California Pizza Kitchen050

California Pizza Kitchen is a national chain that serves gourmet-ish pizza, pasta, and salads. Children are handed boxes of crayons and activity menus as they walk in the door - always appreciated! - and the restaurant is an easy, comfortable place for a fairly quick, fairly inexpensive . . . fairly good meal. A wide variety of pizzas and pastas pepper the "grown-up" menu (go ahead - say it ten times fast), some influenced by gentrified versions of ethnic and regional cuisines - Hawaiian pizza, Southwestern chicken pizza, Thai chicken pizza, etc. - and it's the same with the pastas. The traditional Italian choices are available as well, of course. We recommend the key lime pie for dessert. The restaurant's justifiably proud of it. Kids meals include a choice of pasta (with or without sauce), macaroni and cheese, or pizza, plus a drink, bread, and - for a small additional charge - a hot fudge sundae or a brownie with whipped cream. Kids ages 10 and under who sign up for the restaurant's Kids Club get a coupon for a free meal during their birthday month. The service is fast, friendly, and accommodating. Booths are available at most locations, with plenty of boosters and high chairs at the ready. And - also always appreciated! - the bathrooms are clean. California Pizza Kitchen also offers a service called party packaging, where it will help you plan a menu, and figure out the right amount of food to order; then prepare it and package it with utensils and napkins. Call the restaurant for details.