22 Mar, 2009
Episode 72: California Pizza Kitchen Chicken Santa Fe Flatbread Melt
Posted by: Gregory Ng: The Frozen Food Master
California Pizza Kitchen is known for bringing barbecue chicken pizza to popularity. But besides some pretty decent quality restaurants in pretty decent malls across the country, there really isn’t any thing extraordinary about CPK’s offerings to the gods of good eats.
But then this Chicken Santa Fe Flatbread Melt came along and blew my socks off. The crispness of the flatbread, the quality chicken and peppers, the low-cal high impact sandwich. This has it all.
P.S. I hope you like my new theme song from my friends Skyrmish.
FreezerBurnsTM is a video review show on a mission to deliver you real reviews and real answers to one of life’s most stressful decisions: choosing the best frozen foods on the planet. Greg is the Frozen Food MasterTM and acts as both food critic and guinea pig. Join him every tuesday and friday as he eats his way through the freezer aisle one box at a time, only on Hungry Nation.
Website: http://www.Freezerburns.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/freezerburns
Facebook: http://facebook.freezerburns.com
View Comments to "Episode 72: California Pizza Kitchen Chicken Santa Fe Flatbread Melt"
1 | Ryan
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Looks good. Love the BBQ chicken pizza from CPK. I’ll have to check this out.
2 | Jonathan
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Though I still love the old music, I’m diggin’ the new stuff as well, so good work!
And yes, both the microwaves in my house have turntables.
Also, I think an investigation into the science of how crisping trays work needs to be done, Greg!
3 | Burley Tranz
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
The California Pizza Kitchen Chicken Santa Fe Flatbread Melt looks good.
I do like the new intro but the old one was nice as well. I actually have an old ..I mean old microwave, that does not have a turntable. The beast pumps out the watts though.
I am sure I’m in the minority, but then again I live in a van down by the river.
4 | Johnmichael
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
The Microwave in my home does have a turntable, and it sees a lot of use. I’m going to try this tomorrow.
Diggin’ the new intro, too.
5 | Kylie M
March 22nd, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Sorry Greg, dont like the new music, I have to strain to understand what they are saying. Loved the review though and this thing looks delish!
6 | Paige
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:49 am
Aww Greg, the old music ROCKED! Why change it? I do love the montage opening at the beginning, but would love it more set to the old music..your “theme song” lol.
Great review, i actually thought the line on the tray was so that the part of the flatbread that was sitting on it didnt get crisp so it could be folded easier.
Who knows?!
7 | Gregory Ng: The Frozen Food Master
March 23rd, 2009 at 1:12 am
Paige, you are one smart chick. I didnt even think about the line also not crisping the middle for easy folding.
8 | Bear Silber
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:48 am
Brrrrrringgggg………brrrrrringggggggg……..brrrrringgg…….
“Sorry guys, two more rings and I think it picks up.”
Brrrrringggg………brrrrringgg……
“Thank for calling the Frozen Food Master, leave a message after the beep.”
“Greg, it’s your mother. I thought I raised you right! You know you’ll never be able to get a better flatbread/pizza in a microwave than you can at your local pizza parlor, why even try?”
Just teasing
4 1/2 that’s impressive. I must say I’ve always liked CPK and definitely look up to those guys, they are genius.
I think I’d have to get used to the new theme song, I loved the “old” one. Maybe both? Keep the original as the intro and use the new one as the outro?
I have a super hip microwave….it’s got TWO turntables….and a microphone!
9 | Steve
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:37 am
Even in my college student ghetto, I have a turntable microwave. Love the new music too.
10 | Thomas
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:41 am
My microwave has a turntable. When they refer to Santa Fe style they usually mean Mexican (the country) food. No doubt probably a scheme they use for marketing. I’m sure they can get away with calling it Santa Fe, especially since it’s called ‘California’ pizza kitchen. Since California and New Mexico used to belong to Mexico.
11 | Meghan
March 23rd, 2009 at 4:01 am
Agreed. Pretty much the best frozen flatbread melt I’ve found. Plus the box design makes me way happier than DiGiorno’s or anyone else’s…gotta love that palm tree! Not so sure about the new intro, though. Get the chicken and bacon one next time; I just had it and it’s pretty sweet! I’ve got a turntable, but I always place the food near the outside edges of it because it cooks more evenly.
12 | Ken
March 23rd, 2009 at 5:47 am
The new music sucks big time!
