Quite a while ago I did experiment a little bit on using HDR processing on my street photographs, and I have rarely employed the HDR unless it was absolutely necessary. I have nothing against HDR shooting, I do think that HDR can produce some of the most amazing modern photography. I also believe that having too much HDR, especially the "overcooked" versions with super high saturation and unnatural look and feel to the photograph, is quite an eye-sore. Just my opinion. Don't kill me.
In my course of trying HDR, mainly with a pseudo-processed single RAW file method, I have come to realize the strong advantage HDR can bring: and it is obviously stated in its name itself which is High Dynamic Range. In a situation of extremely high contrast, HDR can be a life-saver, if utilized properly. I encountered a street portrait shot in a harsh sun light (close to noon), and the man was wearing a cap. No matter how I expose him I would not keep the right balance of exposure, and the difference between the shadow and highlight regions was too much. I chose to bring up a little detail in the shadow region, causing the rest of the scene severely over-exposed. The image was shot in RAW, with an intention to find out just how much of detail I can recover from the Sony A57's RAW file, from the highlight region.
Here it is.