376503 Thu Mar 01 21:54:39 -0800 2007 33 32 Chains 0 2344170 Looks like a bit of suburbia coming to downtown San Francisco with the imminent opening of a California Pizza Kitchen (at 3rd and Jessie, in the old International Food Court Space). Anything of distinction on this chain operation's menu? The CPK in Shanghai puts out some weird-lookng pizzas, but that might be just some local peculiarities. Thu Mar 01 21:54:39 -0800 2007 10255 Gary Soup 1 2344318 pizza will come down to preference, but i've always enjoyed their appetizers and salads for the most part.... Thu Mar 01 23:52:31 -0800 2007 2344170 42707 brekkie_fan 1 2344379 Tricolore Salad (crust w/ or w/o the salad... you can add the crust to any salad) BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad (light on dressing, no tortilla strips) Margherita Pizza Key Lime Pie Tiramisu Fri Mar 02 02:03:58 -0800 2007 2344170 15572 Emme 1 2345151 Pretty much all the salads are really good! My faves are: tricolore salad (salad on top of crispy flatbread) grilled vegetable salad (with or without grilled chicken) thai crunch salad As for the pizza, my favorites are: Wild mushroom Pizza with grilled Chicken Milan (thin crust) Sweet and Spicy Italian Sausage White Pizza (sans the bacon) Fri Mar 02 08:59:49 -0800 2007 2344170 50537 NiKoLe1625 1 2348058 There has been a CPK on Geary in the Theater District off Union Square for quite some years. There is a newer one for at least a year, maybe 2 on Van Ness near Opera Plaza. Sat Mar 03 01:40:10 -0800 2007 2344170 39764 coconutz 2 2348358 Well, you are at least partly right. According to the CPK website, there's ONE in San Francisco, at 524 Van Ness. Shows you what I know. According to CPK's locations map, the Van Ness branch is in Northern California, and the new 3rd & Jessie branch is in Southern California. I guess we can finally place the dividing line between Northern and Southern California at Market St. Sounds good to me! Sat Mar 03 07:19:27 -0800 2007 2348058 10255 Gary Soup 3 2349598 Is the one on Geary gone? It was a good place to take a little kid after a play. (Though my son burst into tears when his pumpkin pie turned out to be pumpkin cheesecake.) Sat Mar 03 16:06:34 -0800 2007 2348358 11231 Glencora 1 2348070 Not the place for good pizza! A couple of nights ago, I thought I would try it again. A new creation called Greek pizza had to be one of the worst, that I ever had. The crust was dry, tough, and over baked, while the chicken was hard to find. But there was a lot of chopped cucumber and onions piled on it. Rather tasteless also. When I spoke to the Manager about the severe lack of chicken by showing him the TINY TINY cube on one slice and the two TINY TINY cubes on another slice, I was assured, that it was premeasured. So I asked how much chicken does that come to. After consulting the Manual he came back to tell me, that it amounted to 2.7 ounces! Isn't that less then a sixth of a pound? Or a timbalful before baking. When it was served the chicken pieces were merely very small specklike dry cubes! So overall, it was a lousy meal with a lot of marketing. When I mentioned to the waitress, that she did't ask if I wanted whole wheat crust, she casually said, that she didn't have to ask! For the $11.29 + tax and tip, a couple of frozen pizzas taste better and are a better deal with visible chicken on it. :( Sat Mar 03 02:07:31 -0800 2007 2344170 60280 nutrition 2 2348878 i tend to stray away from any of their funky innovative pizzas, although the greek does sound like it would be intriguing. I tried the thai chicken pizza on a whim not too long ago and hated it. I prefer their pizzas that are a bit more classic! To be honest, im a little afraid to try the tandoori chicken pizza! Sat Mar 03 11:03:32 -0800 2007 2348070 50537 NiKoLe1625 1 2348077 I generally stay away from chains but CPK is an exception to the rule. Somehow, I just can't get enough of their Chinese Chicken Salad. Sat Mar 03 02:52:15 -0800 2007 2344170 79438 renaissance 1 2348124 I've gone to the one in Tyson's Corner Mall in McLean Virginia. The food was