One Good Thing: Ham & Cheese Braid from Perk Up/Brotgarten

Welcome to One Good Thing, a weekly(ish) series where I write about one really good thing that I think you should know about.

What’s the One Good Thing? The Ham & Cheese Braid from Perk Up Cafe/Brotgarten in Broad Ripple.

What makes it so good? Perk Up is a tiny walk-up window cafe located directly off of the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple, which already makes it a great stop. But in addition to their small coffee menu, they also make some delicious baked goods at their sister bakery, Brotgarten.

The Ham & Cheese Braid is, just like it sounds, an incredibly delicious twisted marvel of gluten, pork, and dairy. It’s wonderful. They’ll warm it up for you so you can take it on the road, or you can even use it as the bun for the breakfast sandwich from their menu. I haven’t tried it on the sandwich, but it’s perfect as is — cheesy, salty, and soft.

It totally conjures up old memories of my mom making pizza bread out of Pillsbury refrigerated bread dough in a can, shredded mozzarella, and pepperoni. Yum.

Where can I get it? Perk Up Cafe’s patio has views of the Monon, so hop on your bike and stop in Broad Ripple for their ham and cheese braid and a coffee.

Joe's Butcher Shop and Fish Market, 111 W Main St #110, Carmel, IN 46032