BBQ!

http://milwaukee.citysearch.com/profile/41002945/milwaukee_wi/ashley_s_barbeque.html

Went to Ashley's on 15th and Center today for lunch with a friend of mine. His dad knows the owner and has raved about it for years. What can i say? Killer! My friend had rib tips and i had honey bbq wings. the rib tips were literally falling off the bone and yet had that charcoal flavor from proper cooking. The 12 piece wings i got were good but i should have gotten the 6 piece. Very filling of course but the flavor was interesting. It almost tasted like they had sweet n sour sauce mixed in with the bbq sauce. Don't get me wrong. They were damn good but after eating that many i noticed something was "odd". The regular bbq sauce is a custom recipe of course. I know they start off with Open Pit and then add stuff to it to make it killer. Excellent. Wish i had gotten ribs but i was craving wings at the time. No regrets really. Just itching to go back there and try something different!

Yeah the neighborhood ain't too great. Tell me something i don't know. The owner (Darnell) was super cool and talked to us for a few minutes after we ordered. Very nice guy and clearly a good salesman. His daughter was cute as a button and wound up getting hugs from both of us. Highlight of the trip was her looking at me and walking away when i was going to give her a hug! Even at the youngest of ages, the ladies seem to avoid me!!!

Grand total we both spent appx $8 a piece which was right on our mark considering we were starving and wound up stuffed! :) Very extensive menu for fried foods. Clearly not trying to be anything special aside from a take out restaurant that just serves up damn good food.

I look forward to going back there in the future. Every dollar i spend there is one less that goes to crummy money pits like pizza shuttle etc. It feels good spending a buck or two more than you normally would for a place where the owner and staff are friendly and are just trying to make an honest living.

If you get the chance to order food from Ashley's, i guarantee that you won't be disappointed with the taste. In this fast food world we live in today, you can find cheaper and faster food i would be shocked if you could find bbq that tastes better....

Potato Pancakes

Yeah I don't have pictures because my camera is broken and I don't have the funds to purchase a new one yet.

So last night I made potato pancakes.

Ingredients:
3 small potatoes (I used yukon gold) - shredded
1/2 small onion - chopped finely
1 egg
1/4 cup pancake mix
1 tablespoon of sour cream (I used low-fat I don't recommend consistency not that great)
parsley (I used a couple shakes of the dried stuff)
salt
pepper
oil

Peel and shred you potatoes set aside (I have a small handheld grated that I now loathe). Drain the water from the potatoes and press in a cheese cloth to remove as much water as you can.
Chop onion. As fine as you can. Put onions in a bowl with the potatoes.
In a frying pan add a liberal amount of oil heat on meduim.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir like crazy. Combining the eggs well.

Salt and pepper to taste of course. Remember to salt your mixture now because its hard to properly season potatoes after the fact.

Once your oil is very hot. I used 1/4 cup measuring thing to ration out the mixture into the oil and flattening with a spatula. Turn once when the side is brown. When other side is brown. Drain on napkin.