Phillip Esteban Is Building a Restaurant Group with a Rice Bowl Base

In 2021, when Phillip Esteban opened the first location of White Rice, his family history was serendipitously woven into the project. The chef’s fast-casual Filipino restaurant is part of San Diego’s Liberty Public Market, the former home of a naval training base. Esteban’s father went to boot camp at the base, and his military service enabled the family to immigrate from the Philippines to...