Susan Feniger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Susan Feniger
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Susan Feniger at her Santa Monica restaurant SOCALO. Photo by Anne Fishbein.
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| Occupation | Chef, restaurateur, author |
| Known for | Too Hot Tamales, SOCALO, Border Grill, CITY |
| Relatives | Ben Feldman (nephew) |
Susan Feniger is a famous American chef, restaurant owner, cookbook writer, and TV personality. She is well-known for her cooking show Too Hot Tamales on the Food Network. She also opened many popular restaurants in Los Angeles. Susan has received a special Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Restaurant Association for her work.
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Susan Feniger's Culinary Journey
Opening Restaurants
Susan Feniger and her long-time friend, Mary Sue Milliken, first worked together in Chicago and Paris. They later moved to Los Angeles and started their first restaurant, City Cafe, in 1981. They moved to a bigger place and renamed it City Restaurant.
In 1985, they opened a Mexican restaurant called Border Grill. It was in the original City Cafe spot. Later, in 1990, Border Grill moved to Santa Monica. This restaurant also opened in Pasadena (now closed) and at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
Feniger and Milliken also opened Ciudad in Los Angeles in 1998. This restaurant focused on Latin American flavors. Ciudad is now a Border Grill location. These restaurants helped change the food scene in Los Angeles. Susan Feniger has been inspired by foods from countries like India, France, and Mexico.
In April 2009, Susan Feniger opened her first solo restaurant called Street. It was in Hollywood and served "street food" from many different cultures. Some dishes included millet puffs, Massaman chicken curry, and dumplings. Street closed in November 2013.
In December 2013, Feniger and Chef Kajsa Alger opened Mud Hen Tavern. It was in the same spot where Street used to be. This restaurant was a cozy neighborhood bar and eatery. It offered tasty pub food and comfort dishes made with fresh ingredients. Mud Hen Tavern closed on October 11, 2016.
In December 2019, Feniger and Milliken opened a new Mexican restaurant called Socalo in Santa Monica. Its name combines "SoCal" (Southern California) with "zócalo," which means "town square" in Spanish.
In December 2023, Feniger and Milliken opened Alice B. in Palm Springs. This restaurant focuses on fresh, seasonal foods with French and Mediterranean influences.
Books and TV Shows
Susan Feniger has written five cookbooks with Mary Sue Milliken and others. These books include City Cuisine (1989) and Mesa Mexicana (1994). Other titles are Cantina: The Best of Casual Mexican Cooking (1996), Cooking with Too Hot Tamales (1997), and Mexican Cooking for Dummies (1999/2002).
Susan is also a well-known TV personality. She and Mary Sue Milliken starred in 396 episodes of Too Hot Tamales and Tamales World Tour. These popular cooking shows aired on the Food Network in the 1990s. Before these shows, in 1993, Feniger and Milliken appeared with Julia Child on her PBS series Cooking with Master Chefs.
Susan Feniger also appeared on the TV show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She and Milliken prepared the food for the 2001 movie, Tortilla Soup.
In 2010, Feniger was a contestant on the second season of Top Chef Masters. She was the last female chef left in the competition. She had to create a dish for the gods. Susan made Kaya toast with a soy-glazed egg and coconut jam for Aphrodite. She raised $32,500 for The Scleroderma Research Foundation. She felt like a winner because her appearance helped bring attention to the foundation.
In 2011, ABC planned a TV show based on Feniger and Milliken's lives. However, it was never aired.
In April 2013, she appeared as herself in the Bones episode "The Maiden in the Mushrooms".
In October 2014, Feniger was a contestant on the "Superstar Sabotage" tournament of Cutthroat Kitchen. She also appeared as a guest judge on Hell's Kitchen (Season 19) in April 2021.
Special Awards
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has small dishes from Feniger and Milliken's first restaurant, City Café. In 2013, Susan Feniger received the Elizabeth Burns Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Restaurant Association. She also shared the 2018 Julia Child Award from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.
Susan Feniger's Life
Susan Feniger grew up in Toledo, Ohio. Her parents are Ruth Alice and Yale Feniger. She graduated from Pitzer College in 1976.
She is a founding board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation. She has been on the board since 1988. Susan also serves on the board of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Her partner is Liz Lachman. Interestingly, Susan's ex-husband, Josh Schweitzer, is married to her business partner Mary Sue Milliken.
Her nephew is the actor Ben Feldman. He is the step-son of Susan's sister.
