California Pizza Kitchen

The whole concept of gourmet pizza would have been laughable before the early '80s and the inception of California Pizza Kitchen. Now, the yellow-and-black themed chain is a veritable institution and serves up thousands of barbecue chicken pizzas every day. Pies are thin-crust and on the smaller side, but loaded with flavor. A popular family restaurant, CPK also sees hordes of lunching businesspeople and tired shoppers munching on one of their many pizza variations. The salads and pastas are also worth a try.