California Pizza Kitchen, Connecticutt Avenue, Washington, DC

Today my boss took me to one of my old favorites, California Pizza Kitchen. Back in the day when I was single and working at Pentagon City, I ate there so much I thought I should have my own booth with my name on it. At any rate, the menu has gotten much bigger and while I watch what I eat a lot more closely these days, I broke down and ordered a pizza. I figured since I was celebrating, I would get the Wild Mushroom Pizza. Man oh man was it good!! There were 4 different kinds of mushrooms, at least 2 cheeses and a ton of garlic. I washed all of those lovely calories down with a diet Mango Italian soda. I did at least skip the bread. I was happy to see some of my old favorites still on the menu; for example, the Kung Pao Spaghetti, Thai Chicken Pizza and the Sesame Ginger Chicken Dumplings. With all of those calories consumed, dessert was out of the question, but if I could have ordered I would have stuck with the Chocolate Soufflé Cake; another old favorite. We went in at 12:45 and the place was packed to the gills so I didn't expect the bathroom to be in great shape. I was very wrong! The bathroom was spotless and well stocked. There were two stalls and the larger one was equipped with a changing station. The soap was upgraded, the mirrors were large and the water was hot and forceful. There was a towel dispenser right next to the door with an open waste basket underneath. I was pleasantly pleased with CPK; it was very much like having lunch with an old friend who hasn’t changed a bit.