Flame @ Bloom — Restaurant in Normal

Update: It has been several months since my last visit. This time I did a pick up order of the avocado toast with cubed potatoes. In my last review, I was generous with my 4 star review but they honestly deserve a 3 especially after this second visit. It was edible but the potatoed were pale and not as crisp as I'd expect. They give you one pieces of toast which tasted heavily buttered, the tomatoes on it were cherries cut in half so the texture wasn't pleasant and some bites of the avocado tasted sour and kind of old. Eggs were over cooked. They tried, but 15$ for something I could have executed better at home for a fraction of the price is, once again, disappointing.

Overall, the experience was pretty good and with a few tweaks, they'd be perfect. I got the vegan elotes burrito and my partner got the blackberry French toast. He also got a regular hot coffee and I got an horchata.

The drinks were fine but nothing to write home about and added 10$ onto the meal that was all and all unnecessary. The burrito was very tasty despite the hefty amount of rice inside it. They also gave rice on the side. Good thing it was delicious so I didn't mind it too much. I also appreciated the generous amount of avocado and the delicious green sauce. I will note that the vegan cheese was clearly purchased in slices and then diced. Parts of it did not melt and stuck together, resulting in large chunks. If you've worked with vegan cheese you know this is a bit of a rookie mistake so I hope to see that corrected. I LOVE to see vegan options but it's hard to pay this much for it when you know you could make it at home (I asked and the use Just Egg for the egg replacement).

The French toast was also good. The cinnamon whipped cream is special. I would have liked to see more cream cheese inside but what was there was good and so was the sear on the toast itself. Personally, I found the seeds in the blackberries to be overwhelming. That's a little bit our bad knowing that they have a seedy texture, a little bit of a critique because I think some straining could have helped significantly. The flavor was very good.

Something kind of strange to look out for: on the menu it makes it seem like the French toast comes with eggs and a meat side, but they're actually separate items. You can refuse them and the French toast would cost only 10$ instead of 16$ with the French toast and two fried eggs (yes it was 6$ for 2 eggs). The pricing reflected on our bill and when I look online, I see it structured the same way.

I paid 50$ for brunch which is not insane, but at that price point, I'd expect just a little better. Regardless of the missteps, I think we will be back to...

First, I'd like to say this tl;dr: This was the best meal I've ever had. It was amazing. If you're considering this place, GO. HERE. It's the best restaurant in town next to their sister store--Bloom Bawarchi. The portions are HUGE too, so for those who are concerned about budget, trust me--it's WELL worth it. Flavor alone is worth it, but with the portions, DOUBLE worth it.

Anyone giving this place anything below 5 stars is either just being a hater, has some sort of agenda, had some sort of nitpick that wasn't related to the food and shouldn't've counted it towards their rating, or just has no idea how to taste good food when it's literally served to them. This place is AMAZING.

REVIEW: We got the birria tacos, fried chicken tandoori torta sandwich, the chicken and waffles, and the tres leches cinnamon roll and we all shared everything together, as this was our first time trying this place and we wanted to sample it all.

It was all so fresh, crispy when it needed to be, juicy when it needed to be, SO flavorful, and the portions were WAY bigger than what we thought we were getting.

I have no idea what they did to that cinnamon roll. Idk if it was real cinnamon instead of the bark cinnamon that most people get, or if it was just freshly grated, or if they just used SO much, but the flavor was SO intense and DELICIOUS. It was the best cinnamon roll I've ever had. I loved that even with the cream cheese icing it wasn't too sweet. It was the perfect level of sweet.

That waffle was the best waffle I've ever had. It was so crispy and fluffy, it was amazing. The spicy honey was perfect level of both sweet and spicy. The tandoori fried chicken on it was crispy and so so juicy, so so flavorful.

The torta was the best dish there. First, it was HUGE. And second, it was so crispy, juicy, and flavorful. Especially with the battered fries and the butter chicken dipping sauce. Chefs kiss

The birria tacos were SO crispy and delicious. The meat was so tender it practically melted in my mouth. It was so juicy. The consume was flavorful and my god adding that lime made it perfect.

And for those who can't handle spice--don't worry, nothing was actually spicy. At all. Not even the spicy honey.

I'm so happy to have found a new date spot and am so excited to try everything else. Every single thing on the menu looks amazing.

May Bloom @ Flame live long and prosper. Thank you for being the good food that this...

I reayly want to give this place 5 stars. The food was really good. However the service was poor and the restaurant was pretty dirty.

Pros: The food was really good. I got the buffalo chicken sandwich and the fire fries. The homemade buffalo sauce was really flavorful with a little kick. I love spicy so this was not hot, but still really good.

The Fire fries are well seasoned with a fairly normal "cajun" like powder. Very tasty.

My wife got the waffle which she really like and my son got the chicken and waffles without Tandoori sauce. He really like his meal as well.

Cons: The service was really bad. The server acted like she wanted to be anywhere else besides helping us. I asked her to repeat what types of fries they have since she was mumbling. Rather than repeat the choices she just said "regular fries" so I assumed that was my only option. Then I heard the table next to me order the fire fries... I found the server standing near the bar and when I asked if I could update my order she looked at me like I had kicked her dog. A different server was able to help.

The restaurant was pretty dirty. They didn't seem to bus tables unless they needed them and then they just cleared the table and wiped most of the food onto the floor. I say most because I had to clean the table we were sitting at.

Finally, when I was brought the check via a hand held device, it was just a total. You cannot see the itemized bill. I paid, still left a 20% tip, and emailed myself the receipt. I was able to see the itemized bill via email.

Still, I would rather make sure there are no mistakes or a hidden tip charge before paying.

I suspect we will give the location another try, but if the service is still bad, we will...