In which we find the “Greenwich Village of Indianapolis,” (don’t laugh, it isn’t polite) and it really is Good!

There’s a neighborhood north of downtown called Broad Ripple where all the brew pubs and coffee shops and bike shops and jazz clubs and groovy people hang out. It’s a half-hour drive from here, of course. It’s adorable — centered around a greenway that used to be a train track and all the buildings are homes rather than business buildings.

We went to eat at a Thai place but it no longer existed. We ate instead at the Broad Ripple Brew Pub and it was the best food I’ve had since we got here. The menu had a vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie on it, fer chrissakes, along with several other vegetarian options. They also served traditional pub fare, like fish & chips and Scotch eggs. I had a spinach melt and chips, and it was amazing. (Iron and dairy! What more could a veggie girl ask for!) Bread had a blackened tuna sandwich, BoSe had a shrimp po’ boy, and PaKa had the fish & chips. The guys shared a Scotch egg appetizer. Apparently the pub’s IPA was really good as well, but I settled for water since I’m really not much of a beer drinker and I wasn’t really in the mood for a raspberry ale or mead.

After we ate, we sat in the grass near the greenway for a bit, examining a bit of random art. At first glance it was rather cartoony, but the more you looked at it the more you saw. (The piece has faces on all four sides. It’s pretty amazing.) We got some dog love from random canine passersby. I saw some cute boys; the guys saw some cute girls. Then we meandered the block and a half back to BoSe’s rig and he drove us back to the motel.

The next time we go up there, I want to eat falafel and listen to jazz. Oh yes I do.

In other news, I spent much of yesterday afternoon lounging by the pool, and I have a patch of sunburn on my chest and it itches.