By Tom Collins
Lake Pointe Grill might not be on your list of business lunch possibilities solely for geographic reasons it's located on Toronto road not far off of 55 South. It might be a case of out of sight means out of mind. This would be a mistake, as Lake Pointe should be on your list for business lunches.
My dining companions and I arrived just after 11:30 without reservations to find a restaurant already two-thirds full. Located in a strip mall, Lake Pointe is blessed with a surfeit of windows that let in plenty of natural light that plays well with the faux-rustic interior. Think muted earth tones and soft lighting. For the most part the walls are plain but for a few minimalist pieces and one stylized painted flame.
The flame (apparently Lake Pointe's logo) isn't at all out of place given that the centerpiece of the dining room is Lake Pointe's oak-fired pizza oven. The oven dominates the far corner of the dining room and offers diners a full view of the pizza making process. When all put together, Lake Pointe offers just a hint of rural Italy.
Tables aren't too close together and, despite the hard tiled floor and baseboard to ceiling windows, we never felt at risk of being overheard obviously the acoustic tiles in the ceiling were working. Lake Pointe also has a separate bar area that with its own table seating and a substantial bar top.
Significantly, there is no separate lunch menu. There are few options for those who are looking for something lighter. Two of my companions would have strongly preferred to at least see the option of half portions. Other than sandwiches and a soup and half-salad combo, they had a good point.
Obviously, given the wood-fired oven, Pizza is on the menu and ranges in price from $7.50 - $11.95. There's one for almost every taste, including white pizzas (using cream sauce instead of tomato based) and the option of a variety of different cheeses such as smoked Gouda and bleu. Lake Pointe's owners boast that they use special, extra fine milled flour that results in tender yet chewy crust and that also stands up to the intense heat of the
pizza oven. Although we didn't try the pizza, they looked delicious (confirmed on previous trips) and were well sized.
Pizza, however, is just part of Lake Pointe's menu, which also includes a healthy number of salads, sandwiches, pastas and other entrees. Notable items include the stuffed meatloaf ($11.95), the sesame encrusted ahi tuna ($15.95), homemade lasagna ($11.95), and the "squealer burger" ($7.95 mixture of bacon and ground chuck with carmelized shallots).
We opted for the daily special (meat loaf sandwich), the marinated grilled chicken sandwich ($7.95), the seafood gumbo ($14.95), and the half order of the apple jack salad ($4.59) together with a bowl of the daily soup ($3.95 potato).
The chicken sandwich was advertised as topped with lettuce, onion, tomato and bacon bits tossed in caesar dressing. It sounded great in concept, but looked (and proved) quite difficult to eat. My friend commented that had I been a potential client observing him eat the sandwich I would have never given him business.
The gumbo, ordered by a friend who's an aficionado of cajun cooking, was enough food for at least two people and was garnished with a lonely crawfish. She reported that it tasted authentic high praise indeed. The salad and soup proved to be the low point of the meal, and was reported as merely average. The meatloaf sandwich was a wonderful surprise a healthy slice of meatloaf that appeared to have been grilled and then served on wonderfully grilled artisanal bread.
Service was adequate. We all noted that our water and tea glasses must have felt lonely given the lack of attention they suffered. Nonetheless, we concluded that Lake Pointe Grill is well suited for a more upscale (and more expensive) lunch with clients and coworkers. Simply put, it's worth a drive out toward the lake.
