Susan Feniger's Street - Los Angeles

After I had made my share of ethnic and street food over the years, I was definitely curious how the food would be at the street restaurant. Inspired and created by Susan Feniger of Two Hot Tamales fame and also part owner of LA Ciudad and Border Grill, the focus of this new effort was focused on a menu inspired by the world's street and snack food. While I was thrilled with the idea of the street restaurant, I'm sure it wasn't intended to replace the true street food experience. When it comes to street food, there is only something that is so close to preparing your food that you can practically give a helping hand. Secondly, there is a certain camaradery with other people as you wait on the walk served in anticipation of your food. Thirdly, I love getting your hands dirty aspect of eating from a paper plate or tablet. Finally, I really enjoy how easy the food is prepared. These street chefs cook their food without feet or mussels and of course you can not beat the price. I think what Street Restaurant does well is an introduction to ethnic street food and snacks to its customers, but in a way where they can sit comfortably on table and chair with porcelain and silverware in a funky and cool environment. In addition, they do not need to pamper the world or even all over Los Angeles to taste the flavors of the world. A good part of it can be seen on the menu. What did I think about the food? At the beginning I enjoyed the appetizers that were Millet Seed Puffs with Marshmallow, Fennel, Curry, Coriander,Cumin and Black Currant. I enjoyed the light crispyness of this plate and it was a welcome change from the standard bread and butter. For my drink of choice I went with the Cantaloupe and Beet Agua Fresca, which was beautifully presented. The intense red of the beet was layered over the intense orange of the Cantaloupe juice. Nice to see, but also very refreshing. Soon our dishes began to come to our table with the first, the Paani Puri, the small bites of seasoned potatoes, Chutneys and spread beans were included in crispy puffs of dough, with yogurt. For an additional dimension pour Zilantro water into the puff. I had a similar dish called Danipuri in a restaurant called Rasraj, so I knew the intention was to eat the Paani Puri in a bite. Was it a good bite? It was good enough. After I had done my part of Indian food, I would have liked it to have more of a kick in the taste as well as a Zilantro water that was less watered, but overall it was a promising start to our meal. In addition to Paani Puri came the spinach Varenyky, the small Ukrainian dumplings with spinach and a light layer of salted cheese, boiled as pan-fried sour cream, fried onions and lemon navy. As a spinach lover, I was already developed to love this dumpling with my first bite, but unfortunately it didn't do much for me. I enjoy the spinach itself, but the other flavors seemed to be mutated for my taste. The next dish that arrived was one of my favorites and what is interesting is that it could easily be replicated at home. Simply the Kaya Toast was sheer perfection and it consists of roasted bread, which is spread thick with coconuts and is served with a soft boiled egg immersed in dark soy sauce and white pepper. Make sure to immerse the bread in the broken egg yolk for both sweet and hearty aromas. After the Kaya Toast, the Japanese Shizo Shrimp, the deeply fried marinated shrimps, rolled with shizo and nori seaweeds, came with a plunging sauce of Ponzu, grated radishes and wasabi, as well as the moldavian meatballs, ground beef and kasha meatballs in a sweet and acidic sauce While neither show stoppers were, they were solid dishes with the shrimps were light and crispy and the meatballs cooked in a sauce that I would not mind pouring on noodles and enjoying in this way. My second favourite meal was the Malaysian Black Pepper Clams, which had made mussels in oyster sauce with crisp black pepper, palm sugar, soya and lime. This broth was heavenly. Forget the shells. I was happy to just dip the bread into the bowl, suck the broth and bite into the bread. We even asked for more bread because we didn't want the broth to be wasted. It was so good. More Indian flavors came with the arrival of the Saag Pane, Kokum Dal and Rice Plate, a South Indian spinach dish with homemade slice cheese, tomatoes and spices, served with dried plum dal and yogurt rice, as well as the Indian Semolina Cakes, the crispy pan roasted cakes of Utma Semolina with roasted tomatoes, Pemolina The Saag Paneer dish was not so meticulous, but I enjoy the Smolina cakes, although I would have liked it to be something more airy and not so hard in the texture. Our last savory dish before dessert was the Massamum Chicken Curry, a Southern Thai Curry dish shimmered with chicken, red yam and mushrooms in coconut milk and spices. I had only had a small taste of the curry, but by eating in Jitlada, a South Thai restaurant, I would have liked a little more complexity and much more warmth in the curry sauce itself. To be fair, I had only a few spoons, so if the heat more of a slow burn, I would not have noticed such a limited sampling. There is always room for dessert and my party went for Turkish doughnuts, small spiced pastries, fried and shimmered in cardamom rose syrup served with acid cream and rose dog jam and a toffee and cookie plate, the peanut and butter jelly cookies and bittersweet chocolate toffe. I liked the donuts, although they seem from the point of view of them as if they were overcrowded? As for the toffee and cookie plate, nothing really exciting, but it was used to give us some sweetness to finish the meal. Overall, although the food has been met and missed for me, I like the idea of Street in that it could introduce new food for customers who are usually not so adventurous and hopefully, it will encourage them to also seek more authentic flavors elsewhere. Like for me, Street is not in my near future, but at least my time there was a beautiful little jaunt around the world and all of a table.

Last night I was lucky to meet an invitation to an opening. It's like a dress sample where the show is the food and you get it to eat. You know things won't go right, and sometimes it's fun. This place is underestimated ambience. The dining room is quite small and the terrace is much larger, with two extremely high palms and a fire pit in the middle. I can see to spend a balmy evening in summertime, drink one of these fabulous bar drinks, sitting in one of the low-backed, simply carved wooden chairs. The seats are some of the most comfortable in the city. The menu contains the kind of spicy food that Conde Nast Traveler dreams of. From the other side of the world you have many street-led delicacies that every loving traveller wants to try out. So, if you've used all your kilometer points and you're stuck in town, Feniger has everything together in one place. Your choices are inspired. The sauces are served here and there in small Dabs and give your palate small taste sauces. Shizo Shrimp was excellent, in Nori, paper-thin pastries and quickly roasted. That was good. Wash off with a shocking pink limonade that resembled a tequila sunlight was deliciously different than usual. Pani Puri, a addictive Indian dish should have been better, but this place has not even opened. So I have to give him another chance. Saag distributor was fantastic, loaded with cheese and served with yogurt rice and Dal on the side. There was safe enough to make every vet a happy camper. Korean BBQ short ribs were flanked style, in a pear, rice wine marinade, accompanied by a crispy Asian pear salad. The presentation was excellent. It is South Beach Diet Heaven – only protein and a mildly camouflaged salad. Egyptian style baked fish was perfectly cooked with roasted lemons and sea salt, served with kiss, a street food of seasoned rice, lentils and macaroni. At the moment the dishes are a little consistent in spices. One, a little too salty, another completely lacks. However, there was a cold beet and an apple salad with a delicious Vinaiigrette that wants me back for more. One last comment at prices. They're pretty high for street carving. But given the neighborhood (only a quarter block of Mozza), a little steep for a brand new venue. I would lower prices, but hey – I am not a big, famous cook-you IS. The concept menu of this lady, taste and creative culinary skills are clear and strong. I'll give it 10 miles on my drive scale from 1 mile to 10. I want to drive a few more times just to experience the panoply of street food she offers. The question is, how often can I afford the mice for it. Cecilia