Phantom Gourmet: Shed's BBQ In Boston

BOSTON - This is what happens when Southern barbecue comes to Downtown Boston. Brand new to Bromfield Street, surrounded by office buildings and high rises, Shed's is a down-home, honky-tonk, real deal, Texas-style barbecue joint from brother and sister Shawn and Edward Wilson. In fact, that is where the name Shed's came from: "Sh" for Shawn; "Ed" for Edward. Their story starts about 2,000 miles away.

"Growing up in Texas, Edward and I ate barbecue a lot. So it was always our dream to have a barbecue place in Boston," Shawn said. "It was just really fun for us to bring some of our family recipes and the food that we grew up with to Boston."

Connect With Phantom: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

They decided to serve up those slow-cooked family recipes in a quick-service environment, with a little sibling rivalry along the way.

"Edward's a great compliment to me, because he's really easy going and laid back. He's usually the good guy. I'm usually the bad gal. So together we balance each other well."

Shawn might be tough, but the barbecue at Shed's is oh-so-tender, using mesquite wood and dual smokers that hold up to 400 pounds of meat each. So all y 'all need to do is walk in the door, order up, and chow down.

"When our customers come in, they go straight to the chop block. At the chop block, they can see our sliced brisket; they can see our smoked turkey, our pulled chicken, pulled pork, the ribs. And then from there, they can decide which vehicle they want. Do they want to get a bowl? Do they want to get a plate, or do they want to get a sandwich?" Shawn explained.

"All of our sandwiches come with one side, so you're more than welcome to pick whatever side you like, and then our plates come with two sides."

You can get a Pulled Chicken Sandwich with side of fried okra; a plate of smoked turkey with fresh-made cole slaw; some tender pulled pork or outstanding ribs with potato salad and collard greens; and then there is the ultimate in Texas-style barbecue: thick-cut, slow-cooked beef brisket.

"Brisket is a staple in Texas and it's my favorite product we have here. Our brisket is an all-natural product. We cook it slow and low," Shawn described.

"We cook it overnight for 7.5 hours. We pull it in the morning and when we open at 11am, it's very juicy and moist," added Edward.

The brisket might be even greater stacked inside the signature Slow Ride Sandwich, where it's topped with spicy sliced Texas hot links, cole slaw, and pimento cheese. Speaking of cheese, what would a barbecue be without some creamy, gooey mac and cheese?

"Our queso mac & cheese is really popular. It's really creamy; it's very rich. We finish it off with a nice panko breadcrumb topping. It's a really, really nice dish," Shawn said.

There is one more cheesy dish that you don't want to miss at Shed's: the Frito Pie featuring everybody's favorite corn chips.

"Frito Pie is one my favorite dishes of all time," Shawn revealed. "Growing up in Texas, if you went to a Little League game or a college game you would literally get at the snack bar a bag of Fritos. They'd cut the top off, put some chili in there, and then you'd put cheddar cheese and jalapenos."

Desserts are inspired by the South as well, like a mason jar full of blueberry cobbler, Lulu's buttery homemade rum cake, and even s'mores Golden Graham treats with marshmallow and chocolate chips.

It all adds up to a Texas sized experience at Shed's BBQ.

"We have country music playing. We have farm to market signs. We have flags. So we just want a friendly environment that feels downhome," Edward said. "It's kind of loud in here; it's kind of fun. So they enjoy the overall dining experience. Putting meats on the smoker, pulling meats from the smoker, and serving them to the customers here makes me feel like I'm back home."

You can find Shed's BBQ at 32 Bromfield Street in Boston, and online at shedsbbq.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.