Phlight
6724 Bright Avenue B
Whittier, CA 90601
We are in Whittier visiting our good friends Melissa and Kyle. Melissa is my former boss who made the trip from her hometown of Whittier to Aliso Viejo five days a week for nearly two years. 75 miles round trip a day and at least three hours of commute time. That's a lot of driving. I was sad to see her leave but was happy that her new commute would only be about five minutes. Katie and I decided she had driven enough, so we tried a restaurant in Whittier.
It's crazy to think that after 13 years of writing this blog that this would be our first restaurant in this city. Whittier is not exactly very convenient to get to, though, especially for people living in OC like ourselves. The only freeway that skirts its city limits is the 605, which only hits OC way down in Los Alamitos. That's a lot of surface street driving to get here, but Melissa and especially Kyle are worth it.
They are not the only reason we made this trek. Don't let them know, but I also heard Whittier's dining scene is worth the hour-plus drive from our place. I've read plenty of articles on the LA Eater website that mention Whittier as having a burgeoning restaurant scene, and they predict it will only get better in the future. One of the restaurants that get a lot of credit for kicking off the restaurant renaissance in Whittier is Phlight, which seemed like the perfect spot to be our first review here.
Phlight opened for business in 2005 when this street was underdeveloped, and the area was much bleaker than it is now. It's brought to us by restauranteurs Jay and Nikomi Arroyo, Whittier natives and Whittier College alumni, who also run the nearby Deli Up, and ran Otra Taqueria, which closed back in 2018.
The concept for Phlight can best be described as tapas style, with a Spanish/Mexican influence on most menu items. Speaking of the menu, there are plenty of things to choose from. By my count, there were 36 items listed, which ranged from sweet potato fries all the way up to lamb chops and a ribeye. Prices per plate range between $7 to $39. Their wine and beer lists are almost as extensive as their food menu, with wines available by the bottle, glass, and, yes, "phlights."
When we arrived at Phlight on a Saturday in the early evening, the restaurant was sparsely occupied but filled in as the night went on. The restaurant's focal point is the open kitchen that runs alongside the right-hand side of the rectangular space. The high ceilings and the windows allow natural light to pass through from the entrance, conveying a pleasing openness. Enough build-up. Let's check out the food.
The most talked about item online at Phlight is these Bowie's Bacon Wrapped Dates ($11). People go crazy for them. The dates are wrapped in bacon with some manchego cheese and placed in a tamarind-honey glaze. I'm not a big fan of dates, but even I was a fan of these. They reminded me of the rumaki that my mom used to make on New Year's Eve, but better. I was afraid the date and the glaze would be too sweet, but adding the manchego cheese cut the sweetness nicely.
Grilled Bread ($4) has been sprouting up on menus at a quickening rate lately, and Katie's a big fan. This bread was grilled well, as it was not too hard but still had a nice crunch. I was also glad that they provided plenty of butter to go along with this. There's nothing worse than holding back on the butter because you have three other people you have to share with. Fortunately, that is not the case here.
I was not expecting to enjoy these Patats ($7) as much as I did. These fried cubed potatoes were all different sizes, so each bite varied. Also, keeping things interesting was switching between the well-made aioli and the bravas sauce, which is a traditional Spanish sauce that had a slight spiciness to it. A simple dish and a welcomed break from fries.
Melissa must know my affinity for Caesar Salad ($9), as she suggested we get one to share. From the picture, it might not look like it, but this Caesar was pretty darn good and unique. The romaine was chopped finely and mixed with some manchego and substituted the usual tangy caesar dressing for a macadamia dressing that was a little smoother. Looking at this when it was sat on our table, I thought it would need more dressing, but it ended up being the perfect amount. This is probably misnamed because it's not a caesar, but delicious nonetheless.
Not to ruin any suspense, but this Corn Esqutte ($10) might have been one of the best tastes of the evening for me. They nailed the Mexican street corn feel with this unique dish. The sweet corn was joined on the plate with a cotija foam and a delicious chipotle aioli. It was finished with a chili powder sprinkle and a lime squeeze. A nice take on one of our favorite Mexican snacks.
Adobo Chicken Wings ($18) were next up for the four of us. I've been having a lot of buffalo wings as of late, and these slightly sweetened marinated wings were a nice change of pace for me. They had plenty of meat on them and were moist. Not a dry bite of chicken in the bunch.
Again, when we ordered mac and cheese, I was not expecting what was sat down in front of us. Satchel's Mac and Cheese ($10) was made with not macaroni but with what I think was orecchiette or ear-shaped pasta. It utilized a vibrant cheddar bechamel sauce and some prominent Spanish chorizo. The chorizo is cured and has a good flavor burst to it. Very rich, but I enjoyed this more than I expected. A very grown-up mac and cheese.
A rare miss for us on this evening were these Benson's Brussels Sprouts ($10). The menu promised garlic, brown sugar, and olive oil, but it tasted like they left the kitchen without any of these things. The charred sprouts lacked any detectable sauce and were relatively dry. The provided lemon wedge could only do so much to save this.
There seemed to be some dissension between Melissa and Kyle the last time they were here about these Pork Belly Tacos ($6 each). She seemed to like them, but he was not a big fan. So, I was happy to be the arbiter in their little disagreement. The pork belly was a little too overcooked and lacked the spongy quality I look for when having it. I liked the tomatillo puree and the pickled onion, but the red cabbage was a little intrusive in this taco. Not awful, but I'd have to side with Kyle on this one. I'd probably skip this next time.
The last dish for us was this Albondagus ($13). I was again thrown a screwball at Phlight because I did not have their menu in front of me and was expecting soup. So instead, this was grilled bread with a golf ball-sized meatball perched on top, with a little chili flake, capers, manchego cheese, and a white dijon sauce. The meatball was pretty tender, and I liked how everything worked together nicely. A delicious savory end to our meal at Phlight and another dish not to be missed.
Out of five poets (because the owners of this restaurant both went to Whittier College, and their athletics teams are named the poets), five being best to zero being worst, Phlight gets 3.5 poets.
For more information about Phlight, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.phlightwhittier.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment