Mary Sue recalls, “We were working circles around the boys and we worked for half the price we came in early and left late and never made any fuss. Mary Sue and Susan met when they were the first and only women in the kitchen at Jovan Trboyevic’s renowned Chicago restaurant, Le Perroquet. “People from across the country would come to Border Grill and give us big hugs, like they were our best friends, which really helped raise awareness” about their brand of south-of-the-border cuisine. They were the first hosts of KCRW’s “Good Food,” which led them to “Too Hot Tamales,” on Food Network TV in the 90s. They’ve come a long way since then, with the success of Border Grill downtown, the BG truck, in addition to branches in Las Vegas, LAX, at Huntington Library, and new restaurants recently opened in Long Beach. The bathroom was in the kitchen, right by the fridge.” We used to do our prep on the back patio, and cooked on hot plates and hibachis. Susan remembers, “We only had nine tables. The creative culinary team behind Santa Monica’s Border Grill (which closed after 27 years due to a rent increase) will build on the model they’ve always championed-high quality ingredients, affordable prices, not compromising the planet, and community building-since opening their tiny first restaurant on Melrose Avenue next to LA Eyeworks, City Café in 1981. With its contemporary design, ambitious bar program, artisanal microbrews and mezcal, and of course, their special brand of SoCal inflected Mexican food, it’ll be an easy goal to achieve. “We want to become a place where people convene, restore and connect,” said Mary Sue. And it’s the vision that Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, two of the most beloved and celebrated chefs in LA, share for their new restaurant, Socalo, soon to open at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and 20th Street in the Gateway Hotel space that used to house an IHOP. It’s a play on “SoCal” and “Zocalo,” the Spanish word for town square or public plaza. The distinction complements additional accolades, including the Elizabeth Burns Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Restaurant Association in 2013 earned induction into Menu Masters Hall of Fame in 2014 and the 2018 Gold Award from the Los Angeles Times for culinary excellence and innovation in Southern California.įeniger is an active member of the community, and currently sits on the boards of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, Los Angeles LGBT Center, and L.A.Socalo. In 2018, Feniger and Milliken were named the recipients of the fourth annual Julia Child Award from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, marking the first women to be honored. Susan has co-authored six cookbooks, including Susan Feniger’s Street Food and competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” in 2010. They also were the original co-hosts of the popular food-centric radio show, KCRW’s “Good Food,” in L.A. A James Beard Award that same year confirmed their impact on the nation’s cuisine.įeniger and Milliken brought their innovative approaches to The Food Network with nearly 400 episodes of the “Too Hot Tamales” and “Tamales World Tour” series. That evolved into the larger CITY Restaurant in 1985-and the introduction of Border Grill as a simple spot for authentic home cooking and street foods of Mexico informed by the duo’s treks through the country. After working for Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison in L.A., Feniger went to the French Riviera to further hone her skills, and returned to open City Café with Milliken in 1981, forever changing L.A.’s culinary landscape by introducing eclectic dishes from around the world. in Palm Springs and a fifth BBQ Mexicana in Las Vegas.Īfter graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, she made a groundbreaking move in joining the nearly all-male kitchen at Chicago’s Le Perroquet, serendipitously meeting the only other woman in the kitchen-Mary Sue Milliken. This year, the duo will open two new ventures: Alice B. In 2018, Feniger and Milliken debuted BBQ Mexicana, a fast casual eatery now with four locations in Las Vegas in late 2019 the chefs opened Socalo, a California canteen and Mexican Pub serving seasonal SoCal Mexican fare in Santa Monica and most recently the duo launched Pacha Mamas, featuring seared skewers a la plancha and freshly composed ceviches, at Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena. Now with locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, Border Grill continues to serve street food-inspired regional Mexican cuisine with a commitment to sustainability and the best quality ingredients. Iconic culinarian, author, and entrepreneur Susan Feniger may be best known for her Modern Mexican concept, Border Grill restaurants, trucks, and catering, which she runs with her business partner of more than 40 years, Mary Sue Milliken.
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