaurant. Replicate the action denoting 2,4,5 as seen in the video on your visit to the nearest California Pizza Kitchen and you stand a chance to avail a surprise.