Wings Around Waukesha: Neighbors

While I was coming up with the idea for Wings Around Waukesha and checking out websites of restaurants in the area with wings, I came across The Neighbors Bar & Grille, a place I had driven past a million times but never stopped in.

I read on their menu that their wings are actually grilled and I'm pretty sure my mouth began watering instantly. My guy and I decided to make a venture out there one night for dinner and check out the wings and other menu items.

The bar is a little off the beaten path but on a very busy road, Greenfield Ave., and extremely visible. It's definitely made a name for itself as it's always busy when I drive by. This place is a sports bar  and a great place to watch all the sports action - plenty of TVs that can be seen from just about any seat in the establishment and memorabilia on the walls.Check out their gallery.

We perused the beer menu and selected some micro-brews to enjoy and then it was onto the wings! On Thursdays, wings are half the price they are from the regular menu - a great deal. We ordered 12 and each picked a sauce. Because my buds are little weaker with heat, I went with Sticky which is a BBQ sauce and my guy went with Smokin' A.

We also decided to order entrees as well because we weren't sure if the wings would fill us or not.

The wings didn't take too long to arrive and they were amazing! The grill marks just added that extra level of awesome to wings.

We dug in and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The wings were decent size and the sauces were delicious. A table sat down next to us and asked us about our wings before they made their order "Are the worth it?" With messy fingers and saucy lips I gave them a definitely head nod that it was a must-order! 


I really love the fact that these were grilled. It really adds a whole new level of flavor to the already amazing wings. We finished them off and the sauces were really good. Though mine was a typical BBQ, it had a hint of sweet and honey that I enjoyed. My guys smokin' A were right on cue with flavor and just a bit too much for me with heat. But we loved them - clean plate club members here! 

As for our entrees,  I went for something really crazy--The Dewey Dog, which is a 1/4 lb. hot dog, stuffed with cheddar, wrapped in bacon and deep fried. I ordered sweet potato fries on the side. My guy ordered the Honey Crisp Apple salad -- Could our entrees be any more opposite?

The meals were excellent, though the cheese tended to ooze from my dog the whole time. But it was still really unique and not as greasy as I was expecting.

We will definitely return for more meals, wings and drinks.

The Neighbors Bar & Grille Rating (Max Score of 5): 4.6

Flavors: 4 Drumsticks (A decent variety - could use something really unique)

Size: 4.5 Drumsticks

Taste: 5 Drumsticks - the grilling gave them top honors!

Price: 3 Drumsticks on non-wing night (almost $1.00 each)/4.5 Drumsticks on wing night ($.50 each)

Temp: 5 Drumsticks - nice and hot

Sauces: Options are Ranch & Blue Cheese

Veggies: Celery is offered

Wet Naps: Not provided with wing order - didn't ask if they had them available

BLT Salad

I have made mention before that for Christmas my friend Shauna got me the SkinnyTaste cookbook. So far, every recipe that my guy and I have tried from the book has been a phenomenal success. The recipes are simple, healthy and fun to prepare. 

In winter, I tend to eat rather heavy, rich meals that warm me up and keep me very full. But once in a while, I need a break from that rich food and crave a good salad. The SkinnyTaste cookbook has a BLT salad that looked too good to pass up. 

The recipe isn't very complicated and just buying the ingredients had my guy and I dreaming of the warm summer days that are coming (but not soon enough)! We picked up everything that we needed - lettuce, avocados, tomatoes, bacon, and we added yellow peppers for flavor and color. 

We cut up the veggies and baked the bacon in the oven. If you have never done this, it prevents all the splatter disaster that typically happens on the stovetop and the pan cleans up easily. And I think the flavor is a little better, but that could just be me. 

The dressing is a simple combo of mayo, tomatoes and some salt and pepper. 

Then it was time to assemble our masterpieces.

And voila - a delicious. refreshing salad full of flavor and light on the fat and calories.

We really enjoyed these and we are going to remember this for summer as it will probably become a staple meal on those warm nights. If you want it to be more of a meal salad, you could add grilled chicken breasts and cheese if you didn't think this was enough. But both of us were really full after these.

Cafe de Arts Lunch Date

My guy works for a financial institution and gets extra postal holiday days off throughout the year. This allowed us to have lunch together on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day last month. Because of its proximity to my job, and the fact that my guy had not been there yet, we went to Cafe de Arts.

I cannot say enough nice words about Ayhan, his wife and the staff of Cafe de Arts. No matter how busy they are, which is all the time, they stop what they are doing for a moment and say hi to everyone that comes in. It's that extra step of customer service that really sets them ahead of the pack.

