The Point Kitchen and Bar was a run-of-the-mill steakhouse when it first opened in 2008. Erasmo “Lamo” García took over as co-owner and head chef nearly three years ago and revamped the menu. Drawing from 20-plus years of professional experience, García added some Latin-inspired cuisine, highlighted by now-staples like huevos rancheros smothered in homemade ranchero sauce and an expertly prepared horseradish baked salmon. The Eastside fixture serves dinner 4-9pm every day, and brunch 9am-2pm Saturdays and Sundays. GT reached out to García to find out what exactly makes The Point so on point.
What’s best for brunch?
ERASMO GARCĺA: We do a traditional eggs benedict, all made from scratch, including the hollandaise sauce. We do a standard Canadian bacon and also a Florentine and salmon option. And we do a great chicken and waffle. We use a Belgian waffle mix; it’s nice and fluffy, and we put a fresh hand-breaded chicken breast on top. We use a special seasoning in the chicken breading, which adds a sweet smokiness. Guests really rave about it. We also have huevos rancheros. The ranchero sauce is made in-house, and the dish comes with housemade black beans, crispy tortilla, two eggs any style, pico de gallo and avocado. It’s very popular, and guests often add our pork chile Verde with housemade tomatillo sauce and carnitas.
What are some dinner favorites?
Our most popular steak is our peppered ribeye with a brandy peppercorn sauce, mashed or twice baked potato and seasonal vegetables. It’s a really good quality marbled steak with a little bit of age to it; it’s very tender and flavorful. My favorite fish dish on the menu is our horseradish baked salmon. The salmon is sustainable, farm-raised and finished with a horseradish lemon aioli. It comes with forbidden black rice, sautéed spinach and grilled lemon. One great pasta option is our gnocchi piccata with tomato, artichoke hearts, capers, garlic and lemon with a white wine butter sauce and finished with parmesan cheese. We have great salads like our prawn Cobb salad. Our most popular appetizer is our gluten-free Monterey Bay calamari. We use cornstarch and rice flour breading with house seasoning and a tenderized, thick cut of calamari steak that comes out nice and crispy.
3326 Portola Drive, Santa Cruz, 831-476-2733; thepointkitchenandbar.com.