great, I had a pasta once with mushrooms and some kind of goat cheese pizza another time. Generous wine glasses as well. I liked it. Sat Mar 03 04:14:26 -0800 2007 2344170 78519 sianyoga 1 2348249 Try the Thai Curry Noodles.......they are cooked al dente and have a delicious green curry sauce...w/ crisp vegetables...you can add chicken or shrimp. Sat Mar 03 06:03:41 -0800 2007 2344170 16764 ciaogal 1 2348943 Not a bad chain. I actually like the weird toppings. A good choice would be to get one funky one and one traditional and split between 2-4 people. Sat Mar 03 11:35:56 -0800 2007 2344170 76025 mojoeater 1 2348993 Last time I went I had the Steakhouse chopped salad and it was great. First time I went we got the Sweet and Spicy Italian Sausage pizza and it was good too. I have only been there twice but enjoyed it both times. Sat Mar 03 11:53:55 -0800 2007 2344170 52987 LARaven 1 2349509 Agree that the salads are relably good, as well as the soups. Sat Mar 03 15:27:13 -0800 2007 2344170 17012 Enfielder 1 2349620 Okay, it's not my first choice restaurant but if my friends want to go, I will go with them for some drinks and pizza. I did not like a lot of their pizzas but there are a couple things I will go back to are BLT pizza and the goat cheese/sausage pizza. Just because you don't see it everywhere. Did not care at all for any of their pastas nor appetizers. Mr. Fatty Sat Mar 03 16:13:43 -0800 2007 2344170 58044 eezerik 1 2350037 Worked there for about six months during college just to experience restaurant life. Learned some secrets... There is a secret vegetable plate, to which you can add a blackened chicken breast (blackening seasoning available due to the Jamaican Jerk Pizza--better w/o the bacon)... You can add blackened chicken to anything actually. The best chicken of the salads is that that comes w/ the Oriental Chicken Salad... less gristle. You can order this chicken as a sub for any chicken in another salad. Unless you like your salads drowning, get easy dressing or on the side. The spinach-artichoke appetizer can be served w/ pita instead... much better choice. They'll toast the bread, and it's much better. You can sub veggies for pasta in any pasta dish. Any salad can be served on the tricolore crust. You can double up on turkey or salami on the chopped salad, if you cancel one... i.e. no salami, double turkey, no extra charge. Portabello ravioli can be made w/ pink sauce, not just red or white. Any pizza can be made w/ extra thin crust, neopolitan style. That tandoori pizza... yeah, the chicken is flourescent pink... do with it what you will. The "new" pastas generally aren't new; they're old dishes w/ mushrooms added, or onions taken out, or etc. The pastas do not last over night; the sauces separate, esp. the cream based ones, and it's quite icky the next day. The kids' mac'n'cheese... very tasty. The brownies (kids menu for 1.19) are really really good w/ or w/o vanilla ice cream. Sat Mar 03 19:31:42 -0800 2007 2344170 15572 Emme 2 2359790 Whoa Emme, that is awesome. Is it like In & Out where they have secret names or titles? Or do you just tell exactly what they want? Tue Mar 06 17:39:42 -0800 2007 2350037 25040 camarokyle 3 2360393 Just tell 'em... but be specific... if they don't enter your modifications properly into the computer, it can go awry... For example, if you ordered extra sauce for the mac'n'cheese w/ one of our chefs, you needed to clarify extra *cheese* sauce, or you got more bechamel and less cheesiness. The other stuff though above are all easy mods. Tue Mar 06 21:26:03 -0800 2007 2359790 15572 Emme 1 2350128 Their best dish is Portobello Mushroom Ravioli in cream sauce! Better than at most Italian restaurants. Tricolore Salad Pizza (it's a pizza rather than a salad) is also fantastic. We also love Tuscan Hummus. It's not authentic Arabic or Greek hummus, but it's damn good! (I'm a hummus maniac.) These three dishes are all we order every time we go there whether in CA, Dallas or FL. Sat Mar 03 20:13:32 -0800 2007 2344170 51639 kuidaore 1 2351648 Been to CPK's from Honolulu to Baltimore to here in