California Pizza Kitchen has done exactly that with the introduction of new dishes that either acquaint its diners to a fresh gustatory experience, or add a differ­ent take on familiar items on the menu. New on the menu are Grilled vegetable salad, spicy Thai curry noodles, The Greek pizza, Pepperoni Pomodoro and Quattro formaggi. The Thai curry noodles is a mix of spicy Thai curry sauce with snow peas, Shiitake mushrooms, mild onions, red and yellow peppers, baby broccoli and scallions served on Chinese noodles. The long wait for an all-pepperoni pizza is over with the Pepperoni Pomo­doro laid out on three different chesses and topped with fresh herbs. The Quattro formaggi, which also comes in traditional thin and crispy Neapolitan style, is a fusion of smoked gouda , fontina, mozzarella and fresh mozzarella cheeses. The Greek pizza should appeal to the diet conscious as it is concocted with grilled chicken and mozzarella cheese topped with cucumbers, red onions, fresh tomatoes, Greek olives, feta cheese and a lemon herb vinaigrette.

To customers who are familiar with CPK, the new dishes, which are essen­tially fresh takes on staple CPK dishes, do not veer away from CPK tradition. "It is simply a commitment to take our dishes a step higher without completely or radically changing the item," says Jam Olaes, CPK's senior quality assur­ance director.