DINING IN LA: Meatless Mondays at Street, and Then Some

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A few years ago, celebrity (and celebrated) chef Susan Feniger opened up Street in Hollywood, a restaurant that bills itself as a home for global street food. For some strange reason, I had never set foot in the establishment until a few weeks ago when I was invited to enjoy a media-comped dinner there, and given that I have a strong penchant for ethnic nibbles, I was most excited about this meal.

After the jump, check out pics from the meal, including some offerings from the restaurant’s new Meatless Monday menu…

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Some of the fun artwork adorning the walls of the restaurant’s sizable courtyard.

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More sights from inside the courtyard.

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Starting off the meal was this little puffy rice snack flavored with various Indian spices. I expected it to be crispy and crackly like a rice cake, but it was in fact chewy like a Rice Krispies Treat. A tactile turnabout!

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Wine is intriguingly served in a brimming carafe that looks to have gone through the Honey-I-Shrunk-The-Kids wringer. It’s an odd but amusing presentation.

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My beverage for the evening: a Tequila Tamarindo: tequila, fresh tamarind puree, and fresh orange. This bad boy was strong, yo.

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This is one of those moments when I realize why I’m not always welcome in certain “food blogger” circles. It’s because I’m too lazy to write anything down. Case in point: this dish. I don’t remember what it is. I could make an educated guess, but I really feel like that will just make things worse. I do remember that it tasted quite nice though; so there’s that. THIS JUST IN: these are purple yam and taro cakes. PHEW! Food blogger cred restored!!

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Here’s something from a section of the menu labeled “Classic Street.” It’s Kaya Toast (no relation to the short-lived MTV series Kaya). The concept is simple and fun: break the yolk in the soy sauce and then dip the toast (slathered in coconut jam) in it. This will bring you to a happy place.

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Mung bean pancake, lit romantically by a candle. I enjoyed this dish quite a bit. Then again, I tend to like every pancake I encounter.

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Example #2 of why I’ll never be embraced by the food blogger community: my horrific pictures. Here’s a poorly lit one of warm halloumi cheese with citrus, grilled treviso, and honey thyme vinaigrette. I don’t know what treviso is either, but I assume it’s the greens. Anyway, throw down a slab of warm cheese, and I’m happy. Pancakes, cheese — I’m really quite simplistic.

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At this point, it’s a miracle that anything is discernible in my photos.

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Nevertheless, this blurry mess is a fine trio of meatballs: Thai chicken satay, Korean BBQ, and Syrian lamb varieties, to be specific. Unshockingly, I enjoyed the Korean style meatball the most, followed by Thai, then Syrian. We could have opted for a Swedish meatball, but I felt it important to let Ikea have provenance over this culinary item. (That being said, I’m sure the Street version might be just a TOUCH better)

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I swear all these photos look pristine in my camera. Maybe I shouldn’t have drunken that Tequila Tamarindo so quickly. Nevertheless, this charming blob is actually a date and kamut fritter with yogurt sauce, rose petals, almonds. It’s sweet and decadent. Heck, it’s borderline dessert. This fritter is definitely worth getting to know, but maybe time it for the end of the meal.

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Okay. These are the worst pictures I’ve ever taken at any restaurant. I would say that I’m embarrassed, but if there’s one thing we’ve come to learn at B-Side Blog, it’s that I have no shame. Besides, an argument could be made that I was so eager to eat this food that I couldn’t bare to waste a single second taking additional photos (or focusing properly). Anyway, this was a jackfruit croquette of some sort from the Meatless Monday menu. The shocking thing here was that the jackfruit actually looked and tasted like meat. Wha-whaaaaa?

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The table next to us ordered all sorts of desserts. And yes, I took pics. Don’t worry though: I wasn’t socially awkward about it.

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The sweet climax of the meal: Thai Tea Creme Caramel. Now, this was brilliant. It was perfectly light and full of wonderful Thai tea flavor. Err’one always plays with green tea in desserts, but why Thai tea has remained untapped is truly a mystery. More pls.

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The end.

Recommended dishes: mung bean pancake, haloumi cheese, Korean BBQ meatball, date and kamut fritter, Thai Tea creme caramel.

Susan Feniger’s Street
742 N Highland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Neighborhood: Hollywood
(323) 203-0500
http://www.eatatstreet.com/