Except for their Dick Dale riff rip-off, I found the music and vocals very loud and extremely annoying.
I expect a large percentage of your over 40 demographic will be turned off by their “sound.”
The montage is good – you should keep and possibly expand it.
B-T-W: I would like it if you could go into a little more depth on nutrition info on your shows. The 800mg. bar you set for sodium content is a good rule of thumb, but how about talking more on the other items listed?
13 | Schneider Mike
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 am
People, here’s the problem. The old theme song wasn’t Greg’s music. It came straight out of the iMovie stock music. Freezerburns is emerging as *THE* top source for frozen food reviews on the web and Gregory Ng is establishing himself as the Frozen Food Master. The old theme could evoke the wrong emotion in some people because they’ve heard it in another piece. He needs something that is uniquely his. Like the new music or not, the old song had to go. Personally, I think it rocks but don’t like the “too coooold”.
14 | julia
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:37 am
Mandibles? you have mouths in your fingers? Sweet. I bet that comes in handy AND is a little awkward.
i do have a turny-thing in my microwave, usually, if it’s not broken. If it is, I use a ghetto plate that thumps around in there.
Re: the music, I think it will be fine, esp. if you switch it up every so often, as you seem to be doing. Then you can hit all the bases of your demographics.
btw, love this site!
15 | Amy Elliott
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:51 am
i have a turntable in my microwave too. this looks really good. i’m gonna have to remember to get this when they go on sale. i think carne asada would be really great. mmmm.
16 | Gregory Ng: The Frozen Food Master
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Yeah, thats what you get when the Frozen Food Master has a few beers and has no command of the english language! Mandibles. What was I thinking?
17 | Schneider Mike
March 23rd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Greg, the intro music is OK, but the closing theme is AWESOME!
18 | LIN
March 25th, 2009 at 12:37 am
Love the new music and have a turntable.
19 | Jess
March 25th, 2009 at 5:18 am
I didn’t hear the Dick Dale — it sounded like more of a Clash tribute to me… which is a good thing. My only critique would be that the music ends too abruptly
As for the food? It looked like a lot more work than I would prefer. However, I’m a big fan of the CPK mini pizzas, so maybe I’ll try it anyway with my super turntable-enabled microwave.
Keep on rockin’, Greg!
20 | JP
March 25th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Have a microwave turntable but it does not turn anymore.
21 | James
March 25th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Yes on the turntable (although my mw is a puny 700watter).
I tried one of these today and it was good but man I have no patience when I’m hungry and I always lose the skin off the roof of my mouth when eating this type of ff. Watch out for the lava-hot cheese (gaffigan reference).
22 | Steve
March 25th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Turn table here as well. My old one was missing the plastic wheely thing though, so the glass plate just sat there. Apparently my CPK would not have cooked well in that old one…
23 | Amy
April 6th, 2009 at 10:58 am
OK. I tried these on your rave review. Awesome. We tried a chicken/bacon club-which i thought i wouldn’t like, but did, and a carned asada. Carne asada was really good. great tasting, tender steak. You must try it. These are on sale at my local grocery store for $2.50 each. So I went back and bought 6.
24 | Pages tagged "california chicken grill"
April 9th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
[...] bookmarks tagged california chicken grill Episode 72: California Pizza Kitchen Chicken Santa… saved by 12 others mamsur73 bookmarked on 04/10/09 | [...]
25 | LiQuid!
June 8th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I watched one of your latest episodes first and went back and watched them from the beginning over the last two days and I've gotta say, I've been waiting for this theme song the entire time. Don't listen to the haters, it makes the show!
26 | BearSilber
June 8th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Haha. I'll say it's definitely grown on me. I watch the old ones from time to time and now the old intro throws me off.
27 | AS
August 1st, 2009 at 3:59 am
Your reviews are just odd. It's hard to understand. Not a huge complaint but I find it weird most of yoru reviews are based one 1 bite of something, 2 bites of something, or if it's like a roll or whatever a small item you'll base the review on just the 1. I don't know if that's good or bad but it is interesting.
28 | AS
August 1st, 2009 at 10:59 am
Your reviews are just odd. It's hard to understand. Not a huge complaint but I find it weird most of yoru reviews are based one 1 bite of something, 2 bites of something, or if it's like a roll or whatever a small item you'll base the review on just the 1. I don't know if that's good or bad but it is interesting.
Comment Form