Lunch with Chef Susan Feniger at STREET
Posted on Aug 12, 2012 under Archives | No Comment
STREET restaurant
Last Friday I ventured to Chef Susan Feniger’s restaurant STREET as part of the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival’s lunch series. Once in while, as a food writer, I get to meet and chat with a chef that I’ve enjoyed sampling their food and watching on television for years. This was the case with Chef Feniger.
Chef Susan Feniger
Feniger greeted all of the guests personally and offered a variety of refreshments before beginning a long cooking demo in the 100 degree heat. The demo was conducted on STREET’s patio under bright orange umbrellas.
Chef Feniger and Chef Kajsa Alger discussed and let the crowd sample some of the many spices that they use in their recipes at STREET, including young ginger thai basil and palm sugar.
young ginger
spices
raw ingredients
The chefs explained how to make a simple curry base emphasizing creating a balance between sweet and spicy and including a cooling side such as a yogurt sauce. Feniger’s demo included a lovely clam dish and a Thai curry with chicken.
Cooking demo
Spicy clams
Thai curry chicken
After sampling a variety of appetizers including Begali 5-spice shrimp cocktail with Singapore hot sauce, paani puri semolina puffs filled with spiced potato and three chutneys and date and kamut fritters with Persian rose petal, sesame and candied almonds, we moved inside to escape the Hades like heat and begin our tasting lunch.
edamame hummus
We began our lunch with a lovely edamame hummus and crispy spiced papadum chips.
heirloom tomato salad
Our salad was a lovely mix of heirloom tomato fattoush with a mint harissa vinaigrette.
Syrain lamb meatballs
My fave was the Syrian lamb meatballs with date carob molasses and Syrian cheese.
Tatsutage fried chicken
We also sampled a nice Tatsutage fried chicken with Furikakae spiced tempura and pickeled vegetables served with a pea and pork coconut rice with pea shoots and spiced pork belly. Yum.
guests at STREET lunch
I missed the Thai tea spiced creme caramel that was dessert as I joined Chef Feniger in the patio area to chat for a while about STREET and her new book, Susan Feniger’s Street Food, written with Chef Alger and Liz Lachman.
Susan Feniger's Street Food
My interview with Chef Feniger will be included in my next post. STREET is located at 742 North Highland Avenue, reservations at 323/203-0500. Chef Feniger will be hosting a feast and book signing on August 26, cost is $50 for event and $70 for event and signed book.