| Restaurant Review |
By Steve Trautlein
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California Pizza Kitchen
The celebrated American chain delivers fantastic
food and value
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| Photos courtesy of California Pizza Kitchen |
Three of the happiest words in English are “California,” “Pizza” and “Kitchen,” so it’s no surprise that this casual restaurant is such a hit. With dozens of locations in the US and throughout Asia, California Pizza Kitchen has, we are happy to report, now arrived in Japan.
CPK’s two Tokyo-area branches are both located in massive shopping centers: the glitzy new Lalaport Yokohama and Lazona in Kawasaki. The latter is probably the best bet for Tokyo daytrippers, as the mall is just a couple minutes’ walk from the easily accessible Kawasaki station. The Lalaport branch, on the other hand, requires a transfer at Yokohama station, but its big attraction is that it sits in the largest shopping center in Kanagawa.
The Yokohama branch doesn’t accept reservations on weekends, but at 6pm on a late-spring Saturday, there were still plenty of tables available. The interior is spacious, if a bit sterile, with a nice amount of room between tables and comfortable booths. As the evening wore on, the restaurant filled up with couples and families, who enjoyed their dinners to the accompaniment of light rock music in the background.
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And the food is excellent. Robust seasonings and attractive presentation enlivened everything we tried, and there’s a lot more than just pizza on the menu. The California shrimp cocktail (¥1,280) came with avocado and a homemade cocktail sauce, stylishly served up in a long-stemmed martini glass. “The Original BBQ Chicken Chopped” salad (¥1,380), though a bit small-portioned for the price, had ingredients like Jack cheese and black beans that provided an unexpected taste of home; the spicy chicken and lime wedge also added a Southwestern flavor. From the pasta menu, the Portobello ravioli, stuffed with mushrooms, herbs and cheese, came with a choice of garlic-parmesan or basic tomato sauce (¥1,680). We chose the latter, and its piquant flavor had a nice kick.
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As its name suggests, CPK prides itself on pizza, and there are a full two dozen varieties on the menu. For anyone who has overpaid to have a pie delivered in Japan, the prices at this restaurant are quite reasonable: all the pizzas are under ¥2,000. Options range from classics like mushroom, pepperoni and sausage (¥1,680) and traditional cheese (¥1,480) to Jamaican jerk chicken (¥1,680) and vegetarian with Japanese eggplant (¥1,680). The “Premium Crispy Pizzas” menu, meanwhile, has six entries; we chose the Milan (¥1,980). We’re not sure what “Premium Crispy” refers to, but it certainly isn’t the crust, which was thick and doughy. Topped with two kinds of sausage, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions and fontina, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, this was one of the best pizzas we’ve ever had—at home or abroad.
Though neither of Japan’s California Pizza Kitchen branches are located in the center of Tokyo, both are definitely worth the extra time and effort to seek out.
3F Lalaport Yokohama, 4035-1 Ikonobe-cho, Tsuzukiku, Yokohama. Tel: 045-414-2415. Open daily 11am-11pm (LO 10pm). Nearest stn: Kamoi ( JR Yokohama line). www.cpkjapan.com
When popular restaurant Roti closed its Harumi Triton Square branch in March, there were a lot of sad diners. Fortunately, a new and exciting restaurant and wine bar has opened to take its place… or perhaps we should say “dramatic,” since that is how Garden Bay describes itself. Garden Bay offers modern Italian cuisine in a casual style at reasonable prices. The dinner menu is quite extensive. For starters, you can pick from carpaccio, tomato and basil salad, pancetta, terrine, or bacon and egg salad, for ¥680 to ¥1,380. For entrees, Garden Bay offers lots of grilled meats, seafood, pasta, rice dishes and some vegetarian fare. No entree item costs more than ¥2,400, and there is an ample selection of red and white wines from Italy, Spain, France, Argentina and Australia to go with your dinner.
The restaurant is also popular with the lunchtime crowd.
Sets, which change daily, include pasta, a rice dish and a one-plate combination of salad, rice and meat. Of course, no meal is complete without dessert, and Garden Bay offers the likes of tiramisu, gateau chocolate cake and fruit tart. The restaurant is available for parties as well, starting at ¥2,400 per person for a two-hour period. Having just opened, Garden Bay doesn’t yet have an English menu, but the staff are friendly and floor manager Kanako Uehara is more than happy to help with any inquiries.
Harumi Triton Square 1F, Harumi 1-8-16, Chuo-ku 104-0053. Tel: 03-5547-0561. Open daily 11:30am-11pm. Nearest stn: Kachidoki. www.gardenbay.jp CB
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