Blue Sky Cafe Review

Blue Sky Cafe
3987 Hendersonville Rd
Fletcher, NC 28732

We visited the Blue Sky Cafe on a Friday evening with high hopes as it came recommended by a friend who had heard nothing but praise. The full parking lot as we arrived seemed to confirm that this was a good choice for dinner.

The cafe is obviously a refurbished fast food restaurant that had undergone a kitschy blue theme inside and out. The “mom and pops” decor had a sort of Bob Marley meets Cape Cod feel to it. The sign on the door stating take a menu and be seated added to the “this is a little different” feel of the experience.

Once seated we were quickly greeted by our server and our drinks were promptly delivered.

The menu fare of burgers and wraps with entrées of the same caliber were moderately priced. We ordered a plate of onion rings with chipotle sauce for an appetizer, one “black and blue” hamburger plate which was a blackened hamburger topped with blue cheese and one blackened chicken breast plate. For sides, we both chose a Caesar salad and with the chicken I requested their autumn couscous which I was informed was “out of season”. I did not realize there was a season for couscous which is basically a pasta type dish, so I replaced that with coleslaw.

In short order our appetizer of onion rings arrived and while ample in quantity, they were certainly from a bag or box and not made on-site. They were correctly prepared, but had very little flavor and were generally disappointing although the chipotle sauce was spicy and helped make them more palatable.

While I was finishing the last onion ring our main dishes arrived. My dish of blackened chicken breast came with two bowls on the plate, my Caesar salad which was cafeteria grade, complete with the plastic snap-top dressing container and in the second bowl a good portion of coleslaw. The blackened chicken breast had been pressed or in some other way reduced to pancake thickness and then sliced in small strips.

I started with the salad, which was relatively generic except for a few grape tomatoes and finished it quite underwhelmed with the offering. I next sampled the coleslaw which appeared to be home-made and was very tasty. I think of all the dishes served, it was by far the best.

Tasting the chicken next, my first reaction was it simply tasted burnt. I realize I ordered blackened chicken breast, however that does not mean charred. Having tasted blackened dishes from Louisiana, this means spicy and cooked quickly over high heat, not pressed, dry and burnt. Unfortunately, my partners dish fared no better. The hamburger patty was dry and overcooked, the flavors from the blue cheese and charring fought with each other and she eventually just gave up on trying to eat it as a sandwich and had to use a fork and knife to cut the meat as it was both too messy and too overcooked to eat as a sandwich.

The highlight of this visit was the service which was quick and attentive, however our experience with the food left much to be desired.