VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Editor's note: This story is a part of our Friday Flavor series.
When opening Lumpia and Company, the Agustin family knew they wanted to serve Filipino food to the community.
"I'm half Filipino. My dad was from the Philippines, came here through the Navy," head chef Zachary Agustin said.
Then, Zachary's brother, Trevis, echoed his statements, "My dad was in the Navy. Everywhere we moved to, everyone had some kind of exposure to Filipino food, but when we opened this restaurant up, we said that we wanted to kind of do something different."
So, different the did.
"We wanted to put more of an Americanized twist on Filipino food, specifically lumpia," Zachary said.
He got to work in the kitchen, trying recipe after recipe. Then he found the classics that are now menu staples.
"We have a Philly cheesesteak lumpia which is very popular, and the bacon gouda burger, which is probably my favorite one out of all of them," Zachary explained.
They serve up lumpia in different variations. Philly cheesesteak and bacon gouda burger are the favorites.
They also serve flavors like Monte Cristo, curry veggie, and pizza. Which taste will you like best? Get a sampler! The sampler plate comes with nine pieces of lumpia, and you can try three different fillings.
"It's really cool seeing people's reactions coming in here and saying oh wow, I never imagined putting buffalo chicken in a lumpia or curry veggie lumpia. I never thought of this," Trevis said.
If you are more of a traditionalist, they have you covered, too.
"Our classic lumpia is just your standard Filipino lumpia. Our Pancit is very popular too," one of the brothers said.
If you aren't craving lumpia or Pancit, don't worry. The menu keeps going.
"We offer a stir fry dish which is like what we call Asian noodles," Zachary said. "Then we put a different twist on adobo, which is like a slow-cooked pulled pork and then topped with a lemon cabbage slaw."
You can order adobo as a bowl or tacos.
"I promise you. You would find something on this menu that I think would appeal to you," Zachary said.
For instance, how does dessert sound? Yes, they have that too.
"So we offer four different types of dessert lumpia," Zachary said. They have the creamy apple crisp, the banana bomb, the fried Oreo, and the pina colada, a flavor for any sweet tooth.
For this family, the name "Lumpia and Company" has thought behind it.
"Lumpia is that central piece of that good quality company that a lot of people have, and we wanted to showcase that here, ya know?" Trevis nodded and continued, "It's the lumpia that kind of brings us all together, and we have something to bond over, and it facilitates great company."
And great company is what the family behind Lumpia and Company are most grateful for.
"It's just been a blessing from God to be able to do this," Zachary said. "Not only with our family but just to meet some of the amazing people in this community, and we get to do it every single day, so we're grateful."
You can visit Lumpia and Company at 228 North Lynnhaven Rd #125, Virginia Beach, VA 23452.