Palo Alto has its own California Pizza Kitchen, a Southern California based restaurant chain, right downtown. Although California Pizza Kitchen, or CPK, mainly serves pizzas, they also have a variety of salads, pastas, soups, and sandwiches.

CPK does not take reservations, but upon our arrival, we were promptly seated. For starters, we had Focaccia with Checca ($4.29) and Tuscan Hummus ($4.89). The Focaccia with Cheeca was a moderately sized, toasted piece of Focaccia Bread served with a dip, Checca, made from Roma Tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil. It was delicious. The Tuscan Hummus arrived on a platter with a bowl of hummus, surrounded by warm pita bread. The hummus contained a little too much oil and not enough white beans, taking away from its flavor.

The pizzas, which are very filling, come in one size; 10′ personal. The Fresh Tomato, Basil and Garlic Pizza ($9.99) comes on a plate with aromatic fresh garlic lightly sprinkled all over and slices of tomatoes. The Thai Linguini is a linguini made with chicken ($12.29) or shrimp ($13.69) (or both ($14.99), carrots, onions, cilantro, and roasted peanuts in a delicately spicy peanut-ginger sauce. There is also the Fettucine with Garlic Cream Sauce ($9.99) (with an add-on of shrimp ($13.69), chicken ($12.29), both chicken and shrimp ($14.99), sautéed mushrooms ($1.00)). The garlic cream sauce is very creamy and goes well with the Fettucine. The shrimp add on adds a little more flavor to the mix.

A must-try is the Grilled Vegetarian Focacccia Sandwich ($8.69) which comes with a choice of classic Caesar Salad or Szechuan Slaw. The plate arrives with two sandwiches Caesar Salad, which is lightly sprinkled with shaved Parmesan cheese and garlic herb croutons. Nestled between the two slices of warm focaccia bread are red and yellow peppers, grilled mushrooms, field greens, tomatoes, grilled cheese, and tomato aioli, a rich sauce made from garlic, egg yolks, lemon juice, and olive oil. The flavors mix nicely in your mouth.

The food was elegantly served on different shaped platters. No dish left the kitchen ungarnished. The portions are huge, and containers to take leftover food home are available upon request.

A separate menu for children with pictures to color and activities to keep them busy are available. The same choices are available with smaller portions.

There’s always room for desert, and the Hot Fudge Sundae ($5.99) and the Apple Crisp ($4.99) with hot caramel sauce (add $1.25) are great choices. The hot fudge was delicious, adding elegance and flavor to the vanilla ice cream. The Apple Crisp was a very buttery and sugary tart.

The atmosphere was nice, not crowded or noisy, a great place if you want to go out on a first date or just to hang out with friends. The lighting was dim, adding a small amount of formality to a casual setting. Pizza boxes on the walls with different designs and colors added the warmth of a pizza parlor. The taste in music was excellent, consisting of a variety of pop and light rock. The service was great, as waiters were friendly and amiable, but not so friendly as to be imposing, yet not cold. The restaurant was very clean and smelled great, as the aromas of the different dishes wafted out to the dining area from the kitchen.

Good food, lots of choices, friendly service and cleanliness make CPK a great restaurant. Next time you’re downtown and just want a good place to eat, California Pizza Kitchen is a great choice.