Hollywood at CPK [California Pizza Kitchen] till 16th March

California Pizza Kitchen is a place I associate with good interesting pizzas and have enjoyed myself the few times I have been there. The very first was with a friend a day after they had opened the outlet. Just the walk to the restaurant in open air is refreshing and puts me in a good mood. So, when I received an invite to get a taste of their Hollywood at CPK I was curious. I knew Hollywood is in California, but throwing caution to wind went over with a few friends. 

The menu was a one pager, looked interesting but on first glance I was slightly put off. Why? Because in total there were 4 veg dishes while non veg were more than double that. I don't get it, why do restaurants not pay importance to vegetarians or is coming up/cooking veg dishes that tough? Ok Ok, let me not digress. 

The first few dishes to arrive were the pizzas- 5 of them in total, 4 non veg and 1 veg. See what am talking about!?! [you can also check more pics via my twitter feed.. Simply look for "#hollywoodatcpk#]

 All the non veg dishes.. Pizzas, chicken and the Mango drink 

The veg dishes-The Malfati, Spaghetti, Pizza & Pineapple Twister

The non veg pizzas were -

Hawaian chicken & grilled pineapple pizza                          

(say aloha, grilled pineapple and garlic chicken with homemade pizza sauce on a Traditional crust)

Jamaican jerk & chicken pizza  

(you will love this jerk. Spicy sweet caribbean sauce, authentic jamaican spices, garlic Chicken, roasted peppers and red onions on our regular crust)

*Add smoked bacon 

Deli style bistro pizza                                                                   

(our pesto marinara makes this pizza iconic. Italian sausages, capicola ham and Canadian bacon, finished with lemon herbed rocket leaves and bocconcini comes on a Crisp thin crust)

Spicy sonora pizza                                                                                          

(some like it hot, we like it hotter. Our housemade roasted corn & blackbean salsa and Spicy smoked chicken with cilantro and lime cream sauce hits well on a traditional

Crust) 

The one veg pizza we dug into was

Rustica pizza                                                                                                    

(a cpk version of italian classic, grilled zucchini, saute white mushrooms, green olives And capers spread on a thin and crispy crust)

*Add garlic chicken   [yes this has a nonveg version too]

A special mention to this pizza- it was the only thin crust pizza on the menu.  Now, I don’t know about Hollywood and connected flavours, but this was good, I quite liked it. It was nearly bland, void of the Italian herbs which is what made it different.  Few sprinkled red chilli flakes to add some zing to the pizza.

Moving on, we ordered drinks, I chose the Pineapple twister, while few others chose the Mango mint ecstasy…. I enjoyed the drink, filled with strong pineapple, lime and mint flavours [even though it arrived after what seemed like ages].  It also had a nice big pineapple piece on top.

The next round was for the Pastas [I wondered if pasta too had become a staple in USA, but then with influx of people from all over the world I just convinced myself that the country was a Melting pot of sorts]. The first to arrive [once again] was the non veg  pasta- it was  the Spaghetti carretierra  (an italian classic with a california twist, with hot red chilies, rocket, bocconcini and Freshly crushed pepper in a tangy creamy sauce) . The mozerella cheese and rocket leaves were fresh and lovely [I stole them from the pasta]. The guys loved the pasta that had been cooked in chicken broth.  

What came next was a bit of a surprise to most of us. It was the vegetarian Pasta- Mediterranean roasted mushroom spaghettini (a fiery blend of roasted mushrooms, garlic, onions, serrano chilies , mediterranean Herbs and spaghettini tossed in extra virgin olive oil) - the pasta was dry [could have used a drizzle of olive oil or some creamy sauce] and was quite void of any flavour. A pinch of salt made a world of difference.

I am sure you are seeing a pattern here, yes, the next dish that came was also a non veg one.  The non veg were in for a treat. They were served the Speciality dish, which was California Peri Peri Chicken [Peri Peri from Portugal landed in California as well?] California peri peri chicken (boneless chicken grilled with our housemade california periperi marinade and baked in Our creamy sauce). The boys couldn’t stop eating it, or raving about it. Infact some went on to request for another portion of the same thing and polished that off as well.  It came with a nice big side of grilled veggies which I happily dug into.

We were happy to see another dish arrive on the table with the veg tag on it. It was the yummiest dish of the evening, I loved it and so did everyone else. It was Spinach and Paneer Malfati with Milan sauce [gnocchi] served with a side helping of chargrilled corn and greens.

And then came the dessert - California Delight (a trio of white chocolate, strawberry and dark chocolate mousse with cranberries And almond praline)- chocolate lovers are in for a treat with this one. It also had a side of Cinnamon sprinkled pita bread [naan]…  

The festival is on till the 16^th! So if you are a meat eater and haven’t tried CPK yet, this would be a good time to visit.

The pizzas come in two sizes- 9” and 14” and the cost for a meal for two should work to around Rs 1000-2000 [depends on what you order]

Overall Verdict- I love CPK and so shall definitely go back there~!!

You can read about my earlier visit here 

Address:

California Pizza Kitchen

Phoenix Market City, Velachery

Chennai 

Ph- 044 65108888

Disclaimer:

The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember that restaurants and eat outs sometimes change with time, so does their food and service. So, kindly consider these factors while visiting the places. Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit  :-)