I will not talk a lot about my food eating experience with CPK before this review happened. I did not pay that much attention to what I ate at the time, having recently returned from hostel life, living with roommates and at best whipping up Khichdi and calling it a delicacy. But I will talk about one birthday when the man and I ended up there for lunch and I was most displeased with the place that had pizza in its name but made such appalling pizzas. So when I was asked to come sample their new menu, I agreed with some trepidation. The man and I arrived slightly fashionably late but thankfully, not much had happened by then. We took our seats, CPK's usual clean cut, modern albeit a little overdone-across-the-city ambiance looked down upon us.
Knead With Love was there already and she had ordered the Hawaiian Sunshine, which for some reason, I expected would be yellow. It was red, fruity, summery and I did not much like it. Probably because it was a rainy day. So we got the Berry Mango Cooler which was loaded with strawberries, mangoes, delicately sweetened whipped cream and was glorious. But big. Took two of us to down this one.
Meanwhile, Richa aka Knead With Love killed some time with her smartphone while I made small talk and wished she had got some of her famous desserts. *sigh*
Then came the Black Bean Quesadilla, which was very nice. Smoky eggplant, very reminiscent of the Begun Pora we Bongs specialise in, beautifully spiced but Richa bit into a huge bit of green chilli - I did not find one, thank goodness. It was served with a smoked paprika mayo which went well with it. We polished it off.
Then came the Tortilla Chips & Pita with a Serrano Cheese Dip which had some minced fresh veggies in it, primarily in Cheddar Cheese, a combination of natural and sharp. I think. The pita was a disaster, not even fresh from the texture of it and no pockets. It was more like a pizza crust. The sad kinds. The tortilla chips were brilliant though with the cheese dip and we could have kept on eating this. Perfect finger food and if you had a huge plate of this, you would keep eating until your fingers found no more chips. I hope they get rid of the pita.
Next came the Veg Lettuce Rolls although I'd call them wraps. They are a bit DIY so you have to roll up your own wrap. Now, the filling of mushrooms, cottage cheese, water chestnuts and a load of other crisp fried veggies was very nice but rather oily. The sauce was a bit sweet and had nothing hot to cut through it. Not much acidity there either. But the lettuce was crunchy and fresh and added a lovely new texture to the whole experience. However, it did get messy and my wrap broke halfway through and I was reduced to eating it like chapati and sabzi. Richa said it'd help to have smaller lettuce leaves then it would wrap more easily. She has a point, I feel.
We also got the Waldorf, veg. Rocket, baby spinach. Fruit, cherry tomato, mayo tossed, pecans. Fresh, crunchy leafies but that was it. We ate it obediently like we'd eat our greens but otherwise, there was no hero, nothing much to look forward to in the dish.
Then came the biggest disappointment of the dinner: the Four Seasons Pizza. You can see four huge slices there of their large thin crust pizza. It's got baby corn, mushroom, spinach and caramelised onion. Frankly, this was one of the most disastrous pizzas I have ever had the misfortune of sinking my teeth into. The baby corn was one dimensional, the sweetness of the corn clashing horribly with the cheese, no herb or acidity or even a sharp cheese to cut through it. The mushroom was passable in comparison. The spinach, well, I would be happy if I were Popeye but I am not. Too much spinach and just as flat tasting as the baby corn albeit with a little garlic to rescue it. And the caramelised onion was not caramelised at all, more like a lightly fried onion. Quite bad. To add to our woes, we realised that all the veggies were swimming in oil and it sure did not taste like extra virgin olive oil either. Really, avoid this.
Which basically leaves me with some very simple things to say:
1. Avoid CPK pizzas
2. I haven't eaten their pastas in ages but last time I did, I was very unhappy so I'd say unless some destiny altering change has happened, avoid those too.
3. Do order the Lettuce Wrap, messy though it is. And the same goes for Serrano Cheese Dip but throw away the Pita. Also get a bite of the lovely Quesadillas.
4. Desserts. I have been hearing that CPK desserts are most amazing and while I had no real estate left to call for any, I do intend going back for a dessert lunch one of these days. If you want proof, The Knife has spoken about them here: http://www.finelychopped.net/2012/06/tiramisu-toppings-california-pizza.html
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