La Memoria
Señora Esperanza Ruiz opened La Flama in 1997 after moving from Juárez. She learned to make birria from her mother, who learned from her grandmother. The consommé pot has never been fully emptied — she drains most of it each night, but always leaves some as a base and adds to it the next day. She calls it 'la memoria' — the memory.
The name 'La Flama' came from her husband, who said the birria broth 'burns like a good flame — it warms you from the inside.' He passed away in 2018. His photo is on the wall near the register. Many regulars knew him.
Her daughter Sofia now helps run the kitchen on weekends. Her son Miguel does all the social media — he's the reason they went viral on TikTok. A birria quesatacos video hit 2.1 million views. After that, the line on weekends stretches down the block.