Today my wife decided she wanted a margherita pizza and wanted to try the new thin version over at the California Pizza Kitchen at the nearby St. Louis Galleria mall where we could park in their covered garage on a snowy and breezy day. We parked in the garage near the Macy's entrance which means we had to walk through the store and avoid eye contact with the perfume spritzers stationed near the escalators. Luckily none of us decided to get spritzed with anything.
We made it to the restaurant in the mall and we did not have to wait for a table. We were seated in a booth with a window out towards the mall where we could watch people strolling in the mall by as well as watch all the activity in the kitchen. We had not been there in a couple years and last time it was in the evening so it seemed a little different. I had not checked my blog posting from 2013, since I actually ordered the same item, the Spicy Chipotle Chicken pizza, and I usually try to pick something new. My son ordered the Tostada pizza, my mother-in-law picked the Five Cheese and Tomato pizza and my wire ordered her thin Margherita pizza she had wanted.
While we waited they brought us some Italian bread with some olive oil with some herbs in it. It was not bad but nothing special, and we pushed the herbs to one side of the oil bowl so that those people who liked the herbs could dip on that side and the folks who only liked oil could dip on the other side. I also noticed they brought us five pieces of bread for four people, which would have meant a mad dash for that last piece if we had not already decided to let my son, the breakfast deprived college student, have the final piece.
Once the pizzas arrived they were hot and smelled fresh from the oven. Once again I noticed all my topping were centered in the middle of my pizza, which made it difficult to lift a slice and shove it in my mouth without toppings falling over the place. Nevertheless I managed to eat it, and the crust was very good and the pizza was quite tasty. I also traded slices with my son so I could try the Tostada pizza. It was also piled high with lettuce and toppings, and with the salsa on the side added as well it was even messier and harder to eat than my pizza. Luckily those thin slices were wide enough to fold in half and eat folded which helped contain the toppings before they escaped. The thin crust had a good hearty flavor to it, and the combination of beans, salsa, ranch dressing and cheese worked pleasantly well together. My wife also thought her Margherita pizza was quite tasty and excellent and my mother-in-law enjoyed hers as well. We all had leftover pizza so we could eat it all another day,
The service was not as attentive as we would have liked, as they let my son and wife's beverages run empty despite not being overly full of customers. There seemed to be plenty of employees running about so I am not sure why they could not have checked up on us better. Our waiter did make sure I signed up for their online rewards program, so they obviously have a canned program they are supposed to follow. We also noticed the greeter used the same exact "small talk" to each and every group that was being seated. Corporate training at its finest!
All in all, it was a good lunch with plenty of tasty food. The service could have been better, but still not too bad for a sit down lunch at the mall. Afterwards we carried our pizza boxes back through Macy's to the garage, so that the perfume spritzers were not the only ones carrying around exotic aromas in their hands!
Food
Service
Comments
Post a Comment