South Tampa and a lot of places inbetween... I also like the Portobello Mushroom Ravioli too-but with the red sauce (not a cream sauce fan.) Love the hummus. The split pea soup and the tortilla soup are also both really good! Sun Mar 04 13:46:08 -0800 2007 2344170 74203 HeatherFL 2 2565655 I have to agree with the Hummus rec. It is soo good. Not authentic, but a great midday shopping snack nonetheless. I was not impressed with their pizzas, but I have only tried two varieties and have yet to try a salad so I can't say for sure if I love CPK or not. Sun May 13 05:25:45 -0700 2007 2351648 82243 ArikaDawn 1 2356721 Most interesting, that the preferred dishes ordered are everything but the pizzas! Tue Mar 06 00:54:19 -0800 2007 2344170 60280 nutrition 1 2356884 They took the Peking Duck Pizza off the menu.....it was my favorite! It gave me the impetus to try something new........ Love the noodle dishes and salads! Tue Mar 06 05:27:04 -0800 2007 2344170 16764 ciaogal 1 2359724 I do like the Rosemary Potato pizza, but I haven't had it in years because I can't resist the Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad. I love the extra jicama crunch. We usually order takeout, so the dressing comes on the side. Tue Mar 06 17:12:21 -0800 2007 2344170 10669 Amuse Bouches 2 2556444 i went to the sf cpk .. they are very nice .. =] my fav is jamaiican jerk chicken pizza .. yum! it even tastes awesome when you purchase it from your local grocery store and bake it in the oven for that night in! Wed May 09 17:18:50 -0700 2007 2359724 94431 squishie 1 2558707 They have great Salads, especially with Blue Cheese Dressing. I once scored a tub of it and have yet to figure out, without ordering a huge catering order, how to get another one... LOL! :) --Dommy! Thu May 10 11:58:08 -0700 2007 2344170 10659 Dommy 2 2558747 Call and ask your local CPK -- they'll most likely accommodate your request. I've actually bought a gallon of their sweet/sour sesame sauce for a school picnic once. So it can be done. Thu May 10 12:05:45 -0700 2007 2558707 11583 ipsedixit 3 2558777 EXXXXcellent!!! ---Dommy! Thu May 10 12:13:58 -0700 2007 2558747 10659 Dommy 4 2558824 The gallon jar even came with a twist-on pump for easy dispensing ... It was like CPK and Smart & Final all rolled into one! Cheers! Thu May 10 12:24:33 -0700 2007 2558777 11583 ipsedixit 1 2560713 I love their salads, though I often see little distinction between the half and full orders. The vanilla bean that drenches the tiramisu is heavenly. I like the spring roll appetizer, especialy the slaw that comes on the side. One thing I don't like...the bread that first comes to the table. It's very uninspiring. Fri May 11 01:25:08 -0700 2007 2344170 11006 chica 2 2565593 Ask them to toast/heat the bread (which they'll do in the oven alongside the pizzas), and it makes it much better. Otherwise, for a buck, you can get a plate of warm pita slices instead (usually w/ hummus but a buck by itself), which is good w/ butter alone. Sun May 13 02:38:21 -0700 2007 2560713 15572 Emme 1 2560732 In my limited experience, the simpler and more traditional the pizza, the better. I had a Chinese themed calzone there about 10 years ago and it wasn't good. Mozzarella + hoisin sauce = very wrong. Anything with goat cheese has been good, and I do like their honey wheat crust. It is particularly good with salad on it. My sister likes their steakhouse chopped salad, but be warned... She said the menu changed somewhat recently and you have to watch the descriptions. The steakhouse chopped salad used to be called something else and they renamed it. And it doesn't contain any steak. When my sister inquired about the name change, our waitress commented that several people had complained about the lack of steak given the name. Fri May 11 02:14:24 -0700 2007 2344170 91090 slowfoodgrrl 2 2565634 My family likes it. I think its disgusting. McFancyPizza. Salads are barely edible, unless you prefer the chinese noodles, peanuts, or other doo dads they use in place of fresh lettuce. Sun May 13 04:49:50 -0700 2007 2560732 52803 lorenlpw1