Yeah, that's how it was explained on a couple of websites when I searched for it. American lattes do come with mostly steamed milk with a small layer of froth. Still, that shouldn't really make a huge difference in the taste, since you drink through the froth pretty quickly. If that's all the difference, though, you should be able to get a flat white here by ordering a latte, "hold the froth." I still think there's something more, though, but haven't been able to figure it out.

Some sites mentioned that it's a bit stronger than a latte (1/3 espresso to 2/3 milk), so it seems strange that I like it because I usually like my coffee far more creamy/milky than most people do...

Edit: the YouTube video embedded in this site (and the accompanying text) are somewhat helpful...wish I could carry it around with me and show it to baristas (hey, I can--I have an iPhone! :P). The blog post author calls it "a coffee drink that doesn’t taste like coffee." Maybe that's why it's so good--it really does have that velvety, creamy texture. Mmm...that one looks good!