Behind the scenes at Susan Feniger’s Street

“Too Hot Tamales” chef Susan Feniger, right, is branching out for the first time without perennial partner Mary Sue Milliken. (But don’t worry, both women say, nothing is amiss. In fact, the two are currently mulling ways to expand their Border Grill-Ciudad empire.) The new restaurant, Susan Feniger’s Street, is slated to open in L.A. later this month. Here, Feniger and her Street co-owner and co-chef Kasja Alger are testing recipes at Feniger’s home. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 16, 2014 11:46 AM PT

The menu at Street is inspired by global street foods -- the finger foods, cheap eats and tradition-steeped delicacies you’d find walking down the street in far-flung locales such as Singapore, Mumbai and Beirut. Feniger says this is her favorite item on the menu: It’s pani puri, an Indian snack. Feniger recalls being in Mumbai and watching a crowd, including men in business suits as well as impoverished youngsters, lining up for it at a street-side stand. They all wanted a taste of the crispy-fried rounds stuffed with a savory potato mixture and then plunged into a pungent chile sauce. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

These tasty treats are on the menu as Thai bites. Feniger takes a biscuit cutter to a collard green leaf, and then slathers the round with a tamarind-caramel sauce. That is topped with an assortment that includes chopped peanuts, coconut, finely diced lime, and dried shrimp. To eat it, you fold it in half like a taco, then fold it once more and pop it in your mouth. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

These savory-sweet morsels will greet diners as they are seated: flash-fried Peruvian popcorn and puffed millet bites seasoned with spices, including fennel and curry, and held together with marshmallow. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

On the dessert menu at Street: Vietnamese yogurt panna cotta with an orange marmalade. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Feniger declined help from her corporate staff at Ciudad and Border Grill to start Street. That meant overseeing every element of the new restaurant, including choosing, buying and storing the chairs -- in her garage. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Even in her “Too Hot Tamales” days on the Food Network, Feniger eschewed the traditional chef’s wear. (Ann Johansson / For the Times)

For chef Feniger, foot comfort trumps fashion. (Ann Johansson / For the Times)

The restaurant, Street, is decorated with murals created by artists Su Huntley and Donna Muir -- and all invoke street scenes. From the alley behind the restaurant on Highland Avenue, you can see Street man -- the eatery’s icon. Servers will wear black hoodies with the Street name down one arm and the Street man on the other. (How did we get Feniger up on the roof with just days to go before the restaurant’s opening? The photographer asked if she was game -- and Feniger went looking for a ladder.) (Ann Johansson / For the Times)

Feniger poses at her mural-covered restaurant. (Ann Johansson / For The Times)

Murals line the restaurant’s interior courtyard. (Ann Johansson / For The Times)

The rice, lentil and pasta dish here is called Kushary. It’s finished off with a dollop of roasted tomatoes. Click on the links below for recipes. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Turkish doughnuts are drenched in rose-hip syrup. They can be served with either sour cream or yogurt. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The signature Street cocktail: the Canton ginger kick. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)