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.
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