We chose a small table with comfy wingback chairs by the front window. Menus were brought to us and I ran down a quick list of my favorites to my guy. I always have a tough time deciding because everything is consistently delicious!

I went for one of my faves, the chicken Caesar salad, and my guy chose something I had never tried before, The Fauve, a breakfast sandwich. It came highly recommended by the owner :)

While we waited for our lunch, I explained to my guy that the interior was recently painted and looks great. The warm wall colors were replaced with a refreshing blue. The owners really have a knack for design and it shows with the mural concepts inside and on the outside of the building. 

Our lunches soon arrived and looked splendid. The thing that makes the chicken Caesar salad my favorite is the perfectly grilled, juicy chicken. Just the right amount of dressing coats the salad but doesn't take away from the other flavors. Excellent croutons and Parmesan cheese complete the salad. The crusty roll with butter on the side is top notch too!

My guys sandwich was presented with a gorgeous and refreshing side of strawberries and apples atop lettuce with light dressing. The sandwich itself was a revelation in the words of my guy - something he would have never thought would go together and it did. I tried a bite and was pleasantly surprised I could taste each flavor. Just a small amount of jelly added sweetness and the warm egg and bacon made the peanut butter creamier. The egg was also cooked perfectly to my liking.

We were both really big fans of our lunch and left full but not stuffed. I couldn't finish my salad but ate up every bit of chicken and croutons I could find.

Although neither my guy or myself are coffee drinkers, the way the place smelled of fresh brewed coffee made us feel energized and happy. My coworkers grab coffee regularly on there way into work and rave about it. He sells the roasted beans by the pound as well and has a small selection of other coffee related merchandise.

This is definitely worth a stop for a cup of joe on your way into work, breakfast or lunch, or just to to have a drink with a friend and catch up. Many people also hold small meetings or do work at one of the tables while enjoying a drink and eat. The place is very conducive for those purposes. They are only open through lunch and then they begin roasting the coffee for the next day so get there early in order to enjoy!

Key Westconsin Soup N Salad

I have been trying to bring a lunch with me to work every day, but occasionally I like to splurge and head on out in Waukesha and grab a bite to eat. Sometimes it's with friends and other times I take the meal back to my office.

It was a snowy Wednesday a few weeks back when I didn't bring a lunch and craved a warm, thick, creamy soup. I scoured every soup menu in town I could think of, yet couldn't find a soup that was tempting my buds. Then I remembered Key Westconsin has soup. I called them up to find out the flavors and was told they had a Cod Chowder and Baja Chicken.

I worried the chowder would be too fishy for me, and I inquired about the spice level of the Baja chicken. Rita, the owner, told me it just had a mild kick and was really delicious. I decided on ordering their soup, salad and cheesy bread combo I saw on the lunch menu.Baja Chicken was my ultimate choice, despite the 'mild kick' warning. So, with my decision made, I began my journey.

I bundled myself up and headed over the river to the restaurant. I was able to snap a few shots of the beautiful snow covered Riverwalk on my walk over.

Upon entering Key Westconsin, I immediately regretted my decision to take my lunch back to the office. The tropical vibe was just what I needed to warm me up. (Sorry I didn't take any pics of the inside, but check out their Facebook page for the view). I still took the lunch to go, but I am definitely keeping their inside atmosphere in mind for February and March when I need a break from the gray and snow.

I got back to work with piping hot soup and a delightful salad. The soup definitely had a kick of spice but I liked it - it warmed me up! I could have used a dollop of sour cream, for both the creaminess it would add to the soup and to help mellow the spice a bit. Any person that likes some spice would find this soup excellent. I chose the mango dressing for the salad and was pleased with my choice. It was the perfect amount of sweet to counter the spice of the soup. I was definitely a member of the clean plate club that day!

And the cheesy bread!! I remembered this from other times I have dined at Key Westconsin. It is crispy, melty, and full of yum!

I have dined at Key Westconsin for the Fish Fry, lunch and dinner and it's always consistently good - so full of flavor. A friend of mine keeps mentioning that we need to go back and her birthday is coming up, so I think we are due for another visit very soon.

They are also really well known for their Gluten-Free menu. Some of my fellow blog friends have mentioned this place in their writing about dining Gluten-Free in the Milwaukee area.

From their Facebook page, I saw they just celebrated their 4th Anniversary. Congratulations to them - well deserved! I have also read that the Shrink N Drink dinners are extremely popular and sell out regularly. From what I have read, a doctor or psychologist gets anonymous questions from the diners and using her knowledge and some cunning wit, she answers them. I have been told it is a laugh out loud event. Pair that with some amazing seafood dishes and this sounds like a fun evening.

