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CALIFORNIA-STYLE PIZZA was born as a fusion of simple and exotic ingredients, whether made by Wolfgang Puck at Spago in Beverly Hills (where the current lunch menu features pizza with smoked salmon and salmon caviar) or Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley (where pizzetta with spring onions and sorrel has remained a mainstay of the cafe menu). But in 1985, when Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield opened their first California Pizza Kitchen in Beverly Hills, they took that chef-imagined concept and turned it into an everyman trademark, with tastes like their signature barbecue chicken pizza (now, as they say, "in your grocer's freezer").

CPK STATION: The newest Atlanta California Pizza Kitchen location in Atlantic Station is a showcase for the company's updated look and latest menu items. And while there's nothing here that hasn't been seen and done before, the inviting atmosphere and cleverly conceived food offer good entertainment value — even if at prime times the crowds and long waits can be nerve-wracking.

Elissa Eubanks/Staff (ENLARGE)
For a spin off the barbecue chicken pizza, the Original BBQ Chopped Salad is a way to go at California Pizza Kitchen.
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HIP BUT COZY: As a shopping and dining destination, Atlantic Station was fabricated to seem like a small town. CPK fits that image, if that town were in Southern California or Arizona. Warm desert colors, contemporary lighting and bar and dining areas that offer a variety of places to settle in give it a hip but cozy feel. There are also two outdoor areas that will no doubt be popular when the weather warms up. Service is professionally friendly but can quickly veer to erratic when things get busy.

PIZZA AND PASTA: The menu is substantial, but not surprisingly concentrated on variations of pizza and pasta. Appetizers run from basic tomato-basil focaccia to lettuce wraps and Singapore shrimp rolls. We liked the fresh and tangy California shrimp cocktail, served in a chilled martini glass with shrimp and avocado pieces tossed in cocktail sauce on shredded Napa cabbage. We also liked the flatbread-thin Milan pizza; it's made sans tomato sauce, and the smoky-sweet mix of grilled Italian sausage, sautéed wild mushrooms, caramelized onions, and blend of fontina, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and fresh herbs nicely complements the crispy charred crust. Pastas can mean anything from basic bolognese to wok-stirred Shanghai garlic noodles and chicken tequila fettuccine. Old-school spaghetti carbonara is a decadent splurge with meaty pancetta and green peas in a rich Romano cream sauce.

BAR SCENE: As befits its L.A. pedigree, the bar turns out lots of fruity cocktails with kicky names like CPK Tropical Tea, Lava Colada and Cactus Lemonade, as well as classic martinis and margaritas. The wine list is harder to figure, with the biggest bargains in the California section. And in a nod to local tastes, the draft beer selection features Sweetwater 420.