I stumbled into the
California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) on account of it being the closest reputable-looking restaurant within a 15-minute walk of the
L.A. Convention Center. Being a Midwestern girl, I had never heard of the restaurant before, but I’ve since learned that it is a large, primarily Western-based franchise. I’ve since spotted one in
Las Vegas and New York.
I went to this particular location with a large group of convention student volunteers, so of course we split lots of different pizzas. CPK offers more than 25 unique topping combos, so making a group decision on something everyone would eat was a timely undertaking. In the end, I believe we settled on BBQ Chicken, Santa Fe Chicken, Five-Cheese & Fresh Tomato, and Hawaiian pizzas. I didn’t try all of them, but as a group, everyone liked the ones they tried. Five-Cheese & Fresh Tomato seemed to be a big favorite, so we ended up ordering an extra one. I don’t know which five cheeses were used, but their flavors worked together very well.
Trying to describe exactly what makes a pizza so good is always difficult to pinpoint and always seems to be subject to so many personal preferences. In this case, I think what stands out the most is the sweet-tasting crust. Sugar must be a fairly unique major ingredient, because I don’t recall ever eating a pizza and thinking, "Mmmm, the crust tastes sweet."
With enough unique toppings to please any palate, the typical factors by which people judge pizzas become more irrelevant. For those who just need to know anyway, the amount of sauce seemed to vary with the type of pizza we ordered, and the crust was fairly thin, with a more bread-like chewiness than crispiness. My all-time favorite pizza style is a deep-dish Pizzeria Uno's pizza, but overall, the sweet crust and variety of options at CPK puts it on my list of top pizza joints in the country.
CPK’s appetizers consist mostly of different toppings on focaccia bread (essentially, it's a pizza). Options for main dishes are pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, soups, and salads. Desserts such as tiramisu, chocolate soufflé cake, and cheesecake are also served. Unexpectedly, this pizza joint also serves cocktails, beer, and wine.
Luckily, California Pizza Kitchen has many locations all over town, which can be looked up on its website (above). This particular location's hours are Monday to Thursday 11am to 9:30pm, Friday 11am to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday 12 to 9pm. They offer curbside service, a special delivery service that brings your pizza to wherever you are in downtown buildings (it worked for me at the L.A. Convention Center), and patio seating.