Margarita Dinner at Border Grill: Great Value Hits Downtown Santa Monica

Grilled Oja Santa Shrimp

Border Grill has been a downtown Santa Monica staple for over 25 years. Too Hot Tamales Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken aren’t willing to just rest on their laurels and simply serve contemporary Mexican food to tourists and locals who are still working their way down J. Gold’s 99 essential restaurants. The Border Grill brand has been expanding with a popular food truck, converting Ciudad into a  second Border Grill downtown, opening a Vegas location, and even opening a “taco stand meets corner kiosk” called Border Grill Stop. With all of this activity and Susan Feniger pouring her energy into her new restaurant Street, it’s nice to see that the original Border Grill is trying new things. I was recently invited to a 5-course dinner with cocktail pairings hosted by Susan Feniger and Border Grill Executive Chef Alex Moreno. The first time I met Chef Feniger, I was swept away by her enthusiasm, positive energy, and warmth. I was excited to experience that positive energy once again and to see what culinary treats they had in store for us.

The first course was a fried grilled oja santa shrimp with tomato mint tea. The fried shrimp was enjoyable but the tomato mint tea was way too salty and I couldn’t finish it. The cocktail pairing was a cucumber mint gin and tonic made with tru organic gin and cucumber mint ice cubes, a very refreshing way to start the evening. All of the cocktails were made with Tru Organic spirits made by Greenbar Collective, a Los Angeles company started in 2004 by the husband and wife team of Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew, who were in attendance at the dinner.

Abalone and California Avocado Ceviche

The next course was lime-cured red abalone and California avocado ceviche with heirloom cherry tomatoes and Persian cucumbers. Executive Chef Alex Moreno emphasized the importance of local ingredients and informed diners that the red abalone were alive two hours before and caught the day before and day of in Santa Rosa. This was a lovely version of ceviche with a presentation to match. The dish was paired with a ginger lemon drop with tru organic vodka, meyer lemon, and ginger syrup. I’m usually not a fan of lemon drops, but this was not too sweet and definitely one of my favorite versions of this drink.

Squash Blossom Relleno

Up next was the squash blossom relleno with crema, homemade requeson cheese, and preserved lemon. The lemon was picked from the chef’s mom’s tree and preserved for a year. The bread served as a nice vessel for this creamy and spicy dish.

Squash Blossom Relleno

The cocktail pairing was a spiced grapefruit fizz with crusoe organic spiced rum and homemade grapefruit soda.

Seeded Lamb Chop

The final savory course was a seeded lamb chop with grilled heirloom tomato, grilled romano beans and spiced corn pinwheels. The lamb was outstanding and the sesame seeds were a nice addition. Paired with a curried margarita with ixa organic silver tequila, lime, curry leaves, and agave, this was the highlight of the evening.

Susan Feniger and Executive Chef Alex Moreno

Farmers Market Fruit Crisp

The meal ended with a farmers market fruit crisp featuring plumbs, strawberries, apricots, and blueberries. The cinnamon ice cream helped push this dish into the “winner” column. My liver was given a break during this pairing: a LAMILL Mini Cafe de Olla -a spiced Mexican latte made with LAMILL dark roast espresso with cinnamon, orange zest, allspice, clove, and piloncillo sugar.

Susan Feniger Commanding a Room

Of course, one of the big perks of the meal was getting to listen to the animated Chef Susan Feniger discuss her passion for cooking. The meal had a few highlights and a couple near-misses. The final verdict: what a great deal for only $55. Four cocktails and a latte can run you $55 many places, and here you also get 5 courses of food. I was a little nervous when I walked in and discovered it was communal seating, but I ended up surrounded by interesting people and didn’t want to the meal to end.

Top Chef Master Susan Feniger

If you’re interested in attending the next Border Grill Margarita Dinner, you can sign-up for the Border Grill newsletter. They are aiming for an end up October date. 

Border Grill Santa Monica
1445 4th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-1655

Disclosure: This meal was hosted