The Key Westconsin bartenders come up with some great tropical cocktails, Card Game Night looks to be a new feature, and live music on the weekends brings in the crowds. There's a little bit of something for everyone - all decked out in Jimmy Buffet, Johnny Bahama style!

Football Party on a Budget

My friends and I love to get together to support our teams (Brewers, Packers & Badgers) with tailgates and parties. Its easy to tailgate before a Brewer game because tickets are reasonable and the team plays locally. Badger & Packer tickets are not as easy to come by because all games are sold out (Packers are sold out for my entire lifetime!) so you have to buy online at inflated prices and the stadiums are hours away.

For the first Packers game of the season, my friends hosted a get-together at their house and did a taco night and asked everyone to bring something to go with the tacos.  I decided to make my friend's salsa that I had had the weekend prior. I toned down the spice quite a bit in my version but everyone really liked it because it's so fresh! (Find the recipe at the bottom of this posting.)

Other sides included this cucumber tomato salad and puppy chow!

Recipe at the bottom of this post

Leinenkugel's came out with a new fall variety pack of shandy beers and I decided to give it a try. The Old Fashioned Shandy doesn't taste like a beer at all, more of a Southern Comfort Old Fashioned. It took me two tries to decide that this was ok.

The other flavors are a Cranberry Ginger Shandy that reminds me a little of a Moscow Mule and a Harvest Patch Shandy that resembled a pumpkin beer but more sweet.

We ate and and drank and watched the Green & Gold do their best against the World Champion Seattle Seahawks. They put in a valiant effort but didn't come out the winner.

Every year, our favorite wine sales rep from Fox Run Sentry Liquor (RIP!) invites us to a tailgate at Miller Park. He supplies the meat and tickets and just asks us to come with a side and enjoy the game with him. This gigantic taco salad hit the spot for us and kept us busy while the brats were cooking away.

I made a new recipe of Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treat cups. They were such a hit, most ate these before they ate the rest of the tailgate goodies.

The seats were on the 2nd level of Miller Park and gave us a great view of all the action, including the famous Racing Sausage Race (congrats Chorizo!). The Brewers put in a valiant effort but couldn't hold on to bring us a win in the end. The team really crumbled in September this year and didn't even make the playoffs when they were the best team in baseball for the majority of the season. That's ok - I'll still cheer on my Brew Crew boys!

Ok - now onto the party that I threw for the Thursday night Packers game against our forever rivals - the Minnesota Vikings. These are always well debated games so I thought I would get everyone together at my place and cheer our boys on.

I'm on a tighter budget so I thought long and hard about a way to throw a party with great food, for a low price.

Drum roll please.......Baked Potato Bar.

I shopped for almost everything at Woodman's and put out the whole smorgasbord for under $20 and had leftovers.

10 lb. Bag of Potatoes - 1.69
Chives - cut from my garden
Stadium Cheese - $2.50
Fresh Broccoli - $1.00
Green Onion - $.69
Ranch - $2.00
Sour Cream - $1.29
Bacon Bits - $2.39
Shredded Cheese - $2.09
Butter - $1.50
Cheese & Sausage - $3.00

The chili was provided by a friend that came to the party - Wendy's chili - a perfect addition for the tater bar.

I had never done a mass quantity of potatoes in the oven before and most recipes said 45 mins - 1 hour for the potatoes. NOTE:When you are cooking 10 decent sized potatoes at the same time, they will take almost double that time. I just kept setting the timer for another 15 minutes and then would give them a poke until I felt they were done. They turned out perfectly!

I put a little olive oil on each piece of foil, then sprinkled a little salt on it, wrapped the foil around each one tightly and put them on a pan.

The tater bar was a huge success and I have a few potatoes and toppings leftover to enjoy this week. This definitely helped me save money and provide my friends a great dinner they could customize to their own taste. My friend also brought some cookies that I didn't take a picture of (FAIL) but they were pumpkin spice and delicious (WIN). They tasted like FALL - YUMMY! 

My friend brought McKenzie's Black Cherry Hard Cider for me to try and it was delicious! My cousin told me they have a pumpkin too that she loves so I will have to get some of that as well to enjoy this Fall. But definitely in moderation. Each bottle is 200 calories! Yikes!

The Green and Gold boys dominated the Vikings and brought in a huge win which makes a lot of us feel a lot better about the season, now that we have more wins than losses on our side.

