This month of August, Flame Broiler has been celebrating its 30th anniversary by offering rewards…read moremembers a deal each week of the month. I redeemed the first two weeks' deals at the location *on* Lakewood, which I must specify^ is in Long Beach. For this third week, I redeemed the offer at the Flame Broiler *in* Lakewood.
Notice how I inserted asterisks about each preposition before "Lakewood"? Don't get them confused, especially since the two locations are quite different despite being quite close to each other.
The Lakewood Flame Broiler recently updated their front signage so it looks more modern and appealing than the quaint signage of yesteryear. Hopefully, that has attracted more customers, and hopefully, that is a sign of an upgrade at this Flame Broiler.
Upgrade in one regard, but a downgrade in another, unfortunately.
The Week 3 offer was 30% off a chicken or tofu bowl during Happy Hour, which is from 2 to 5 PM. I made it to this location at about 4:30 PM on Thursday, and right before I entered, I noticed a sign by the front door advertising their Happy Hour special of a free 20 oz beverage with purchase of any bowl or plate; this special was valid all day on weekends, but only from 2 to 5 PM on weekdays.
And it just so happened to coincide with that other Happy Hour deal! So could I get both Happy Hour deals simultaneously?!
When I entered, there were just a couple of customers inside eating at a table by the right wall. There wasn't any employee at the front, but once she saw me come in, Jackeline came out to take my order. I told her I was intending to use the 30% off Happy Hour deal from the 30th anniversary month long promo, but asked if I could also get the free drink since I was planning to get a chicken bowl.
After Jackeline applied my reward at the register, she was able to ring up the free drink for me. Yay! She was also happy enough to offer me each of their five sauces, which would have normally incurred an upcharge at other locations, but not here!
I asked her how long I'd have to wait, and she said less than 5 minutes. No joke, by the time I filled my cup and inserted the straw, she told me my order was ready!
Loved how quick it was! But I didn't love how the sweet sesame dressing cup had opened while I was driving home, so when I opened my takeout bag, it was a mess inside! If they had taken an extra 5 seconds to properly secure their sauce cups, I would have been more satisfied. Same with the lid of the bowl; the tab of the lid wasn't lined up with the bowl, so it made opening the lid of the bowl more difficult than it should have been.
Nevertheless, the bowl tasted good, especially with the other four sauces I was given. I didn't like how the chicken was dried out, but perhaps that is the norm here at Flame Broiler, especially when you order to go. Luckily, with the abundance of sauces you can get at Flame Broiler, you can easily forget about how dry that chicken is and enjoy the rest of the bowl!
I thought Jackeline's service was pretty good when she was ringing me up. About as good as Jennifer from my initial review. I had not seen the sweet sesame dressing before, but she was gracious enough to show me a sample while explaining that it was more of a salad dressing. Kind of odd, but that's because Flame Broiler recently added a salad to their menu: Chicken Avocado Salad.
From what I could tell, the sweet sesame dressing had a liquid texture closer to that of a vinaigrette, but creamier. Unfortunately, since that sauce had spilled inside my bag, I didn't get a chance to try it. Next time, hopefully?
Also, please note the (non-30th anniversary) Happy Hour deal varies from location to location. At the Long Beach location I went to previously, the Happy Hour deal was a chicken bowl and a 20 oz drink for $9.99, which is kind of similar, but not quite the same.
Overall, I still recommend patronizing this Flame Broiler in Lakewood. If they take the extra time to carefully secure the lids onto the bowls and sauce cups, I'm sure they could earn 5 stars from anyone else. For now, I'm leaving this rating as 4 stars.
^ I had to specify because there are also two Flame Broiler locations on Lakewood in the City of Downey. Try not to get them all confused! lol