Orchards Fresh Foods
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The Details:
16426 E. Whittier Blvd.
Whittier, Ca, 90603
Phone: (562) 902- 1825
Fax: (562) 902 – 1928
Hours vary, so call ahead
The Los Angeles Foodie Rating:
The Summary:
Foodie friends of the site know that I love Disneyland. I live on the west side, so it’s not that hard for me to make excuses for why I need to be in Anaheim, and Whittier is on the way. There are some great destinations in this part of town including the best puffy taco around at Arturo’s Puffy Taco. Orchards reminds me of the places I used to shop with my grandmother, where the butcher had something to say about the meat that day and the soda pop was a special treat.
The Place:
Orchards is hard to categorize.
- It’s a barbecue joint…
- It’s an old-fashioned candy and soda pop store…
- It’s a full-service butcher…
- It’s a fresh foods deli…
- It’s a burger stand…
…really, it’s all of these things. And unlike the unfortunate Southern California mainstay, the restaurant-that-has-everything-but-does-nothing-well (think “Manny’s Hot Dog, Hamburger, Mexican, Spaghetti, and Teryaki #6″), Orchards pulls it off. They carry Manning’s Natural Beef , Santa Monica Seafood, and Shelton’s Free Range Poultry at the butcher counter. To quote their website, Orchards is “the way things used to be.” The patio is shared with the nursery next door which breathes a bit of life into the outdoor seating area. Notice that the sign says “Tuesday all you can eat BBQ.”
When the grill is open, you’ll notice an oil-drum-style smoker and a similar-looking grill belching fragrant, white smoke.
The inside of the store is spacious. There is a smallish produce section in the back, several checkout isles, a meat counter, a deli/grill counter, and a large wall cooler full of glass bottles of old-fashioned soda pops. I didn’t ask, but I suspect that Galco’s is their supplier.
The Food:
The food is good. “What’s good” you ask? Well, how about all of it? The barbecue isn’t the best I’ve had in Los Angeles, but it’s better than most. The soda pop selection is great, and if you go for diet sodas, try the Sprecher’s Low Cal Root Beer or the Stewart’s Diet Black Cherry (I heard a rumor from John Nese at Galco’s that Stewart’s recently discontinued this line). The Hawaiian shaved ice is tempered correctly to make dishes of flavored snow rather than dangerous ice shards. But the real star at Orchards is the hamburger.
Oh man oh man oh man. I was caught WAY off-guard by this burger. My favorite hamburgers are flattop-fried short-order burgers that are usually topped with sauce, lettuce, pickles, and mayo. The Orchards burger is none of these things. It’s a thick, charcoal-grilled masterpiece. This baby just made its way into the top ten burgers in Los Angeles, no question. The secret? Lightly-seasoned, loosely-packed, fresh-ground beef. That’s it. It’s cooked perfectly medium to medium-rare over hot coals. The bun is a soft prepackaged white bread thing, and the cheese is processed American. This hamburger is served with lettuce, pickle, and tomato… but don’t bother. Seriously. Just eat the thing all by its lonesome.
The Service:
Everybody here is nice, and the service is great. If you write a food blog for long enough, you get used to being glared at and questioned about why you want to take photos. The folks at Orchards were accommodating and awesome. I appreciate that. I wish the grill were open more often than it is, but I’m not going to press my luck. I’ll find out when it’s open and make my plans accordingly.
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