Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Thinking Outside the PorchBox in Laguna Hills



 PorchBox Restaurant

25616 Alicia Parkway 

Laguna Hills, CA 92653


I've made a slight change to my eating habits in the last month or so. No, I'm not turning vegan or pescatarian, I'm trying to avoid fast-food restaurants or more specifically restaurants with drive-thru lanes. I would average at least 10 to 15 fast food visits in a typical week, and in the last month, I have trimmed that number down to three for the whole month. I've felt a lot better, my heartburn is more under control, and I feel less sluggish when I return to work after my lunch break. 

Another unforeseen benefit of this challenge that I've made for myself is that I've been able to have lunch at more varied places around my workplace. When I was eating fast food every day, it was easy to get into a rut. Now I have turned to Yelp way more often and eaten at some places that I might have missed before. One of those places is the remarkable PorchBox in Laguna Hills. 

PorchBox is located at the corner of Alicia Parkway and Paseo de Valencia, in the shopping plaza that is also home to a Ralph's, Pizza Store, and Starbucks. They opened their doors for business just over a year ago. It's owned by Julia Li and Amanda Lacher, both recent Cornell University graduates, who envisioned a restaurant that serves American comfort food, bringing home cooking to mind, but in a fast-casual concept. 

Definitely much more of a takeout or delivery spot, (they do have a couple of small tables in the front of their restaurant), the PorchBox concept is rather unique. Their menu changes four times a year, corresponding with the season. All their boxes come in portions of four; the main dish, and three sides. The sides are interchangeable, and they are very cognisant of people with allergies, such as gluten, soy, dairy, and egg. Their menu is very easy to read, and modifications can be made for people with these allergies. 

I made two visits to PorchBox this year already. No advanced notice was necessary, but maybe with larger orders, it might be advised. I walked in and was on my way within five minutes later with dinner for both Katie and myself. The price point here is pretty incredible, $15 for everything. That's basically what I'd spend at a fast-food restaurant for a large combo meal. I had high hopes that the food at PorchBox was going to be better than that combo meal. Let's check it out. 





My maiden trip to PorchBox occurred in mid-February when they were featuring their winter menu. I had the Pie Box ($15), which they seem to have on every seasonal menu, but with different sides offered. During the winter it consisted of chicken pot pie, brussels sprouts, parmesan polenta, and scallion mashed potatoes. I might have made a substitution with one of the sides, but I don't recall for sure now. The pot pie came with the crust on the bottom, which kind of pushed it into the background, but who eats a pot pie for the crust? The shredded chicken was mixed in with a nice and subtle gravy, corn, green beans, celery, and little crunchies on top, which gave this a nice contrasting texture. All the sides were pretty tasty, but I'd have to say my favorite was the parmesan risotto, which was very comforting. The mashed potatoes were nice and creamy, and while I'm not really a big Brussels sprouts fan, these were made better with the same crunchies that were on top of the pot pie and a nice sauce. 




My most recent visit to PorchBox was last week when they were still doing their spring menu, which will be over by the time I post this review. I already checked out their summer menu, and this exact 'Cue Box ($15) is available for the next three months. This box came with pulled pork, mac and cheese, lemon-poppyseed coleslaw, and cornbread. The pulled pork was pretty basic when eaten by itself, but was made better with their sauces. Along with a solid regular barbecue sauce, they also have a green sauce and a white bbq sauce, which was my favorite, and is an ode to an Alabama bbq sauce. Make sure to ask for all three sauces to find your own favorite. I used the rest of the white bbq sauce to punch up the coleslaw. The mac and cheese was the best side in this box, as it had a nice consistency to it. 

When I think back on my two visits to PorchBox, I feel that I love their concept more than I love their food. That's not a knock on what they serve here, everything was good and tasty, it's just not mind-blowingly great. What is great is the convenience, price point, and the way that they seem to care about their customers. You get a sense of it from your first glance at their menu. They will cater to your allergies, let you swap out sides, and do it all with a smile. Not something that happens too often these days with staff shortages and the general angst that has plagued us as a society over the last couple of years. I've found myself talking up PorchBox more and more since my initial visit, and am really hoping that they succeed. I'm glad my moratorium of not eating fast food brought me here, but even when I return to eating fast food, I'll still visit PorchBox often. 

Out of five packages, (because when I looked up porch box on the internet it showed a whole bunch of boxes that secure your packages from porch pirates), five being best to zero being worst, PorchBox gets 3.5 packages. 

For more information about PorchBox, head to their website by clicking here: https://eatporchbox.com/

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