Restaurant Review : To The Point – Where Ocean Beach and Point Loma Meet

Restaurant Review –

To The Point
4161 Voltaire Street
San Diego, CA 92107
619-226-6222

The one thing that really impressed me when I ate at To the Point several years ago was the slices of cucumber in their drinking water. I remember at the time it tasted so refreshing that to this day I still add  a slice or two in my own water at home.  But is pretty much all that I remembered from my eating there then so didn’t know what to expect this time.

Today two of the widow’s from my support group – Candy and Irene – and I got together to have lunch, and I had been asked just this morning if I had had a meal at this restaurant.  She told me that the Chef had been changed; the service was better, and the menu and food was very good.  I had no trouble deciding where we would go after we met at 11:00am.

Yes. The restaurant has really changed.  I remember going up to the counter to place my order. Now one sits down at a table, either inside or out, and a menu is brought to you, along with that wonderful glass of water with the cucumber flavor!

The Veggie – all photos except top one by Judi Curry.

We really had a difficult time deciding what to eat, because the offerings were many and varied.  For example, it started out with “Sweet Stuff” – a cinnamon roll at $5 and went to an ACAI bowl for $12.  Don’t think we were not tempted by the Chocolate and Berries French Toast – $9.50 also on this part of the menu.  Further down the menu were waffles, – $7.50-8.50, depending on what kind you wanted. And…darn it….you could have added chocolate to the waffle for 50 cents!

I was intrigued by the Benedicts ($12.50-14.) that were offered. The “Caprese” was spinach, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, poached eggs, hollandaise and pesto, and the waitress told us that was her favorite.

But there were also “Breakfast dishes – $10-13, and each one was different.  There were 5 sandwiches listed, starting at $9 for the Veggie and having both a Mediterraneo and Tuna sandwich for $12. The sandwiches came with a side of mixed greens (look at the picture), seasonal fresh fruit, French fries of sweet potatoes fries. (Look at that picture also.) There were 4 “Bruschetta – $7-9; Three salads at $9-9.50; and three “Taglieri” – served on wooden cutting boards that were $9, $14, and $12.50.

Turkey Club

There was also a notation that gluten-free bread was available.

Mimosas were available by the glass ($8) or bottle $22); and Bloody Mason and Bloody Beer was available at $8.50. There were 7 wines listed and 5 beers.  Also on the menu was organic drip coffee or Expresso; a few drink specials, and a variety of Expresso drinks, teas, juices and sodas.

In spite of the delightful water, I wanted to try one of their “Arnold Palmer’s” – $4.50, and it, like all of the other beverages, was served in a mason jar.  It was very tasty, but I was not offered a refill as I am at other establishments.

After selecting, and rejecting several things on the menu, Irene opted for the Turkey Club Sandwich with a side of the sweet potato fries.

The fries were served hot and crispy, and came with a sweet dipping sauce.  The club had turkey, bacon, lettuce, and avocado on toasted French bread.  The sandwich was quite large and she had half of  it for dinner this evening.  She said it was delicious and would order it again.

Candy decided to have the Veggie sandwich, and it was covered with Arugula, fresh mozzarella, roasted red pepper, tomato, red onion, basil pesto and on the same kind of French bread that the Club was on. For the side she ordered the “mixed greens” and it was so large one couldn’t help wonder what the salads must be like.  Everything was very good and she also took home half the sandwich.

I was curious to see what the “Taglieri” was like, so I ordered the “Salmon Lox” plate.  (I have to say that the “Salmon Lox” is really a misnomer.  Lox is smoked salmon.  To put them both in the description is redundant.) I wanted to make sure I was getting Lox – not salmon, per se, but when I asked the waitress she was not sure and had to go ask the chef.  She came back and said it was lox.

The Salmon Lox

It was served on a wooden cutting board, and had cream cheese, fried capers, red onions, hard boiled egg, tomatoes and baguette croutons.  It was ample, although I would have like 2-3 more croutons instead of the 5 that were on the plate.  But the lox was fresh; not salty nor fishy, and the presentation was nice.  I think it is the first time I have had lox without bagels, but the croutons were fine.  (They were buttered, and since I was using the cream cheese I could have done without the butter.) But it was very good, and I might order it again sometime, after I have tried other  things on the menu.

There are some things that need to be pointed out.  We ate outside, to a steady roar of motorcycles and airplanes.  I do not think that the motorcycle noise would have been so bad if we were inside, but it was such a beautiful day we opted for outside.  The service was slow, but not unbearable.  We waited some time for boxes after asking for them and we waited some time before our money was picked up. There were two servers, and it seemed like our server was doing most of the “serving.”

Our total bill was $39.87, not including the tip, and I must admit that my bill was the most, not only because my Taglieri was the most expensive thing we purchased, but because I also had the Arnold Palmer while Candy and Irene just had the water.

There is no question that we will return.  There are many items on the menu that whet our appetite, and we look forward to trying those items.  Try “To the Point” if you haven’t already, and remember, there is a new menu and new Chef.