a long delicious road led sheep riley from his east coast childhood to big front door. in an interview with fm 94/9’s lick the plate radio show, sheep detailed that journey, bite-by-bite. read on to find out how this jersey kid landed in san diego, where he now owns a rad deli restaurant in university heights.
“essential jersey”
though he was born in detroit, sheep’s family moved to new jersey when he was a child. there, he found himself surrounded by “a lot of italian[eateries].” kinda like the ubiquitous taco shop in san diego. but even all the way back then, sheep loved a good sammy. his particular favorite of the “essential jersey” cuisine was the local version of the cheesesteak—with white american cheese, no philly whiz.
phish food
from jersey, sheep worked in his “upscale” college cafeteria where the menu featured “worldly cuisine.” there he got the inspiration for the quesadillas (an uncommon food option on the east coast at the time, according to sheep) that he sold at phish concerts in the mid-90s.
going pro
later, sheep landed a position in fine dining at siena in arizona. then around the turn of the century he finally made his way to san diego where he helped famed local chef deborah scott open indigo grill.
cali twist
and now here he is with his own restaurant in university heights. described as “upscale fine dining squished into sandwiches” with a “cali twist,” big front door is focused on fresh ingredients. there is no fryer or grill on site, and all the meats are smoked and roasted in-house. sides, sauces, and soups are all made from scratch, too.
west coast represent
sheep is a big fan of local sourcing—for ingredients as well as the restaurant’s retail beer and wine selections. big front door offers a wide variety of west coast craft beers from oregon, washington, colorado and california of course, but sheep tries not to duplicate the “thorough representation” of san diego breweries at the sprouts next door to bfd in university heights.
though he was born in detroit, sheep’s family moved to new jersey when he was a child. there, he found himself surrounded by “a lot of italian[eateries].” kinda like the ubiquitous taco shop in san diego. but even all the way back then, sheep loved a good sammy. his particular favorite of the “essential jersey” cuisine was the local version of the cheesesteak—with white american cheese, no philly whiz.
phish food
from jersey, sheep worked in his “upscale” college cafeteria where the menu featured “worldly cuisine.” there he got the inspiration for the quesadillas (an uncommon food option on the east coast at the time, according to sheep) that he sold at phish concerts in the mid-90s.
going pro
later, sheep landed a position in fine dining at siena in arizona. then around the turn of the century he finally made his way to san diego where he helped famed local chef deborah scott open indigo grill.
cali twist
and now here he is with his own restaurant in university heights. described as “upscale fine dining squished into sandwiches” with a “cali twist,” big front door is focused on fresh ingredients. there is no fryer or grill on site, and all the meats are smoked and roasted in-house. sides, sauces, and soups are all made from scratch, too.
west coast represent
sheep is a big fan of local sourcing—for ingredients as well as the restaurant’s retail beer and wine selections. big front door offers a wide variety of west coast craft beers from oregon, washington, colorado and california of course, but sheep tries not to duplicate the “thorough representation” of san diego breweries at the sprouts next door to bfd in university heights.
big front door will soon open a second location in banker’s hill!
the new deli that will be located in banker’s hill on 4th and palm will feature all the fresh tastes of the university heights flagship plus beer and wine served on the premises. (can we get a woot woot?!)
no limits to good taste
if you like sheep riley’s taste in sandwiches, you might like his taste in music as well. he hosts the local music segment on fm 94/9 every sunday night. already a fan of his show but have yet to check out his tasty offerings at big front door in university heights? time to rectify that.
if you like sheep riley’s taste in sandwiches, you might like his taste in music as well. he hosts the local music segment on fm 94/9 every sunday night. already a fan of his show but have yet to check out his tasty offerings at big front door in university heights? time to rectify that.