An all-day restaurant set to open by the end of this month at Liberty Station is the most ambitious project yet for popular local chef Phillip Esteban.
Wildflour will occupy 3,600 square feet in the historic Barracks 19 building, surrounded by the galleries and studios that make up Arts District Liberty Station.
The 42-year-old Esteban grew up in the southeastern San Diego neighborhood of Paradise Hills but has had a lifelong connection to this part of Point Loma.
His father attended boot camp there while it was still active as the Naval Training Center. It’s also where Esteban himself participated in a Junior ROTC program throughout his early teens, eating meals in the mess hall that would be later be transformed into Liberty Public Market, the food hall that now houses White Rice, Esteban’s fast-casual Filipino bowl restaurant concept.
After graduating from culinary school, the chef cooked through a number of local restaurants, including Tender Greens in Liberty Station before heading to Los Angeles to open several more locations for the company. Then he moved to New York City, where he spent two years in acclaimed kitchens like David Chang’s since-shuttered Momofuku Ssam Bar before returning home to work at La Jolla’s Nine-Ten and the Cork & Craft in Rancho Bernardo.
Prior to founding his own creative collective called Open Gym, Esteban also did two stints with the San Diego hospitality group CH Projects, helping to launch marquee spots like Craft & Commerce, Morning Glory, and Born & Raised.
The Filipino American chef named his new Point Loma restaurant, Wildflour, after a well-regarded bistro and bakery chain in the Philippines. And for its interior, which is done up in light wood with pops of blue, he took cues from the airy, functional style of Scandinavian design.
Wildflour is built for casual, family-friendly dining, said the father of two, who will be stocking shelves in the counter-service restaurant’s entryway with a mix of gourmet foods and house-made provisions, including nut butters, jams, granola, and trail mix to convey “California bodega vibes”.
It will also have a robust takeout component, with a deli and bakery case packed with cheese, charcuterie, and house-cured fish, as well as grab-and-go sandwiches like mortadella, stracciatella, and pistachio cream on Companion Bread focaccia. He’ll also offer side dishes ranging from seasonal roasted vegetables to farro with cranberries and hazelnuts. Pastries and desserts will pair with a coffee menu fueled by Barrio Logan’s Provecho! Coffee Co.
Esteban and chef de cuisine Kareine Elecanal will also offer a refillable picnic basket that holds a bottle of wine and a complete meal for two, featuring one of their larger plates like porchetta, Thompson Heritage Ranch spatchcocked piri-piri chicken, or slow-cooked prime rib.
From behind the 10-seat bar, beverage director Will Pidd and bar manager Johnny Alejo will oversee a drink list that includes classic cocktails like negronis and old fashioneds, plus beer, natural wine and non-alcoholic options.
This year marks White Rice’s third anniversary.
Born out of the pandemic, when Esteban mobilized his catering company to provide meals first responders and organizations like World Central Kitchen, it encomes the stand-alone White Rice Bodega in Normal Heights as well as its stalls at Liberty Public Market and BLVD MRKT, a food court in the city of Montebello in LA County.
With a larger, sit-down White Rice location opening this fall in the Sorrento Valley area, the chef is shifting the focus of its menus from silogs, or protein-topped rice bowls, to offer his take on a range of traditional Filipino dishes, from kare kare to lechon kawali.
Under White Rice’s umbrella, Esteban will also introduce a new brand called Uncle Ian’s Steamed Buns, which will specialize in fluffy filled Philippine buns called siopao.
Wildflour
Details: Opening by the end of February. Regular hours will be 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Where: 2690 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 103, Liberty Station, San Diego
For updates, visit: instagram.com/wildflourdelicatessen/
