Made from Scratch: The Story of Our Flavors & Experiences

Let’s take a look at the talent behind The Shed’s creations in an interview with head chef and co-founder, Scotty.

Q: Growing up, what was your favorite dish?

A: “Steak and potatoes and we ate it A LOT. I’m sure we had other foods, but I rarely remember chicken, fish, or pork.”

 

Q: How does your background influence the flavors you use and the dishes you make?

A: Our flavors are always evolving so I think my background has more impact on the quality of our ingredients. Growing up, we had a vegetable garden and raised out own cattle. The freshness of produce, quality proteins,  and not using frozen foods are all staples of The Shed. 

 

Q: When did you discover your passion for the culinary arts?

A: My third year at the country club when I found myself yelling at a fellow line cook (Anthony), for burning the Parmesan puffs. That night, I realized “This matters to me”. 

 

Q: Who are your biggest inspirations in the restaurant and culinary scene?

I was fortunate to work with a few chefs who were always willing to pass along knowledge. Chefs Damien Joseph and Robert Blakeslee. Chef Blakeslee taught me the fundamentals and he bought me my first culinary study book, Jacques Pépin’s Complete Techniques. Chef Joseph brought creativity, precision, and the idea that food is an expression, meant to felt not just consumed. . 

And, of course, Anthony Bourdain. There’s nothing I could say about the man that hasn’t been said already. 

Q: What is your favorite thing to make?

Risotto. It takes time and attention to be perfect. It’s malleable and adaptable, it can be creamy, savory, crispy.  I could make an entire menu highlighting risotto. 

Q: What are your hopes for the future of The Shed?

Expansion. Not just in physical locations, but in promoting the ideal of getting back to real, well-cooked food. We cook what we love and strive to do it to the best of our ability. Too many restaurants, and their patrons, have come to accept, and even expect, mediocrity. We aim to change the standard of what is considered ‘acceptable’ dining. Let the cooks cook, the drinks flow, and our experiences grow. 

Want to be part of the story? Stop by The Shed to learn more about its story and the dishes people are raving about.

The Shed Kitchen ‘Must-Try’ Dishes

We’re serving up something good and we want you to be a part of it. No gimmicks, no fancy plating, and definitely no showmanship. We’re just making bar food like you’ve never seen bar food made before. 

Each of our dishes is riddled with complexity. What could just be a burger we make into a painstaking creation. But with each dish, we get to show our customers that THIS is how food should be made. Here are some of our ‘must-try’ dishes. 

 

Just the Tip Burger

To start, our Just the Tip burger is sandwiched between two brioche buns that have been grilled to golden, crunchy perfection. The bun doesn’t just serve as a resting place for the other ingredients or a transportation device so that your hands don’t get messy. The bun acts as a slightly sweet and pillowy neutralizer for the onslaught of flavors hiding inside. Within the bun, we have thin-cut slices of tri-tip cooked to mid-rare with a warm red center and a crisp interior. Our tri-tip is sous vide for three hours at exactly 133 degrees. This cooking method allows us to maintain the juiciness of the steak and deliver a consistently perfect flavor. The tri-tip is topped with what we call frizzled onion which is crunchy crispy onion slivers meant to offset the tenderness of the steak. Finally, we pour on our homemade chimichurri for a bit of color and added moisture. And there is, the best burger in San Diego, or at least we think so. 

Birria Quesadilla

Our birria quesadilla features a golden and crispy tortilla stuffed with tender, slow-cooked birria beef marinated for hours in rich and flavorful spices. Our 14” flour tortilla also holds cilantro and onion to really bring out the Mexican food flavors we love so much. Gooey, melted cheese oozes out of the perfectly grilled tortilla with each bite. For many, a quesadilla is a comfort food or an easy meal for when you have nothing but cheese and tortillas in your fridge. For us, it is a delicacy. It’s warm and spices, hearty and flavorful and big enough to share with your greedy tablemates who wish they had ordered that instead.  

