Flamingo Grill

(03/​09/​2012) New folks have taken over the cursed spot at the corner of Eutaw and MLK. The previous Flamingo Grill went down in flames after a few months (rumor of tax evasion). These new guys seem geniune. They’ve only been open about a month, and they honestly seemed a little surprised to have customers. The advertised hot buffet (weighed by the lb.) was not operating on the day I was there; they said it was too expensive to maintain when there weren’t that many customers. They have the stews and sides behind the order counter, and you can still get it weighed, but it’s actually cheaper just to order a la carte.

I ordered the somewhat pricey Chicken Tikka Kabob (marinated, tandoori seasoning, chicken thighs, grilled, then served onions, green peppers and what looked like oyster mushrooms sauteed off the flattop) which came with a side of Biryani rice, naan, and a side of stew (today’s offerings were chickpea curry, okra, and spinach and potatoes). The stews were very well-​seasoned, flavorful and spicy (like lots of different spices). The Spinach and potato stew had tender potatoes, stewed spinach, cumin, coriander, cilantro; the Chickpea curry was nutty (almost like there was added peanut or sesame paste), soft chickpeas, coriander and mustard seeds, cilantro, some heat. Biryani rice: cumin seed, some saffron, mostly tumeric coloring, chunks of chicken seekh kebab (ground chicken, black pepper, maybe a green chile, crushed red pepper flake). The naan was standard store-​bought, soft and slightly elastic-​y when warmed. The chicken was marinated thighs, tender, not really juicy, but pretty flavorful, and that familiar tandoori salmon-​orange color; not bad. While the food was OK and certainly plentiful (my takeout box probably weighed over 3 lbs., I have some suspicions that turnover might not be ideal. Would like to give them another try, and hopefully see more people in there next time.