California Pizza Kitchen

RIP CPK. You will be missed.
This was my parents’ favorite restaurant when they come to town to play tourist. No, the food was not spectacular, but it was consistently decent and inexepensive, and there were always open tables. I guess that last part was its undoing. Now we will be forced to endure the long lines at the overrated «gourmet» pizza places like Paradiso.

Hint: Buy some vowels.
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H _​T P _​C K _​T S _​R _​J _​S T _​S G _​_​D _​N D C H _​_​P _​R

When I worked Dupont, my office building was in the same building as CPK. I was a «bring your lunch to work» nerd, so I minimized eating out for lunch as often as possible. Naturally, there were always those days where I stayed out too late the night before, or didn’t go grocery shopping where I would need to splurge on lunch.
Good thing CPK was right below me. This was especially useful during painful, but cute high heel days, winter months, rainy days, or last minute meetings that went long into the lunch hour.
Just about everything I’ve had at CPK over the years has been pretty tasty. My favorite pizza is the BLT, which has pieces of smoked bacon and sliced tomato baked into the cheese (no sauce) and topped with avocados and lettuce tossed in a light mayo. I adore the wheat crust. It doesn’t taste «healthy»…instead it tastes a little sweet, so still acceptable for pizza.
I also love the BBQ chicken salad, however CPK gets a big «boo» for charging $ 2 bucks extra to add some diced avocados to the salad.
What’s also great about CPK is that you can order your food online (minimizes chit chat and misunderstandings) and this location also delivers. I’m always a fan of anything that can make me just THAT much more lazy.

My favorite dish at CPK has always been the Chicken Tequila, and it’s pretty much the same at any CPK. CPK always has OK/​good food, depending on personal preference etc. but I don’t think their desserts get enough praise as they should!
I’ve come to this CPK several times to just sit down with friends and order dessert. Nope, they were never rude about it (come on, it’s the East Coast!). All of their desserts are good, but the brownie is my favorite.
Brownie: I like rich, thick brownies and their brownies are always both. They are rich and thick so it is hard to finish the entire order — it’s just that heavy in your stomach! Yum! They also put a scoop of Häagen-​Dazs ice cream on top (IMO, a match made in heaven)… so the brownie ever so slowly melts the ice cream, which of course is deliciously creamy because it’s HD. If you enjoy consuming rich chocolate as much as I do, ask them to put extra chocolate fudge/​syrup. You will definitely have food coma!
I like that this CPK doesn’t ever get too packed. There are so many other restaurants around and the restaurant itself is pretty big that wait time isn’t an issue.

I have always been a fan of CPK, and I’m glad they have expanded to the East Coast, unlike In-​N-​Out Burger.
I was craving something hearty, so I went with the Portobello Mushroom Ravioli. Life is too short to live fat-​free, so I chose the garlic-​Parmesan cream sauce over the healthier tomatoes, basil and garlic topping. I also ordered this beautiful, sunset-​colored drink called Maui Punch:
My raviolis were fat. I think there were 9 on my plate, and I was full after eating the 4^th one. The punch was refreshing and pretty to look at, but at $ 3.50 a glass, you’re better off with water.
The bf’s Chicken Milanese could have been better. The lightly-​breaded chicken was unexciting… that is, if you could even find it under the one pound of arugula that they served on top. It must have been the premium kind of arugula, too, because that plate cost $ 14.49.

I got the Rosemary Chicken on cheesy garlic foccaccia and it was delish.
Comes with a choice of side and I got the chicken Caesar salad. A little goopy but not bad. We also got the hummus as an app, soooo tasty, a little on the spicy side.
Our waiter was a little creepy though, he lurked an awful lot and walked backwards from our table staring at us and being overly accommodating. I guess it was good service but still weird.
Overall, good times!

CPK ended up being our fall back option after other brunch places were packed and our tummies were growling!
Nothing too unique about this particular CPK. I ordered the BLT pizza, like I usually do… unfortunately, they were out of honey wheat dough, but I still enjoyed the food.
Service was a little slow and when we were attended to, there was often a language barrier issue, but the waiter was always friendly and willing to help.

