'I finally get to graduate from high school,' said Howe, who may or may not have been joking when she said she was counting the days till Friday ? also known as Graduation Day. But for the more than 40 teachers and fellow seniors in attendance, the dinner also was a chance to show appreciation for academy department chair Linnea Howe, who is retiring after a 34-year teaching career. The meal was the culmination of their internship under the club's executive chef, Nic Manocchio, who gave Carranza and Matson sole 'executive chef' status on the printed menu. It was designed by Hugo Carranza, 17, and Kolbein Matson, 18, seniors enrolled in the Culinary Arts Academy at Pacifica High School in Oxnard. There was the four-course dinner, for one thing. A sidecar of breadsticks and a handle of soda transform your pizza from part of a complete breakfast into a complete breakfast.With an ice sculpture of dolphins, Shirley Temples by the pitcher and views of the Oxnard Plain from the 22nd floor, the dinner in a private room at The Tower Club wasn't the typical high school graduation party. Try a traditional hawaiian pizza topped with canadian bacon, pineapple, and extra cheese, or choose not to choose with the almost-everything-on-it bulldog special. The heart attack special combines a plethora of meats- sausage, pepperoni, salami, canadian bacon, and ground beef-into a super-pizza packed with enough animal to legally qualify as livestock. The traditional veggie pizza contains a veritable garden of mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, tomatoes, and a hedge maze.

Pacifica Pizza hand-tosses its dough to create a strong and delicious foundation for a menu of specialty pizzas created with toppings fresh from California farms. Choose between Fresno and Selma locations. Put the 'disc' in 'polite discussion' with today’s Groupon: for $19, you get two extra-large specialty pizzas, breadsticks, and a two-liter bottle of soda with tax included (a $39.47 value) at Pacifica Pizza. Like politics, religion, and money, pizza is a subject that everyone can agree on.

Pacifica pizza tower