The Blue Hen — Restaurant in Town of Carmel

I'm letting you know up-front that this is one of those reviews that's strongly based on personal preference.

"But aren't most reviews based on personal preference?" you might ask.

Yes, but I think it's especially true for things like wings and barbecue because the style of the food affects how much you like - or don't like - the restaurant.

Barbecue, for example, has a TON of distinctly different styles: Memphis, Tennessee, Kansas City, West/North/South Carolina, Central/East/South Texas, and much more. If you're a die hard KC BBQ person, you probably prefer that over Texas-style. You get it.

When it comes to Buffalo wings, I like the fry-sauce-bake (FSB) kind. The wings are satisfyingly crispy, the sauce is baked on, adding a deeper level of flavor, and because they're baked they're drier, so blue cheese dressing sticks if you like to dip the wings like I do. FSB wings are just better all around. Unfortunately for me, The Blue Hen cooks their wings (not sure how), serving them immediately after saucing them, resulting in soft-skinned wings drenched and dripping wet with sauce. You might love this style; it's not for me.

The wings themselves are basic, average, straight-up wings. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, and this is not a bad review. There's just nothing special, unique, or distinctive about them, which might be exactly what you want. No judgment, here.

The Blue Hen isn't my go-to wings place because they don't make wings the way I like them made. If you like their style, then this could...

First time here on a Saturday because we pass it frequently and was curious. As we entered the only other people in the place were leaving. Others came soon after, but most people were ordering to go, or picking up to go orders. Ordered some wings and the BBQ Mac and Cheese Waffle. Now this is an interesting idea, though not executed well. If they used smaller pasta so the batter from the waffle actually could surround the mac and cheese and make the waffle part of the creation complete it would be better. Not bad though. Wings were dry and tough. There is no service per say, as the young man behind the counter was more concerned about texting in between customers than anything else. He doesn't recognize, or care, if you have visited before. Our Sriracha Honey "sauce" was more like a rub, which is a very different thing-and so that was disappointing as well. There are much better wing places. I guess the location of this place makes people ignore the mediocrity of the food and service. Not a place I...

We were on a bike ride on the nearby rail trail and decided to stop and explore for a lunch spot. We were so happy with what we found! We realized we didn't have our wallets, as this wasn't a planned stop and we were able to pay (after ordering) with Google Pay, they were so patient! We ordered the Thai Chicken Salad and the Grilled Chicken Avocado Wrap w a side of Coleslaw. We are notoriously picky about slaw and it's mayo/acid/s&p levels, this was perfect!! We were so happy and absolutely recommend not just the slaw but the salad and wrap. In addition, my Husband had a great point, this restaurant makes itself seem like it's just a Fried Chicken spot (which of course we need to try) but he said, "they should use the word gourmet to describe themselves". I absolutely agree, it's far more than a chicken spot, we weren't sure what to expect from the exterior but they surpassed our expectations and will recommend it...