We had grand plans of going to Tabard Inn for Sunday morning brunch. But we aren’t very smart people as those plans included arriving without reservations. After being turned away by a 45+ minute wait at Tabard, and finding similar waits at every other brunchy place in the area we were getting pretty desperate. That’s when we saw CPK, with dozens and dozens of empty tables.
There isn’t too much to say about our visit, the food was standard CPK fare. Oh, I did try their new asparagus soup. It’s creamless so it’s less of a soup and more of a purée. It was interesting at first but there’s no way I could eat a whole bowl of the stuff. The only big difference I noticed between this location and the one in Pentagon City was service. I’m not sure if it was this guy’s first day but service was so incredibly awkward. He just seemed really nervous and spoke in a barely audible voice. The guy at the front was weird too, he never said a word to us, just grabbed two menus when we walked in and walked off towards the back of the dining room.
I like CPK but I probably wouldn’t come back to this particular location unless I was wandering around Dupont and looking for someplace family friendly.

OK… I used to love CPK with all my heart. But one day, after Christmas, I had my usual Carne Asada Pizza. Three days later, on the 29^th, I was admitted to the hospital. What for, you say? COLITIS! That’s an infected colon! While the cause and effect seems pretty unclear, I think there was something in that pizza (read: a bad case of food poisoning). I did notice that the pizza tasted kind of funny that evening… that should have been my first sign! Anyway, after THAT incident I am NEVER going to CPK again. So long, suckers!
Moral of the story: Watch what you eat! If it tastes funny, DON’T EAT IT!

I’m not a pizza-​eater but this place had heat and my friends and I were walking back from Inauguration, hungry and freezing.
We thought it would be a long wait, but a table for 6 only took about 30 minutes. Our server was super attentive and the food came out ultra fast. I ordered the hummus appetizer, and it was so-​so. I liked the warm, soft pizza pita bread, and the tomatoes on the hummus, but it was a bit spicy for my tastes.
Good regular old place for something tried and true, but not a great standout for Dupont Circle.

SETTING:
Friday night, cold, con amigo
DECOR:
— Loud-​ish, chain-​dull, trying with painting, but just not working.
— Clean, including restrooms.
STAFF:
Very helpful and patient (other than the host who oddly though I would want the retard-​deuce instead of a booth– my guest was parking his car at the time.) Funny that «Victor from Mexico» was being played by David from Madrid. (Most waiters forget the lemon request for water so I’ll let that slide this time too.)
CUISINE:
— I should have known better than to order the $ 6+ Asparagus soup bowl. Yeah. Me dumb-​dumb. Consistency of apple sauce. Decidenly green color. No real charm. Added salt. Still didn’t work. Dipped pita bread in it. Still didn’t work.
— Hummus: A bit watery with an odd hot spice to it and topped with diced pale tomatoes. What happened to garlic and lemon and olive oil being the other main ingredients?
— Amigo’s Thai chicken pizza was okay, but much better when paired with a side of their Thai dipping sauce normally used for the spring rolls.
RESULT:
Worthy of: Hmmm. Hard to say as there are better options nearby (Daily Grill) but family and casual are welcome here and the service can be nicely personable.

I normally don’t go to big national chain pizza places, but CPK is now an exception. I have had a CPK gift card in my purse since July but just never made my way over to a CPK.
Yesterday, I found myself in the Dupont area for a work conference. Lunch was offered at the conference, but they were mostly sandwiches in a box… with a bag of chips and a soda. Kinda meh. So instead of settling for the freebie lunch, I wandered the M st, N st, connecticut area and remembered there was a CPK in the area (and the gift card just happened to be in the purse I was using that day!). So I got there around noon and the place wasn’t crowded yet. I took a seat at the bar, thinking I’d look less pathetic eating by myself at the bar vs. eating by myself at a table. [I still don’t like going to restaurants or movies solo…]
I chatted with the people behind the bar, asking for recommendations and eventually ordered a caribbean jerk chicken pizza and a strawberry lemonade. Everything was delicious! Whatever the jerk sauce they used was a good ratio of sweet and spicy and it was fresh fresh fresh out of the oven, as the first bite was super hot. I couldn’t finish the whole pizza, but I did some good damage to it.
As I was leaving, the place had gotten packed in the 45 minutes I was there. Good thing, I got there earlier than the rush!
As I returned to the conference, I was slightly food comatosed, but completely satisfied with my decision of skipping the boxed lunch and venturing out =)

