We recently asked the adventurous RoShamBurger crew to check out the diverse menu at The Flaming Grill for a guest spot review on SacFoodies – not because we weren’t interested in checking it out ourselves, but mostly because we trust these true burger connoisseurs to dish about the rarest finds and eclectic offerings on The Flaming Grill menu. And, in true RoShamFashion, the crew didn’t disappoint.
RoShamBurger’s Chris Davey
The Flaming Grill is a “go to” for RoShamBurger, not because of its charming surroundings, or that it’s always good, but because it’s unique. The Flaming Grill offers a variety of meats and toppings that make the menu read more like a list of options and upgrades, rather than a restrictive “I’ll have a #2.” On this adventure to the known (and unknown), my wife Lisa and I expanded our burger horizons. You see, they were out of Kobe beef, which is unique in its own right. So, Lisa hopped on the kangaroo meat, while I went with the VeLion (more on this in a second). The kangaroo meat was “interesting” … I personally didn’t care for the strong gamey flavor, but Lisa found it “interesting” and ate what she didn’t share.
Ok, back to VeLion. This is an odd combination of veal and lion. Apparently, veal is very similar in taste to lion, but acts as a carrier for what I imagine is a rather tough scrap of meat – lion. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste a whole lot different than a sirloin burger. Although I finished it, I couldn’t get the image of Simba out of my head. Thankfully, I don’t think VeLion will ever sweep the nation as the next best burger meat, and Lisa and I were both glad we stepped outside of our comfort zones.
We can’t forget the beer at The Flaming Grill either. Jose is a beer lover and shares his passion with everyone. On this night, he was trying to empty his kegs in anticipation of the upcoming Sacramento Beer Week and a restocking with seven types of Deschutes. Unfortunately, this meant Pliny the Elder was tapped out, so I opted for the Hop Wallop instead.
RoShamBurger’s Mark Groux
RoShamBurger liked The Flaming Grill the first time so we decided to give them another visit, this time we took the women with us. My Bacon Avocado Sirloin Burger was cooked to perfection. The fries were great and I tried some different beers since they were trying to clear out for some new kegs on the way. Maureen, my girlfriend, had the Sourdough Melt and the beer sampler, complete with a BPA, Shugga, Nut Brown and something crazy called the Hairy Eyeball! The patty melt came with 1/3 lb. sirloin, grilled onions and mushrooms, and she had them throw on some tomato to boot and upgraded her fries to cheese fries.
RoShamBurger’s Lance Smith (husband to SacFoodie Vanessa Smith)
RoShamBurger’s first trip to The Flaming Grill was not exactly great for me and I was left with a dry taste in my mouth…translation…over cooked burger. It’s safe to say Vanessa and I are the conservative eaters in the group and we stayed true to form by ordering the Bacon Cheeseburger (someone had to have the control burger) and the Bacon Avocado Burger. Our two year old son, AKA “The RoShammer,” had the kid’s cheeseburger. All three burgers arrived hot, juicy and cooked to perfection. Needless to say, my over-cooked first impression was immediately deleted from memory and was replaced with a juicy medium rare one. Vanessa was particularly impressed with the quality and quantity of the freshly-sliced avocado placed on the burger as well as the lightly toasted bun. The RoShammer loved his burger and (as always) gave the fries two greasy thumbs up.
Our experience at The Flaming Grill was nothing short of superb. Not only did all 6.5 of us devour our burgers with total satisfaction, but we were also impressed with the chef’s ability to cook each burger perfectly. Believe it or not, ordering 3+ medium rare burgers at once has been as elusive to the RoShamBurgers as VeLion is to the American palate. With that being said, The Flaming Grill is officially a RoShamFavorite!
The Flaming Grill
2319 El Camino Avenue
Sacramento, California 95821
(916) 359-0840