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• Mudbugs Cajun Café

Small cup of mushroom etoufee (top left, clockwise), with a combo of dirty rice, French bread and chicken and sausage gumbo. (James Yee / The Indianapolis Star)

Chicken and courboullion with French bread. (James Yee / The Indianapolis Star)

Hush puppies with spicy Cajun remolaude for dipping. (James Yee / The Indianapolis Star)

Cozy, casual and creative, Carmel's Mudbugs Cajun Café serves up comfort food with a warm Southern flair, ideal for spicing up a dreary December day.

My friend John and I dropped by Mudbugs -- a first visit for both of us -- for a weekday lunch on a gray day and immediately felt cheered by its bold-and-bright color scheme. Blocks of purple, orange and green prove that strong hues don't always overwhelm a small space. Diners have a choice of high-top tables on one side and standard squares on the other. This is a counter-service place, and a chalkboard behind the counter succinctly sums up the simple menu.

Admirably, Mudbugs knows its focus and sticks to it, refusing to water down the Cajun offerings with more traditional Midwest ingredients or allowing everyday items such as burgers and fries to invade its space. What you'll find instead: étouffée, gumbo, jambalaya, po'boys and crawfish casserole.

Three items on platter

John and I stood back to study the menu, but clearly most of the folks here are seasoned veterans who know what they're going to order when they walk in the door. The chicken and sausage jambalaya had already sold out when we arrived, much to the dismay of the regular who walked in just before us.

I went straight for the Pick 3 Combo ($8.95), perfect for an experimenting first-timer. This platter lets you choose any three menu items, sides or half of any po'boy but the catfish version. My trio consisted of chicken and sausage gumbo, dirty rice casserole and one of the day's two specials, chicken court bouillon.

Both the gumbo and court bouillon, served in cup sizes, arrived toasty warm. The thick, roux-based gumbo contained generous hunks of chicken and smoked sausage along with veggies and white rice. The savory seasonings provided a subtle kick, just enough to let you know you're eating Cajun, but not so overbearing that your taste buds beg for mercy.

The golden-hued court bouillon was equally satisfying, with a rich stock broth containing tender chicken bits -- a great, jazzed-up alternative to chicken-noodle soup (if I come down with a cold this winter, I'm commissioning my husband to bring home a carry-out quart of this stuff.)

Filling offering

Diners with hearty appetites would appreciate the dirty rice casserole, a thick-and-filling mixture of rice, ground beef, onions, celery and green peppers. I didn't taste much heat here, but the heavy texture did provide balance to the liquid-based portions of my combo.

John showed far more self-discipline, ordering only a small portion of the day's second special, mushroom étouffée ($2.95). He expected something a bit heavier, he said, than the roux-based mix, which he found too salty for his taste. The mushrooms had cooked down in the sauce, he added, and he missed actual bits of the fungi.

A bigger hit with John was the small side of hush puppies ($1.95) we shared. The eight deep-fried tidbits of dough and corn were just bigger than bite-sized and served with a gently spicy mayo-based dipping sauce and long slices of butter-soaked French-bread toast.

Staff members here are as cheerful as the decor. They delivered the food to us after our order and carted our empty soft-drink glasses to the fountain for refills as often as we needed. A small selection of beer (including the Big Easy area's Abita Turbo Dog, Amber and Purple Haze) is available.

Prices are reasonable as well, making this a nifty alternative to standard fast-food fare when your budget is bare. I'm lining up early next time to make sure I get a taste of that in-demand jambalaya before it sells out.