By Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger

(March 20, 2024)

One of the most popular dishes at Border Grill, Mary Sue and Susan’s favorite pollo dish puts a spiced-up spin on grilled chicken marinated in a blend of spices and seared to perfection with a flavorful cilantro sauce and a tangy pickled tomato salsa for a burst of flavor.

Read an interview with Susan Feniger and filmmaker Liz Lachman about their film “Susan Feniger.FORKED” here. 

Pollo Ciudad with Cilantro Sauce and Pickled Tomato Salsa

Serves 6

3 pounds boneless skin-on chicken thighs-5-6 oz

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

6 scallions

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 onions, sliced

8 large mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 bunch of leeks sliced

3 bunches cilantro, stems and leaves

1 1/2 jalapeños, chopped with seeds

2 tablespoons ground cumin(could be more)

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup  heavy cream-taste before adding, might not need all the cream

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3 cups cooked rice, for serving

Pickled Tomato Salsa (see recipe below), for serving

(The preparation in this video is slightly different from the current recipe below)

Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste- from lightly to liberally. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil, and place chicken in pan skin side down. Sear for 4 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for another 8 minutes. Turn chicken and cook another 4 minutes, or until just cooked all the way through.

We will sear these for really crispy skin.

Meanwhile, make sauce by melting butter in a medium skillet over moderate heat.  Cook shallots and mushrooms and leeks until soft and golden, about 10 minutes.  Add cilantro stems and half the leaves jalapeños, and cumin, lower heat, and cook for 5 minutes.  Add chicken stock.  Turn heat to high and cook until wilts, not long.   Add cream or half and half and return to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Puree in a blender and add rest of cilantro.

Whisk sugar and vinegar together in a small bowl and add…should be sort of sweet and sour…don’t overcook or it becomes army green; ideally it’s bright green.

Arrange grilled chicken over a bed of your favorite rice and spoon sauce over all.  Garnish with cilantro leaves, scallions, and Pickled Tomato Salsa.  Serve immediately.

Pickled Tomato SalsaMakes 2 cups

1 pound tomatoes, peeled*, seeded, and cut in julienne strips

1/2 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

2 to 3 serrano chiles, with seeds, thinly sliced in rounds

1/2 cup white vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds or black

2 teaspoons cracked black peppercorns

3 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, toss tomatoes with scallions and serrano chiles.

In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil.  Add sugar and salt, and cook until dissolved, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat and reserve.

Measure ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, cracked peppercorns, cumin, cayenne, and turmeric onto a plate and place near stove.  In another medium saucepan, heat oil over moderate heat until just smoking.  Add spices and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until aromas are released, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vinegar mixture.  Immediately pour over reserved tomato mixture.  Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or several days.

* To Peel Tomatoes:  Remove the cores and score an X on the underside.  Blanch for 15 seconds in boiling water and immediately plunge into iced water to prevent continued cooking.  Peel with a paring knife.

Copyright © 2019, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, www.bordergrill.com

Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken on Julia Child’s Cooking with Master Chefs

In 1985, Chef/Owners Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken debuted the first Border Grill as a small, forty seat “taco stand” on Melrose out of a deep affection and appreciation of the Mexican kitchen. Effortlessly blending their classical culinary training with conscientiously-sourced ingredients, and regional recipes inspired by home cooks from Oaxaca to Mexico City, street vendors in Tijuana, and taco stands along the Yucatan and Baja coasts, the award-wining chefs continue to evolve their California-inflected Mexican-inspired cuisine.

“At Border Grill, they explored regional Mexican cooking a decade before the idea became fashionable… But still, nobody has managed to marry the freshness of the California kitchen with the deep, complex flavors of Mexican cooking in quite the way that Feniger and Milliken do, and if you ran across their ceviche, pork-steak carnitas or squash tacos in an Eastside dive, you would be as happy as a lime-marinated clam.” – Jonathan Gold 

Now with multiple Border Grill locations, food trucks, and a full-service events and catering business, the chef duo continue breaking barriers as female restaurateurs in a male-dominated industry, pioneering sustainability initiatives and developing their culinary offerings into cookbooks, radio and tv shows, and quick service spin-offs BBQ Mexicana and Pacha Mamas in Las Vegas, and SOCALO, a California canteen and Mexican pub in Santa Monica. Most recently, the duo opened Alice B., a California twist on Mediterranean food in Palm Springs. At every location from Southern California to Las Vegas, the chefs combine fresh, flavorful and organic ingredients with hand shaken cocktails, vibrant design, and friendly service to create an unforgettable dining experience.

Community, connection, and giving back have always been at the core of the chefs’ values and that passion is felt throughout the company. From taking great care of guests, employees and vendors; teaching young chefs and mentoring restaurateurs; to spearheading fundraisers for local charities, LGBTQ and human rights organizations, medical research, and ending childhood hunger, the chefs have always supported giving back, giving hope, and inspiring a whole new generation to follow their passions and effect positive change in their community.

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.

Veterans of nearly 400 episodes of Food Network’s “Too Hot Tamales” and “Tamales World Tour” series  Milliken and Feniger have co-authored many cookbooks including “Cantina,” “City Cuisine,” “Mesa Mexicana,” and “Cooking with Too Hot Tamales,” and Susan’s solo cookbook “Susan Feniger’s Street Food.”  Learn more here but order from your favorite local bookstore such as the wonderful cookbook store, Omnivore.