25616 Alicia Parkway
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
I've changed 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 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. I have turned to Yelp way more often and eaten at places I might have missed. 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 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 straightforward to read, and modifications can be made for people with these allergies.
I've already made two visits to PorchBox this year. No advance notice was necessary, but it might be advised with larger orders. 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 would be better than that combo meal. Let's check it out.
My maiden trip to PorchBox occurred mid-February when they featured their winter menu. I had the Pie Box ($15), which they 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 substituted one of the sides, but I don't recall for sure now. The pot pie came with the crust on the bottom, which 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, which gave this a nice contrasting texture. All the sides were pretty tasty, but my favorite was the parmesan risotto, which was very comforting. The mashed potatoes were nice and creamy, and while I'm not a big Brussels sprouts fan, these were made better with the same crunchies 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 checked out their summer menu, and this exact 'Cue Box ($15) is available for the next three months. This box had pulled pork, mac and cheese, lemon-poppyseed coleslaw, and cornbread. The pulled pork was basic when eaten 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.
Reflecting on my two visits to PorchBox, I love their concept more than their food. That's not a knock on what they serve here; everything was good and tasty and not mind-blowingly great. What is remarkable is the convenience, price point, and how 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. It's 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 been talking up PorchBox more and more since my initial visit, and I hope 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 and 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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