Susan Feniger is one of the pioneers of modern Los Angeles dining – and one of the first generation of chefs to bring bold, regional Mexican cuisine into the mainstream. But her story starts in a parking lot. In this episode, Susan shares how she set out – very intentionally – to learn from the kitchens she admired, landing at Ma Maison under a young Wolfgang Puck, and how she met her longtime business partner Mary Sue Milliken, eventually convincing her to move to Los Angeles so they could open a restaurant together. That restaurant, City Cafe, was a 900-square-foot spot on Melrose where they cooked in the parking lot on two hibachis and two hot plates. And somehow… it worked. People noticed … including Julia Child – a connection that eventually led to City Cafe memorabilia being displayed at the Smithsonian. What followed was a career defined by curiosity, from traveling through Mexico to explore regional cuisine long before it was widely understood, to building Border Grill into one of the defining restaurant concepts in Los Angeles and beyond. Along the way, Susan and Mary Sue also became some of the original stars of the Food Network, hosting more than 400 episodes of Too Hot Tamales, helping shape what food television would become. And wait until you hear just how strong that partnership really is… it involves a relationship story that could probably only happen in Los Angeles.
Susan Feniger is one of the pioneers of modern Los Angeles dining – and one of the first generation of chefs to bring bold, regional Mexican cuisine into the mainstream.
But her story starts in a parking lot.
In this episode, Susan shares how she set out – very intentionally – to learn from the kitchens she admired, landing at Ma Maison under a young Wolfgang Puck, and how she met her longtime business partner Mary Sue Milliken, eventually convincing her to move to Los Angeles so they could open a restaurant together.
That restaurant, City Cafe, was a 900-square-foot spot on Melrose where they cooked in the parking lot on two hibachis and two hot plates. And somehow… it worked. People noticed … including Julia Child – a connection that eventually led to City Cafe memorabilia being displayed at the Smithsonian.
What followed was a career defined by curiosity, from traveling through Mexico to explore regional cuisine long before it was widely understood, to building Border Grill into one of the defining restaurant concepts in Los Angeles and beyond.
Along the way, Susan and Mary Sue also became some of the original stars of the Food Network, hosting more than 400 episodes of Too Hot Tamales, helping shape what food television would become.
And wait until you hear just how strong that partnership really is… it involves a relationship story that could probably only happen in Los Angeles.