Friday Fandom 1 - Sammy's Wild Game Grill

I have eaten a wide array of exotic meats in my day, ordering them off the internet, paying high shipping fees to have my meat arrive overnight.  Last year when we went to Menu of Menus I tried some elk chili and discovered a restaurant in Houston called Sammy's Wild Game Grill that served exotic meat. I was thrilled! I picked up a brochure from the restaurant serving the chili and saw they had a variety of wild game. I had tried llama, elk, antelope, caiman, wild boar, and a few other animals, but I had not been able to find camel or python anywhere. When I saw camel and python fries on the menu, I knew I would be making a trip there quite soon. 

For Mother's Day the next month, while other Houston Moms were being treated to brunch, I told my husband there was only one place I wanted to go. Sammy's. He obliged, we scooped up 3 of our 5 kids, and headed out. 

The first thing we noticed was that it's actually a fairly small place with a small parking area. We went inside and I took a few pictures, hoping not to seem like a weirdo to the guy behind the counter. The menu was written on the wall behind the counter in easy to read chalk letters. I didn't have to think twice. Camel burger with Python chili cheese fries. The kids got buffalo and yak burgers and my daughter got pheasant hot dog. They shared another serving of python chili fries. My husband ordered the same as I did. There was some indoor seating, but we choose to sit outdoors in the patio area since it was a nice day.

The meat wasn't gamey or odd tasting, and though I didn't feel it tasted exactly the same as a regular burger (where's the fun in that?) it wasn't so different as to be off-putting. Different, but not TOO different for most people. The chili fries were amazing. Delicious fries with chili made of python snake meat, loads of gooey cheese and crisp green onions on top, so good. The kids all loved their lunches, and my husband enjoyed his camel also (especially making a food jokes I won't repeat here). 

If you are an adventurous Houstonian who would like to try exotic meats prepared in familiar ways (burgers, hot dogs, chili, salad, tacos) I highly recommend heading over to Sammy's. You'll need to make more than one trip though, because after you've tried one exotic meat, you're going to want to try them all. Tell them the Houston Bucket Lister sent you!