When Cristian Cho moved from Los Angeles to Lompoc, he longed for LA’s diverse food scene. For seven years he worked as a manager at a sushi restaurant and eventually began planning the concept for his own restaurant to fill a gap in Lompoc’s market.
Cho aimed to mimic some of his favorite parts of LA’s food culture in Lompoc at his restaurant, Flare, which opened last November. The restaurant is named after the “rocket town” atmosphere of Lompoc, he said, because of nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“I opened Flare with the goal of bringing the taste of LA to the Central Coast,” he said.
The biggest part of the LA flavor for him is the diversity. Flare is a fusion restaurant that blends Korean, American, Vietnamese, and Chinese cuisine with dishes like katsu, hot pot, and pho.
“I’m Asian, but I was born in Argentina, so I have the Latin side of me, and that inspired me growing up,” Cho said. “I tried a lot of variety of foods, and that’s what I wanted to serve.”
Growing up surrounded by Argentinian culture gave Cho experiences with Latin American food, while his parents cooked Korean food in their home. He later moved to the U.S. and discovered American food.
“From there, it fused two of the best worlds together, and that’s where the fusion idea came up,” Cho said about the concept behind his restaurant.
Every dish Flare serves is the brainchild of Cho. He said he develops menu ideas himself and meticulously perfects his recipes. He wears many hats at the restaurant but enjoys it all. To him, cooking is a blend of creativity and problem solving.
“I have the creative freedom to start the recipes from scratch. I think that’s the best part,” he said.
Flare’s seafood boil took Cho two months to perfect.
“It was a lot of experimenting,” he remembered.
While there are many ways to make a dish, every recipe first needs a base. Then Cho adds different vegetables and spices until it tastes just right.
He joked that the seafood boil base was top secret, revealing only that it’s made with butter and Cajun seasoning.
Flare’s other bestsellers are katsu, ramen, Yaki udon, and skillet plates.
Fusion bowls have also been popular since Cho added them to the menu about a month ago. The bowls are filled with meat or seafood, cilantro lime rice, cheese, corn, lettuce, pico de gallo, and house sauce.
Along with fusion bowls, the updated menu brought Korean pancakes and poke bowls. Cho said customers like the new items that Flare has introduced to the Lompoc food scene.
He learned to cook from his parents, who both own restaurants, and he remembers lending a hand in the kitchens when he was young, he said.
And Cho’s happy to have branched out on his own because he has fun selling the dishes he creates.
Customers can express their own creativity through Flare’s diverse beverage selection. A popular cocktail allows customers to make their own drink by combining soju, a Korean alcoholic beverage, with Korean-ade, a soft drink sold in a pouch—Flare has 15 flavors, including green grape, watermelon, and pomegranate.
Cocktails help Flare moonlight as an energetic, dimly lit bar at night, after serving as a spot for casual bites during the day.
Cho hopes Flare is a restaurant where people can eat and gather comfortably with friends and family, and he invites customers to come in, enjoy good food, and have fun.
The restaurant owner said he’s most proud of “bringing dishes that aren’t easily available in this area.”
Send a flare to Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
