Yats!

An adventure in Broad Ripple simply must include Yats. There's just no way to get around it. While they have four locations around the Indianapolis area, the original Broad Ripple spot is one I've heard about for years now. A Cajun creole restaurant on College Avenue, Yats is as much about the atmosphere as the food.

I asked several people about their experiences before Cheryl and I embarked upon our own. I got two consistent pieces of advice: get extra bread, and don't worry, the wait staff treats everyone like that. I was wary and excited in equal measure.

As it was a Thursday afternoon, we didn't expect it to be too terribly busy. We were wrong. It was packed, and we were lucky to get through the line without any serious abrasions from the constantly opening front door, let alone find a table. This turned out to be more of a help than a hindrance, as it gave us more time to read the hand-written chalk board menu. We were offered samples of anything on the menu to try, but we had settled on our choices and decided to go ahead and order.

Chicken Creole with Extra Bread

I selected the chicken creole, and Cheryl settled on a 1/2 and 1/2 plate including the drunken chicken and something called simply "spinach and mushroom." While I'm still not sure what it was, I can say that it was very tasty. With extra bread being a mere $0.50, we both followed that advice. The cashier was friendly, but in a mildly creepy way as he kept calling us both "baby" and didn't seem to need to blink very much. But, they apparently treat everyone like that. We also didn't know that Yats is a cash-only establishment, but when we seemed hesitant to use cash, the cashier was quick to offer us an IOU-- clearly, this happened often and though we didn't use it, I was impressed that they had a system in place for just such an occasion.

Drunken Chicken with Spinach and Mushroom and Extra Bread

We found a table and settled in, looking around. I have never been to New Orleans, but I have to say that I felt like I was sitting in a cafe in the middle of the french quarter, not Indianapolis. Our food was brought out incredibly quickly, and we dug in. The bread was probably my favorite part. I could have eaten a whole meal of it just by itself, but the chicken creole was very good as well. A rich tomato-based dish, the chicken was served over rice and had a little but of spice to it. Cheryl's drunken chicken was incredible (in my opinion) and I will definitely be ordering that next time. It was much spicier than the chicken creole, and was served with sour cream. The spinach and mushroom...stuff was delicious, and Cheryl noticed it got spicier the more she ate. It was some sort of flavorful puree.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this venture. The atmosphere left a little to be desired, for it was very noisy and the staff seemed a bit apathetic, but the food was excellent. I look forward to a return trip, when the weather is nicer and we can sit outside.

Good Morning Mama's Café

For the first stop on our foodie adventure, we decided to go to Good Morning Mama's Café, a literal mom and pop restaurant on the southern edge of the Broad Ripple area. Howard and Carol Leuer re purposed an abandoned gas station on 54th St. and, with the help of local artist Blice Edwards, turned it into an adorable eatery complete with a garden patio and high top counter.

As it was a beautiful summer's day, we decided to lunch on the patio. It felt like we were sitting in a cozy garden, as the area was carefully landscaped to conceal much of the street and buildings nearby, to say nothing of the lovely flowers that surrounded us on all sides.

In terms of basic restaurant niceties, our glasses were always full, our table routinely cleared, and our server was efficient, personable and clearly a long time friend of the owners. She recommended the South West Chicken Pannini on ciabatta bread to Cheryl, and I choose the Turkey Club sandwich. While I know it's a pretty basic option, I feel that the true mark of a great restaurant is how well they do simple, everyday meals.

The chicken pannini was, in Cheryl's words, "delicious, with a bit of a kick." Described on the menu as a Texicali fiesta with grilled chicken, tomato, alamtio pesto, and chipoltle mayo, this sandwich was a perfect summertime lunch. Along with a fruit cup and a tall glass of iced tea, it was a definite hit with us.

My club was a refreshing, simple, masterfully constructed beast of a sandwich. It was almost too big to bite into, and never once fell apart (quite an accomplishment!). I couldn't finish more than half of it, though I did get a filling side of fries with my meal.

I would like to take a moment here to discuss my most favorite food: french fries. I love french fries, and I always have. A joint with good fries can get away with almost anything and still make it into my top 20. Bad fries, well, let's hope everything else is phenomenal, and that they keep good ketchup on hand. However, I am not an unreasonable person. If I walk into a creole dive, I'm not going to judge them on their french fries. That would be ridiculous.

Now, back to my fries at Good Morning Mama's. They were passable. Barely salted with no other seasoning and slightly over done, but a decent supplement to the main sandwich. I would suggest skipping them altogether and going for the fruit cup like Cheryl did- it was clearly fresh, prepared in-house and had a good variety.

Open for breakfast and lunch every day but Monday, Good Morning Mama's is a wonderful place to have a quiet meal. We plan to go back to try their breakfast menu, which is served all day. I've got my eye on the Java French Toast (accomplished by mixing kahlua in with the eggs).

Who What When Where Why

Earlier this summer, my grandma, Cheryl, and I decided to get together for lunch. While this was in no way strange, my suggestion that we shake things up by skipping our usual Chinese joint and going somewhere new was unprecedented and enthusiastically accepted.  Being partial to Mexican food, we decided to try La Jolla, a place I had seen driving to and from my job at the Indianapolis Art Center, but had never actually been to.

We had a fantastic meal, and began making plans to visit other restaurants in the area. Walking back through Broad Ripple, we started talking about how fun it would be to keep track of our favorite meals and writing about our various experiences. And so we decided to start a blog where we could keep a commentary on the food scene of Broad Ripple. We both figured there were other such blogs, but after an exhaustive search, I was left to concluded that there were no foodie blogs solely dedicated to Broad Ripple. I found several on the arts, bars, and politics of the town, but couldn't turn up more than a passing mention of area restaurants in similar posts.


Since we didn't go into La Jolla ready to blog about it, we are going to have to go back (much to our chagrin, I assure you) in order to do a full post. Our only rule is that the restaurant has to be in the Broad Ripple area, so feel free to leave us suggestions!