Grabbed a small latte (average priced) from Cartel this morning before class and had a pretty great experience.
I arrived just before a small rush, so the wait was non-existent. I was unsure if they took cards, but the nice guy at the register responded cordially when I asked and after a little confusion about what size I wanted (I hate you Starbucks for ingraining tall as a size in my brain), my latte was being crafted. I do not use the term crafted flippantly, the young woman who made my latte knew what she was doing. The proportion of steamed milk to espresso was just right and the heart shaped image in the crema was immaculate.
The only negative aspect of the experience was the shoddy bike rack I had to lock my bike to, but I'm not sure there's much the Lab can do about that.
Nice staff, nice atmosphere and great coffee. I'll be back.