“I just wanted to make a good piece of food that I could put in someone’s hands and they would be like, ‘Wow this is delicious,’” explains Logan Jones of Tamar Central Coast Shawarma, his Middle Eastern pop-up at Third Window Brewing Company.
That goal may seem simple, but it’s exactly what I felt during my first experience trying his meticulously prepared food. With a wood-fired oven baking homemade pita, a spit roasting chicken to perfection, and an array of handmade sauces and farmers’-market-fresh vegetables generously enhancing each dish, the lunch-only menu at Tamar is more than delicious — it’s filling a major gap in the diversity of Santa Barbara’s cuisine.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Jones took the traditional path into the restaurant industry, working in fine dining around Los Angeles at such hotspots as Norah, Bavel, and The Tasting Kitchen in Los Angeles. Most recently, he served as chef de cuisine at The Lark in Santa Barbara, but he felt his real calling was in sandwiches.