CPK ASAP at The Promenade at Westlake is Closed; "Lemonade" Coming Soon

Update 11/12/12: Lemonade opened TODAY! Pretty neat place that lives up to the description below. More will be posted soon.

Original Post: 6/1/12: A surprised CVG Facebook follower filled me in today that the CPK ASAP at The Promenade at Westlake was closed! I was equally surprised and disappointed because this was a frequent quick-stop place for me and my kids. Sure enough, according to a voice message, CPK closed its doors last Sunday, May 27th.  BUMMER!

Then I found out that another new restaurant is coming to The Promenade sometime soon: Lemonade.

Lemonade offers seasonal, Southern California comfort foods. According to the Lemonade website:

The concept is best described as Seasonal Southern California Comfort Food in a fast-casual cafeteria setting. A comfortable place where locals and visitors enjoy a rotating daily spread of deliciousness: from ruggedly roasted Brussels sprouts to grain salads from around the world to stewed short ribs falling off the bone. Our dishes stress simple preparations with global taste, and are a perfect fit for today’s on-the-go lifestyle and perceptive palate.

Lemonade caters to people looking for a quick lunch or a healthy “grab and go” dinner for the family. The cafés have an emphasis on convenience and affordability, while serving the same fresh, high-quality, and innovative modern cuisine that the brand has become known for.

The food at Lemonade is as creative and diverse as the city’s inhabitants. Our marketplace salads, unique sandwiches, and slow-simmered stews taste as though every culture stirred a bit into the pot. For example, the skirt steak with grilled onions and piquillo peppers with its smoky depth, ping-pongs perfectly with our snappy salad of Chinese long beans, pluot plums, and scallion vinaigrette.

Currently there are Lemonade locations in 6 Los Angeles locations (Downtown, MOCA, Beverly, Venice, Brentwood and USC) and Pasadena, with 3 additional planned openings in Manhattan Beach, Thousand Oaks (Westlake Village) and LAX (Terminal 5).

I checked out one of their menus and it looks pretty reasonably priced, healthful and quite interesting, such as these $5.50 to $6 "Land and Sea" options at the Pasadena Lemonade.

Citrus poached salmon filet

Char Siu chicken lettuce cups

Avocado salmon louie

Seared ahi tuna, crushed orange-ginger ponzu

Curry chicken salad

Buttermilk chicken breast

Tomato, mozzarella and basil stack

Stay tuned...