Broad Ripple Dining

Warm up with loaded fries at Bluebeard, pancakes at Super Bowl Pho, and combat holiday sweets with a kale power salad.

Stay hydrated with wine slushies and cotton-candy soda, as featured in this week’s top picks.

The best places to refuel along the Monon.

I enjoyed the idea of rebranding myself in The Garden Table’s clean-living image—the double chin-less version of me.

The essential order is a heaping plate of fried chicken, piping hot and crunchy atop a mound of mashed potatoes doused in mushroom-studded gravy.

Diners in their funkiest casual wear dig into executive chef Miguel Cordero’s already-legendary dishes, such as deeply savory duck sopes, chorizo-rich queso fundido, and slow-braised short ribs.

Bistro-style dishes like root-vegetable cassoulet baked in its own cast-iron pan, unapologetically heavy Croque Monsieur sandwiches dripping with bechamel, and crepes of both the sweet and savory variety all taste delicious.

Owner Jorge Chalgub and his daughter Dayana Mireles (who took a year off as an engineering student at IUPUI to help her father run the business) press sandwiches and bake fresh-fruit pastries in the tradition of their island heritage.

The cafe will boast a juice, smoothie, and elixir bar with nutrient-infused beverages whipped up fresh to order.

So you’ve munched on corn at the Indiana State Fair and had your mouth set afire by a certain shrimp-cocktail sauce. But what are the modern-day rites of passage? We have answers.

As far as soup-and-sandwich combos go, nothing beats the pairing of toasty grilled bread loaded with warm, melting cheese alongside a bowl of sweet, soothing tomato soup.

Crunch down on the deliciously imperfect off-color crisps that emerge from the waxed brown Broad Ripple Chip Co. bag, and you will never go back to Lay’s.

Prior to ordering, guests are served an amuse bouche of warm, salty sancocho—a slow-cooked beef-and-chicken broth that servers describe as a welcoming stew. The soup is surprisingly addictive, with an intense flavor like that of the stock cooked off of ham-and-bean soup.

Not so long ago, you could mark the start of spring by the crowds of Corona-sipping customers lounging on the patio at La Jolla in Broad Ripple. Not exactly known for its cutting-edge cuisine, this watering hole with its iconic al fresco deck along Broad Ripple Avenue was the place to hang in warmer climes. So when it closed last year, it was pretty certain someone would come along and make it a hit again. Unfortunately, recent ownership changes have left some doubt in the minds of locals about whether this is a viable business address. Last spring, when record temperatures should have drawn throngs to what was then The Night Porter, the place was practically deserted, perhaps owing to its bar menu light on local brews and its dinner offerings, which ranged from a build-your-own grilled cheese to a burger to little else.

Ripple Bagel & Deli’s (850 Broad Ripple Ave.,317-257-8326) Wild Honey Pie—a steamed blueberry bagel with honey, cinnamon sugar, banana, and peanut butter. A cup of creamy, cheddary tomato-basil bisque from The Grilled Cheese Spot food truck. Palomino