By Audrey Bailey

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The new Blu Moon Café in the Design building located in downtown Carmel features high ceilings and a modern take on the infamous café setting. With

quaint, black tables scattered throughout and a strip of chalkboard decorated with pictures and words, this café resembled that of an urban establishment with the big city right outside the paned windows.

Blu Moon Café, like other delis and sandwich restaurants, offered an assortment of wraps, sandwiches and salads. Each sandwich was different and  the variety will satisfy all preferences. The one pleasant surprise I was not expecting, however, was the desserts. The variation in sweets almost outnumbered the selection of sandwiches and salads.

The chicken wrap, which I ordered, was also accompanied by a vegetable pasta salad consisting of calamada olives, banana peppers, noodles and peppers. While the service was polite, it was a bit slow. My order took 20 minutes to get to my table. The presentation, on the other hand, was absolutely gorgeous with the wrap cut on an angle displaying the lettuce, onions, chicken and tomatoes. On the side, as an extra present, the pasta salad was in a petite cup. All of the food was served on a wooden slate adding to the initial appeal. The sandwich was massive, but not necessarily for the right reasons. First of all, the amount of lettuce on the sandwich would have been a bit much for Bugs Bunny. Secondly, the wrap in general was merely bland to say the least. The components were all there, but the combination lacked flavor. The same held true for the pasta salad. The whole meal seemed to fall short in regards to taste buds.

Dessert, however, was a different story. Like the meal before, the cupcake I ordered—chocolate with peanut butter frosting—was beautifully displayed with a delicious candy bar submerged within the peanut butter, cream cheese frosting. Taking a bite of this chocolate delight was enough to convince me to return. The cupcake was moist and the frosting was a perfect combination of sweet, tangy (from the cream cheese) and light.

Overall, the meal was filling, and overall Blu Moon Café was a cheer not a jeer. Despite the relatively flavorless sandwich and the slower-than-expected service, the atmosphere and decadent desserts were enough to persuade me to return. For students, Blu Moon Café is convenient and fun and will satisfy any after-school craving.