Born & Raised

Born & Raised is a large steakhouse on India Street in the Little Italy district of San Diego. The Michelin Guide counts it among the best steakhouses in California.

The San Diego group CH Projects opened it in September 2017 in the former Nelson Photo Supplies building on a corner of the neighborhood. Its two floors cover around 930 m² (10,000 sq ft). Jason McLeod, a longtime chef and partner in the group, wrote the first menu with help from Phil Esteban. From the start the idea was a classic American steakhouse played with a sense of humor.

Paul Basile designed the interior in the spirit of Art Deco and the middle of the last century. There is brass, mahogany and tall ceilings, with upholstered booths along the walls. Black-and-white portraits of old-school rap stars hang among the polished surfaces, and waiters in tuxedos wear Converse sneakers. That contrast sets the tone: the forms are formal, the mood is loose. Upstairs, an open-air rooftop bar looks out over Little Italy.

The beef is dry-aged, and a glass-walled butchery room at the back shows the cutting. Several dishes are finished at the table from carts. Steak tartare is mixed beside the guest with quail egg, capers and cornichons, then served with an herb aïoli, and the Caesar salad is tossed the same way. Steak Diane and a New York strip are among the main plates, with dirty hash browns as a side. The carts and the old recipes recall how steakhouses once worked, while the music and the art on the walls belong to a much later era.