California Pizza Kitchen Unveils Ten Exciting New Menu Items, the Addition of Natural Chicken & Meats & a Gluten-Free Pizza C...

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. (CPK) (NASDAQ: CPKI) home of the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza and other innovative hearth-baked pizzas, made-to-order pastas, creative salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts, announced today the nationwide addition of ten new menu items including appetizers, soups, pizzas, salads and desserts that all explore the bold, fresh tastes for which CPK is known. Consistent with CPK’s commitment to using the highest quality ingredients, the casual dining restaurant chain now uses only natural chicken and a wide variety of natural meats in its recipes.

New menu items launched today include:

• Mediterranean Focaccia – Added to the Small Cravings menu. Herb cheese focaccia served with Mediterranean Olive Oil and Parmesan.
• Crispy Mac ‘N’ Cheese – Added to the Small Cravings menu. Our classic mac ‘n’ cheese lightly fried with panko, served on creamy cheese sauce.
• Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer – Lightly fried shrimp tossed in spicy sweet chili sauce with scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
• Artichoke & Broccoli Soup – A blend of artichoke hearts, broccoli, Romano, Cheddar and Parmesan. Garnished with homemade croutons.
• Caramelized Peach Salad – Field greens, spinach, warm caramelized peaches, dried cranberries, red onion, toasted pecans and gorgonzola tossed in white balsamic vinaigrette.
• Roasted Vegetable Salad -- Roasted artichoke hearts, asparagus, Japanese eggplant, red & yellow peppers, corn and sun-dried tomatoes, served warm over Romaine lettuce, tossed in homemade Dijon balsamic vinaigrette and topped with fresh avocado.
• Habanero Carnitas Pizza – Slow-roasted pulled pork, red onions, cilantro pesto, Mozzarella and queso quesadilla cheese with SPICY habanero salsa.
• Carnitas Tacos – Slow-roasted pork, homemade avocado salsa verde, red onions, cilantro, romaine and shredded Napa cabbage served with tortilla chips and roasted tomato salsa.
• Strawberry Shortcake -- fresh strawberries on a shortcake biscuit with homemade whipped cream and candied lemon zest.
• Non-Fat Yogurt Smoothies – Strawberry, strawberry banana, mango, mango banana, peach

In addition to the new menu items, CPK is making available to their guests a gluten-free pizza crust option for 29 of their original pizzas. The new gluten-free pizza crust joins a list of gluten-free items the chain identified earlier this year including appetizers, soups, salads, specialties, CPKids items and desserts.

“We were thrilled with the response these new items received while testing in select markets and look forward to sharing them with all of our guests nationwide,” said Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, co-founders and co-CEOs of California Pizza Kitchen. “The introduction of natural chicken, turkey, pepperoni, salami, Italian sausage and Canadian bacon on our menu is also something we are very proud of and happy to have as a mainstay in our kitchens.”

All of CPK’s new menu items are available to guests who dine-in, place a take-out order, use CPK’s Curbside Service or who order online at CPK.com.

For complete details, please visit www.cpk.com

California Pizza Kitchen

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. (CPK) (NASDAQ:CPKI), founded in 1985, is a leading casual dining chain featuring an imaginative line of hearth-baked pizzas, including the original BBQ Chicken Pizza, and a broad selection of distinctive pastas, salads, appetizers, soups, sandwiches and desserts. CPK premium pizzas are also available to sports and entertainment fans at three Southern California venues including Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium of Anaheim and STAPLES Center. Also included in the Company's portfolio of concepts is LA Food Show Grill & Bar, located in Manhattan Beach, California. The Company also has a licensing arrangement with Nestle USA to manufacture and distribute a line of California Pizza Kitchen premium frozen products. For more details, visit www.cpk.com.