Duck and Cover

Once again, our simple brioche bun becomes a trusty wingman for a delicious serving of meat hidden inside with our Duck and Cover sandwich. Despite the name, this is a chicken sandwich, but not your average run-of-the-mill chicken sandwich. Our chicken is hand-battered in buttermilk and seasoning and sous vide for hours is a rich and flavorful duck fat. The duck fat brings a deeply complex flavor that elevates the dish above a ‘chicken sandwich’. Once crispy, the chicken breast is served over top a bed of shredded lettuce, topped with pickles and placed inside a ranch-smeared brioche bun. Name a better flavor combination, we dare you. On the side, we offer hand-cut fries, plain or with Cajun seasoning. 

 

There they are—our favorites. But don’t just take our word for it. Come by and try it for yourself. Stick with the ole reliables, or branch out and try our other menu options. 

 

The Origin of Elevated Bar Food in San Diego

Nationally, there are over 62,000 bars and about 860 of those are right here in San Diego. With our population, there is a bar for every 1,600 people! That’s a lot of bars. And with a night out at a bar comes a desperate need for some filling food. It’s no secret that a night of drinking makes you hungry, hence what we call the munchies, or in the bar world – the drunchies. While a popular drunk snack in San Diego is from a street hot dog cart, some choose a more elevated dish for those late nights. 

Since the dawn of man, we have relied on some variation of bar food to carry us through the night and into the early hours of the morning. This has been anything from a measly slice of toast to a family basket of wings. But the trademark of traditional bar food is its mediocrity. Bars know that their food is bought to serve a purpose, and usually, patrons aren’t in the mindset to be full-blown food critics at 2 am in the back of a bar. Because of this, the standard isn’t high. But not long ago, even the drunkest of drunks realized that they deserved better. 

 

The Roots of Traditional Bar Food

Some things never change. One of those things being bar food staples, those dishes that exist in every dive bar in every corner of the country. And for good reason, too, they’re classics. These are the wings, fries, burgers and nachos we can devour at any high-top and every booth. The purpose? These dishes debuted at bars to supplement the drink. They are known to be easily affordable and pair well with beers and mixed drinks. As the sommelier’s vintage Tuscan wine compliments the plate of veal osso buco, the bar patron’s draft beer compliments his wings. 

 

The Shift: Influences Leading to Elevated Bar Food

Maybe it was the age of craft beer, the rise of the Chelsea boot or the epidemic of the handlebar mustache. Or maybe it was an unspoken collective realization that maybe we weren’t satisfied with stale popcorn, soggy fries or complimentary peanuts. No matter what it was, the 2010s brought a wave of revolution where bar enthusiasts and foodies alike decided to put up their pickets and stand up for what they believed in – good bar food. It spread like wildfire. The hipster tumbler era had undeniable influences nationally and globally. 

San Diego quickly caught on. With a locational advantage, chefs were able to enhance worn out flavors with the rich spices and untapped recipes of Mexico. A fusion took place, where the most traditional American bar food underwent a metamorphosis and came out as an upscale and gourmet meal that would even start to be called ‘a dish’. 

 

Defining Elevated Bar Food

What is elevated bar food? Can’t anyone just slap a title in front of something and reap the benefits while scamming their patrons? Yes, and many do. But elevated bar food exists in its own realm with some unspoken rules that only the most skilled chefs recognize. 

1. Fresh Ingredients

While dive bars may opt for frozen fries reheated or nachos with curiously unrefridgerated ‘cheese’, those who value high quality flavor prioritize high quality ingredients. At Shed Kitchen, we source each ingredient and pick only the best suppliers. Our foods are simple but delicious. And the only way to guarantee this is by using fresh and flavorful ingredients.

2. Creative Twists

With a type of food that can be found at every pub, bar or tavern in every corner of the country, a fresh take on an old classic is needed to claim the title of ‘elevated bar food’. We’re not in the business of beating a dead horse. Anyone can slap some store bought BBQ sauce on wings and serve them up. We take the classics and reinvent them with fresh ingredients and revolutionary flavors. Take our Duck and Go chicken sandwich and try and name another bar that sous vides their chicken in duck fat for maximum depth of flavor.

 

How the Shed Kitchen is Changing the Game in Bar Food

So now that we’ve leaked our secrets to making the most overdone dishes into a delicacy, we can show you how we are doing it different. It isn’t easy reinventing the wheel, but it’s worth it. Just like your grandma’s homemade chocolate chip cookies are made with a whole lotta love, our food is made with a deep passion for the culinary arts. 

Looking to be part of this bar food revolution? Stop by The Shed.