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Radio personalities Frank Ski and Bert Weiss recently threw a "Unity Party," meant to mix up the in-town club scene. It's apparently as segregated at night as many churches are on Sunday morning. Responses to the AJC's blog about Unity suggested lukewarm success.

A few days after the bash, we stopped by Blue Moon in Marietta. The casual restaurant, in a nondescript shopping center on Windy Hill Road, seems to have effortlessly achieved what Ski and Weiss were striving for. Two fellas, one black, one white, were at the bar talking football over a plate of wings. Tables of different-hued faces broke bread together and the friendly staff was racially diverse, too.

Andy Sharp/AJC Staff (ENLARGE)
Evyn Wade and Kate Atwood as they enjoy conversation and mid-afternoon salads. Wade's is a Caesar Salad and Atwood has a Blue Moon Salad.
Andy Sharp/AJC Staff (ENLARGE)
Bruschetta is made with diced roma tomatoes, basil, feta cheese, onions tossed in balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, all served with toasted garlic bread.
Andy Sharp/AJC Staff (ENLARGE)
At front a Margherita pizza and in the back is a Santa Fe Chicken pizza. The drinks are martinis, a speciality at Blue Moon Pizza. The drink at left (the red one) is their Rumtini and the blue drink on the right is called a Moontini
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Could it be that it doesn't take media hype and contrived fun to bring everyone together? That if you serve a great product and treat everyone who comes in the door with courtesy, they'll just show up on their own? This seems to be the case at Blue Moon.

The menu

Crowd-pleasing starters include mozzarella sticks and garlic rolls. We prefer the fresh caprese salad, with slices of beefsteak tomatoes and mozzarella topped with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a tousled mound of basil. It's big enough for the table to share. So is the bruschetta, which comes with some assembly required: thick slices of garlic bread surround a dish of diced tomatoes tossed with feta cheese and basil in olive oil. Blue Moon's sauce and dough are made fresh and on-site. The sauce, thin and a bit sweet, is applied with a light hand and doesn't distract from the toppings. The crust has a chewy top and crunchy bottom.

The signature pizza is the zesty Luna, topped with chorizo sausage, onions and jalapeños. The kitchen's more than generous with the toppings, and with a robust combo like this, you'll be grateful for the bowl of peppermints by the door. Other spicy pies include Thai chicken, with sesame peanut sauce; jerk chicken, with cayenne-candied bacon; or Santa Fe chicken, with seasoned black beans and jalapeños.

Milder palates will enjoy the white pizza, with fresh spinach, roasted garlic, ricotta and artichoke hearts; or the veggie, with mushrooms, bell peppers, red onions and tomatoes. We're partial to the classic Margherita, with the simple trio of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil.

Other items include calzone and stromboli, meatball or parmesan subs, and salads such as Greek, caesar, buffalo chicken and Cobb. For dessert, try the turtle cheesecake, key lime pie or (if you're not one for New Year's resolutions) the peanut butter-Heath bar brownie with ice cream.

The full bar includes a half-dozen on draught, including Sweetwater and Guinness; and more than 20 imported and domestics by the bottle. The wine list is somewhat limited — five whites, including pinot grigio, chardonnay, riesling and zinfandel; and six reds, including Chianti, merlot, pinot noir, shiraz and cabernet.

The scene

Mandy Slater, who owns Blue Moon with her husband, is proud of the happily mixed clientele her restaurant draws in. Lunch brings lots of business folk in on their breaks, and dinnertime sees lots of families. The decor is casual elegance. The TVs are tuned to sports channels but the bar, with its tile-top tables and roster of specialty martinis (chocolate, cheesecake, peach and key lime are among the flavors), make this a spot for either sneakers or heels.

If the televisions and Internet access aren't enough to keep your attention, Blue Moon holds events like trivia night, and $5 Martini night on Thursdays. Kids are taken care of, too. There's a $4.99 12-and-under menu featuring a kiddie-size cheese or pepperoni pizza, or chicken fingers and fries, along with a small soft drink and scoop of vanilla ice cream. Waiters will bring a lump of dough for little hands to work with, so kids can help design their own dinners.

Service is prompt and pleasant and the staff helps each other out — three different folks came by our table with dishes or refills — and the general vibe is relaxed and welcoming.