Memories of Seattle at CPK

Tonight we indulged in a bit of west coast nostalgia by meeting at California Pizza Kitchen in the evening after I finished work. CPK was definitely a staple of our diet in Seattle, primarily because it was one of the few places where little J could be counted on to eat his dinner without reservation or complaint. In particular, he is a fan of the kids' Hawaiian pizza, going so far as to vow on many occasions his intention never to order anything but that. Despite our concerns that Canadian bacon and pineapple are not necessarily the most healthful items, at the very least we could be guaranteed that he would eat something there that would provide some minimal level of nutrition.

Despite the name, for us CPK has a strong association with Seattle. Certainly they have locations all over by now, but our first dining experience there was in Seattle, and after frequenting it there so often while we lived there it's natural to think of it as a culinary welcome center where we can stop by and remember familiar times.

Unfortunately, this particular evening the kids' Hawaiian they brought to the table was made with pepperoni rather than Canadian bacon, and CPK Hawaiian connoisseur that he is, there was no way little J was going to let that slide. The waitress admitted that it had been made incorrectly and graciously offered to bring out a new one (which J was happy to take her up on despite the additional wait), but it was a blemish on what would otherwise have been a happy reunion.

While I have tried many of their menu items over the past few years, of late I have fallen into a bit of a rut with my favorite California Club pizza. I like the fact that it's both a pizza and a salad, combining starter and main course into one. In a way I suppose I am just following J's lead since I have ordered nothing but this particular pizza on all or visits there going back at least a year (I'm embarrassed to say home many trips we have made to CPK during that time).