I know it’s de rigueur to scoff at chain restaurants, but any place that figured out how to put bacon and mayonnaise on a pizza (namely the BLT pizza) is AOK by me!
For years, I stuck to traditional, pizza-​flavored pizza. There’s no way in hell you were gonna get me to start experimenting with pizza. That’s the kind of stuff they do in, well, California. Where a botox-​injected Ron Jeremy broods over his wine empire, trying to determine if his daughter, Britney Spears, is planning on selling her controlling interest to a young, upstart Arnold Schwarzenegger.
At any rate, whenever I go here, I’m usually stuck trying to figure out what to get because I can never make up my mind: most of the pizzas here are quite good. BLT pizzas, California club pizzas (with avocado), Santa Fe chicken, along with other, more traditional Neapolitan-​style pizzas. None of the ones I’ve had are overly-​filling (i.e., you’re not totally useless when you get back to the office), and have always been reasonably priced.
I’ve never had a problem with service, and they get you in and out quickly at lunchtime. And while I definitely wouldn’t call this a date restaurant or a place you’d take out-​of-​towners (let’s face it, you’re by Dupont Circle. Experiment a bit!), it’s a decent enough place to do some catching-​up with your friends or take an extended lunch at work.
Special bonus. I’ve created the first-​ever Jason C.‘s Guide to Evil, Soulless Chain Restaurant Hate! Pick one entry from its respective column when prompted, and insert them in your review accordingly. I even made a starter template:
«Ugh! I can’t believe all you (insert one from Row A) can even stand this place. (Insert corresponding choice from Row B).If you (insert one from Row C) want *real* (insert cuisine of your choice here), you simply *must* go to (insert one from Row D), a little out-​of-​the-​way place (insert one from Row E).»
A: sheep/​cattle/​lemmings/​robots
B: baa!/moo!/what sound does a lemming make?/beep beep beep!
C: peasants/​peons/​plebes/​bourgeois scum
D: Dinner @ Jeph’s/The Oaken Lark/​Le Passions du Gastique/​Fusions: a John Johnson Gastrovinopub Experience!
E: in Marin County/​on ‘unnerd n’ twennytird street, best in the fukkin’ city!/off of scenic Route 3 in Vermont/​nestled off a cozy overlook in Colorado, right by the slopes.

I don’t care if it’s a chain, it’s delicious. I love the white pizza, and the salads are all great, particularly the Waldorf and Chinese Chicken.
The chocolate cake is pretty good, and the sundaes are large and have fresh hot fudge, too.
I’ve always had good, fast, friendly service when I went.

Yes, it’s a chain restaurant. No, you can’t get a crappy, greasy pepperoni pizza.
CPK is your typical chain restaurant in that the toppings for each pizza is probably premixed in some bag and frozen until someone orders it. But, it’s still pretty good for a chain restaurant.
The pizza varieties and combinations are creative and seemingly endless. They are especially good at mixing in Asian-​inspired flavors and they are prodigious users of avocado, so I can’t complain.
The pasta dishes are also quite good and quite large. Expect to get a couple of meals out of a pasta dish if you have a human-​sized stomach.
The waitstaff are friendly, and are generally from all over the world (check out their home towns on their name tags).
It’s too bad their sandwich options are so limited (only 3 choices) because I think the foccaccia bread they use is heavenly.
CPK is a good alternative to a DC power lunch spot, and is fast enough to get you in and out in under an hour.
TIP: They have a special take out counter so it’s easy to call in ahead of time or order there and they’ll have you out of there in a jiffy if you’ve got a meeting in 10 minutes and no time to eat.

