My first memory of Broad Ripple is a sublime one.

In 1977, we moved to Indiana's capital from Evansville.

Home was a Gene Glick Carriage House apartment for limited-income people on the Far Westside. My husband was in graduate school. I didn't work outside the home. Our first child, Andrew, was 3 years old.

I missed Evansville terribly - its Ohio River location enhanced its quirky, meandering charm. Evansvillians drawled. They listened to country music, ate fiddlers catfish and were proud of being "down in the pocket."

Indianapolis, by contrast, seemed a little dull, a little flat and a lot lonely.

Then someone whispered in my ear about Broad Ripple.

"You have to go to Broad Ripple," was the buzz.

"And you have to eat at the Good Earth. It's vegetarian, and the food is soooo good."

Remember, this was 1977 in central Indiana. "The healthiest thing you could buy in the grocery stores in those days was white bread," said the late Bob Landman. Bob - "Sugar Bob" - was one of the original owners of the Good Earth Natural Food Company. In the beginning, the store included a small restaurant.

So I called the Good Earth and got intricate navigational instructions from a helpful clerk. To get to the little health food store/restaurant at 6350 Guilford Avenue, I was told, just take I-465 North, exit at 71st, mosey east, go past Lions Head condos, cross Meridian, turn south on College. And voila.

Once we got there, on a beautiful, sunny Saturday in the spring, it was like The Doors' song: "Break on Through (To the Other Side)."

Broad Ripple was unlike anything else I'd experienced in Indianapolis, or frankly, Indiana. There was a hint of Bloomington - a hippie dippie hint - but there was more ambiance. The term "village" was right on the money: we meandered around, past a corner drug store, a dusty hardware, a house stuffed with books for sale. The pace was slow, but deliberate; this wasn't the roaring Ripple of today, with bars and nightlife, but it was tranquil and welcoming.

The Good Earth, as it turned out, was in the heart of this quaint scene - on the canal, which was blessed with ducks. Ducks, everywhere. Talk about character; those ducks had it.

The eatery part was tucked in the lower part of the Good Earth. Upstairs they sold herbs, vitamins, soaps and "health food" - all products still available, and much more.

When we smelled the cooking, we were reminded of the Tao restaurant on 10th Street in Bloomington. Similarly, the Good Earth menu featured brown rice, fresh vegetables, nutburgers and salads. We washed it down with Red Zinger iced tea. OK, the toddler preferred McDonald's, but he ate almost a whole plate of rice. And he was rewarded with a smoothie for dessert.

Afterwards, we wandered outside and wished we'd brought bread for the ducks.

That would be the next time. "Next time, Andrew, next time."

And there were many, many next times.

Broad Ripple became my gentle bridge, spanning the gap between southern Indiana and Indianapolis. It became the anchor for where to locate, once we could afford a house. "We have to live near Broad Ripple," and we did.

Over time, its lure has not washed away. If anything, Broad Ripple is more intense, more varied, more urban and yet still jewel-like.

But I do miss the Good Earth restaurant, home of the $2 nutburger. . .