La Flama
Growing up, my mom would bring my brother and i on frequent trips back to the neighborhood where she grew up in Mexico City. Most of the memories I have from those trips revolve around either food, or music, or both. I always remember that most of life was lived outdoors: on the street, on rooftops, in the open-air markets, in the zócalo or at the bosque chapultepec.



And wherever we’d roam, we’d find food: food trucks selling tortas, push-carts filled with tamales, guys with popup tents selling street tacos. Getting off the subway on the way to the movie theatre, we’d stop at the food cart selling, not popcorn, but an ear of corn in a styrofoam cup, smothered in mayonnaise, cheese, chili sauce, and lime (mexicans put chili and lime on everything!). My favorite street food was located a couple blocks from my grandmother’s house. There was an old lady who sold huaraches from her front porch in the evenings. Huarache literally means, “sandal” but this dish is a lot more tasty than that. It’s a thick, oblong-shaped tortilla, typically fried and then topped with…yep, you guessed it, chili and lime, sometimes beans or veggies.



Seeing huaraches on the menu at La Flama on 61st and Peoria brought all those memories back for me. And there was more; posole (hominy soup), tacos de nopal, tortas, lengua, and about a dozen things you’d never see at any gloppy cheesy tex mex chain.
When my friend and I arrived, the owner offered to walk him through the menu, and described each dish to him. After the intro, he asked, “What’s the spiciest thing you have?” I knew he was going to ask that; he’s quite the chili-head. Fortunately, they had just the dish for him: camarones al diablo, about a dozen shrimp smothered in a chipotle sauce, on a bed of rice, with beans on the side, served with warm fresh tortillas.

I of course wanted to order one of everything, but I settled on my childhood street food favorite, the huarache. La Flama’s version is thinner than I remember, but just as delicious. The dish starts with a crispy fried tortilla, spread with a thin layer of refried beans. They let me choose what meat I wanted, and I selected, “pechuga adobada” or marinated chicken breast. Perfect choice! The warm, spicy, smokey flavor of the chicken was balanced perfectly by creamy avocado and salty, crumbly queso fresco.
We shared a huge plate of street tacos. They were small, but packed with a ton of great flavor. We had three kinds: that same marinated chicken, rib meat, and nopal (prickly pear cactus). I’m not sure how to describe the flavor of cactus; the texture is somewhat like bell pepper, with the flavor being more like an okra (but brighter, fresher, and with almost a background citrus aroma). The tacos were served with a selection of lime (yes, you’re sensing a theme, here…), pico de gallo, and a couple different homemade salsas, on a little tray so we could top them as we pleased. Our favorite condiment was the green tomatillo salsa.
We ended up lingering for a couple hours, mostly because after almost every bite, I would regale my friend with another story of my childhood Mexico trips. I’m thrilled that this little hole-in-the-wall place introduces some of the beauty that is Mexico City to Tulsa.
Originally published at tulsalunch.com.
