By Jeanne Yacoubou

On page 21 of an Allergen & Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Guide on their website, California Pizza Kitchen presents its vegan definition: http://www.cpk.com/Contents/Downloads/Nutrition-Allergen.pdf

VEGAN: No animal products, including butter, honey, cheese, eggs, and milk. This is the strictest type of vegetarian.

General tips for vegans and guidelines on what vegans should avoid at this restaurant chain appear below the definition:

For pizzas:
• All crusts are okay.
• Remove any meats and cheeses, but all veggies are okay.
• Only the pizza marinara, vegetarian black beans, and spicy marinara sauce are acceptable for this kind of vegetarian.

For pastas:
• Noodle to avoid: multigrain penne contains egg.
• Remove any meats and cheeses, but all veggies are okay.
• Only the tomato basil sauce (off menu) is okay for this kind of vegetarian.
• Sauces to avoid: Bolognese, chicken tequila, jambalaya, and kung pao all contain meat or shellfish; therefore, none of the items containing these sauces can be made vegetarian.

For salads:
• Many salads can be made vegan by removing any meats and cheeses, but veggies are okay.
• No dressings fit the vegan criteria. Salads can be served with oil and vinegar.

This document also lists the menu choices that California Pizza Kitchen considers to be vegan (or vegan with “minor modification”). Here are the dishes by category:

Small Plates & California Flatbreads
• Asparagus + Arugula Salad (no cheese)
• White Corn Guacamole + Chips
• Shaved Mushroom + Spinach Flatbread (no cheese)

Appetizers
• Lettuce Wraps (request with Chinese vegetables only)
• Tuscan Hummus (both pita options okay)

Soups
• Dakota Smashed Pea + Barley

Sandwiches
• (Locations Vary) Currently no options available

Lunch Salads (Locations Vary)
• Super Spinach + Quinoa (no pecans or champagne vinaigrette)
• The Mediterranean (no feta or mustard herb vinaigrette)

Lunch Pizzas (Locations Vary)
• California Veggie (no cheese)

Salads
• Quinoa + Arugula (no champagne vinaigrette or cheese)
• Roasted Veggie (no dijon balsamic)

Pastas
• Asparagus + Spinach Spaghettini (no Parmesan)
• Tomato Basil Spaghettini (off menu)

Pizza
• California Veggie (no cheese)

CPKids
• Kid’s Fresh Fruit
• Kid’s Olive Oil Fusilli
• Kid’s Tomato Sauce Fusilli

Desserts
• Currently no options available

Additionally, edamame is listed on the allergen chart as an “extra” (discussed below) and appears to be all-vegetable.

Here is the complete menu: http://www.cpk.com/Contents/Downloads/CPKmenu.pdf
There is a vegetarian icon on this menu which appears next to the vegan options as well. To distinguish between vegetarian and vegan options while dining, patrons must consult the Allergen & Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Guide or ask a Pizza Kitchen manager.

California Pizza Kitchen also provides definitions, general guidelines and appropriate menu choices in the Allergen & Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Guide for the following dietary preferences:
• lacto-ovo vegetarian
• ovo-vegetarian
• lacto-vegetarian

NOTE: There is no Ingredient Statement available on the California Pizza Kitchen website detailing all ingredients used in the dishes that this chain serves. We recommend that concerned diners contact California Pizza Kitchen for more ingredient information.

At the end of the Allergen & Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Guide, California Pizza Kitchen states:

WARNING: This list is compiled based on information provided to California Pizza Kitchen from food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers. CPK’s menu is diverse and contains a wide variety of foods, many of which contain one or more of the eight major allergens: Crustacean shellfish, eggs, fish, dairy, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts or wheat. Ingredients or production and processing methods used by our suppliers may vary or change without notice and there may be product differences among regional suppliers. Additionally, normal kitchen operations involve shared cooking and preparation areas and cross-contact with other foods may occur during production, or we may need to substitute ingredients in menu items. We are therefore unable to guarantee that any menu item is completely free from any particular allergen or animal product, and we assume no responsibility for guests with food allergies, food sensitivities or dietary restrictions (unless it is a certified gluten-free pizza).

The allergen chart on pp. 16-19 of the Allergen & Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Guide provides additional information about shared equipment and several menu options identified by this chain as vegan or vegan with minor modification through an asterisk which leads to this statement: “Item does not contain allergen, but uses shared equipment with particular allergen” in the case of egg, milk and/or seafood/fish cross-contamination. This caveat applies to the following 10 of the 16 vegan or vegan with minor modification options listed above (note: California Veggie Pizza counted only once):
• Lettuce Wraps (with Chinese vegetables only)
• Asparagus + Arugula Salad (no cheese)
• White Corn Guacamole + Chips
• Shaved Mushroom + Spinach Flatbread (no cheese)
• Roasted Veggie Salad (no dijon balsamic)
• California Veggie Pizza (no cheese)
• Asparagus + Spinach Spaghettini (no Parmesan)
• Tomato Basil Spaghettini (off menu item not listed on allergen chart)
• Kid’s Olive Oil Fusilli
• Kid’s Tomato Sauce Fusilli

Here are the remaining six menu items (plus “extra” edamame from p. 19 of the Allergen & Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Guide) presented by the chain as vegan or vegan with minor modification and not potentially in contact with any animal or dairy product according to the allergen chart on pp. 16-19:
• Tuscan Hummus (both pita options okay)
• Dakota Smashed Pea + Barley Soup
• Super Spinach + Quinoa Salad (no pecans or champagne vinaigrette)
• The Mediterranean Salad (no feta or mustard herb vinaigrette)
• Quinoa + Arugula Salad (no champagne vinaigrette or cheese)
• Kid’s Fresh Fruit
• Edamame

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

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Additional information on restaurant chains can be found at
http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

Additional information on vegetarian restaurants can be found at
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php