CPK is one of the best gourmet pizza chains around, period. The sheer variety of items means that there’s something for everyone, and the soup and appetizers are always great. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they serve Pepsi products as well.
My fiancée and I always make an effort to come down to Dupont at least once a month to partake in the CPK goodness, and we are almost never disappointed. The only downside is that during peak lunch and dinner hours it’s tough to get a seat, and service slows down during those times as well. However, that’s the price you pay for having good food!

Thought I would like the pizza, ended up loving the salad. Perhaps it should be California Salad Kitchen. OR, perhaps I should have tried the Tostada pizza Stef W. mentioned — that sounds much better than what I got!
I came here for lunch with some colleagues, and for that type of lunch group it is perfect — we had a diverse group of preferences. One fellow got the grilled salmon, which looked lovely. Another got the grilled vegetable salad, which looked even lovelier. I got a half Caesar salad, and a small pizza to share with everyone — since we had a vegetarian on board, we went with the five cheese and tomato pizza.
My Caesar salad was great — crisp romaine lettuce, real Parmesan shavings, and a tangy anchovy-​scented dressing. That was a real winner for me.
The pizza, not so much. The dough was very sweet, almost like a pastry dough. The texture of the dough was very light, again like a pastry dough. The five cheese topping congealed quickly into a sealed plastic coating. Unfortunately this pizza didn’t come with a tomato sauce, so I can’t tell you how that was, nor did we get the benefit of a good sauce to offset the sweet dough and congealed cheese. Oh well.
The interior was nice and open, and the service was friendly. No giant lines, and the volume inside was quite reasonable for lunchtime. Again, good reasons to come here with a group for lunch.
If I come back, I will try the pizza one more time — just to get that tostada thing.

I really really like this place. It’s clean and they have an extensive menu.
The pizza’s are yummy– the thai chicken, bbq chicken, the tomato/​basil/​cheese, the sausage & meatball to name a few. The pastas are delicious– the jambalaya, the chicken fetti., spaghetti bolognese, penne with sausage to name some. The salads are so good– the waldorf, the ceasar, the pear & walnut. The appetizers– the spring rolls! As for the drinks– get the strawberry lemonade! Unfortunately, this location doesn’t put in real chunks of strawberries like other places.
Be prepared to be left alone. the servers cover alot of ground, meaning there’s about 3 servers for the entire restaurant. They also don’t bring out your food until everyone’s dish is ready. But they refill drinks without you asking!

The only time I ate here, there was a piece of metal in my pizza. It looked like it came from an oven rack. The manager was pretty nice and apologetic about it, but that could have chipped someone’s tooth! We specifically had to ask them to take it off our bill, because they didn’t offer; they only offered to give us a new pizza, but we were almost done at that point. They didn’t handle it too badly, but I still won’t eat here again if I can avoid it.
The pizza itself was pretty good, and if it hadn’t been for the metal combined with just OK service, I wouldn’t hesitate to go again.

After one strong mango martini at Russia House, I met my favorite Washingtonian and we started down Connecticut Avenue with some vague idea of dinner in mind (well, my mind anyway.) Eventually we chose California Pizza Kitchen. As we tucked into some Tuscan hummus (you may be thinking, «Hummus at CPK? But seriously, try it) I heard a familiar song float down from above:
Hey baby
You gotta remember
I’m forever your girl.. .
This was especially funny to me because I recently ended up on some strange Paula Abdul kick in a windowless room on the other side of the country. I even tried to get someone to sing it to me on karaōke at my engagement party but sadly, it wasn’t available. *insert sad face*
I gotta say, someone at CPK has really done their research, music-​wise. Shortly after our entrees arrived more familiar music was cued up:
We were as one
For a moment in time
And it seemed everlasting
That you would always be mine
Now you want to be here
So I’ll let you fly
’Cause I know in my heart
Our love will never die
I mean, seriously, Mariah Carey’s «Always Be My Baby» and what is arguably Paula Abdul’s best song ever played within the space of a single meal? Must have been my lucky night! (I’d mention the N’SYNC but I wouldn’t want you to think I’m braggin’ or something.. .)
A lot of the food at CPK is forgettable, but the Tuscan hummus, served with warm pizza/​pita bread is so worth a try. And the music, so bad it’s good!