 Recipes

Salsa -
3 Tomatoes, diced no seeds
1 Green Pepper, diced
1/2 White Onion, diced
4 Green Onions, diced
1 can Black Beans, rinsed
2 Tbsp. lime juice or to taste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro - chopped
Sprinkling of salt
1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic
Poblano Pepper, diced, no seeds (You can use any pepper if you want it hotter)


Creamy Cucumber Salad -
2 - 3 cucumbers - peeled and chopped
3 medium sized tomatoes - chopped
1 green pepper  - chopped
1/2 cup light Miracle Whip (could do 1/4 Miracle Whip & 1/4 Mayo too)
Stir all ingredients together and refrigerate for a few hours. Best served the day it's made.

Annual MKEFoodies Picnic

If you are from the Milwaukee area and have a love of all things food related - checking out new places, hearing from area chefs, making new food and more - then you definitely need to become a part the MKEFoodies group. I have been a part of the group for 2 years now and I have zero complaints about it and tons of admiration and positive words for the spectacular founders that provide me the opportunities to check out new places, try new foods and tour restaurants among other things.

Sunday was the annual MKEFoodie picnic held again at the Estabrook Park Beer Garden. This year, we were blessed with fabulous weather that no one could complain about. Last year we were in a downpour and had to rig up tarps in the trees and wear ponchos (but we were all troopers!) We were completely deserving of the weather this year!

As for food - there was plenty! We were even treated to some new treats. I had the opportunity to try SA Braai sausage and Afro-Fusion Cuisine jerk chicken wings. I was unfortunately way to full to try the Sprecher brats from Neukirchen Wurst Co. (gotta love their website address: http://www.bratsthatmakeyourbunslookgood.com). But I did find out that I can purchase a package of them at the Expo Citgo, just down the road from my work in Waukesha. I was told the Sweet N Sassy is like a breakfast sausage as it's made with Sprecher Root Beer! 

If you haven't been to the Estabrook Beer Garden I highly recommend it. If you bring your own glass, they will fill it with either a 1/2 liter or full liter of beer for a very reasonable price. If you forget a glass, it's a $5 deposit that you get back when you bring the glass back empty and in one piece. 

Ok - Back to what I actually at (and drank).

My first plate consisted of the SA Braai sausage (South African spiced sausage) with a mango, slightly spicy chutney (so good), a salami wrapped breadstick, cucumber dill sandwich, olive tapenade pinwheel roll, watermelon onion salad and delicious rice. This plate was my favorite - I loved everything and wiped it clean before going for seconds. I had a Munich Hofbräu Hefe Weizen beer with this plate.

Plate two consisted of Afro-Fusion Cusine mild jerk chicken, kale salad, green beans, egg slice, cream cheese pepper, a grape leaf wrap, fried plantains and crockpot beans. I wasn't a fan of the grape leaf wrap, but others raved about them. My fave was the plantains on this plate, followed by the kale salad. I already was provided that recipe from Karen Cooks It Personal Chef .

The beer garden was really busy on Sunday, and we were even entertained with some great polka music. And our vendors, that graciously supplied us food, and the group got some wonderful exposure from all the folks coming for beer and music. There were people that brought cheese and crackers and then ordered wine (yep that's available too at the garden) a birthday party, and other enjoying Wisconsin Summer all in the park.

 

My second beer was Dunkel Lager and although I was extremely full at this point - this was really refreshing. You can't take beer in glass on the scenic path, so we set ours in the shade and took in the views.

Then it was time for dessert - well sort of. I had to get more plantains, another cucumber sandwich, but also the peanut butter/cocoa krispie cake and a smores bar. Both were rich but delicious and my beer pairing seemed to be spot-on at that moment. This is where I ran out of room in my belly and had to say no to the rest of the yummy food.

I needed to burn a few (very few) calories off and so we brought out Jenga and got a few people to watch and play. The wind definitely helped us lose in both games around level 31, but it definitely got some more great attention for the group. Others in the park were playing bocce ball, ladder golf, bags, frisbee, catch and more.

If you like what you read here and want to become involved in more events like this or events that are based around Milwaukee's local food scene, then consider joining the #mkefoodies group. Start by liking on Facebook and following on Twitter to get yourself in the loop. I hope to see you at an event soon!

Summer's Here

Summer is finally here and wow did it come up quickly for me. I am sorry for neglecting my blog. I have done a lot of cooking and have gone out to eat a few times and I want to share all of that with you, but I just have to make time for it.

Let's start with my favorite summer dish for a super hot summery day - SHRIMP PASTA SALAD!

When I was growing up, we didn't have central air and our two dinky A/C window units really only cooled the bedrooms for sleeping. So a lot of our time was spent in the basement in summer on those really hot days.

I remember my mom setting up the card table in the basement with folding chairs and we would all sit down and eat Shrimp Pasta Salad in the cool basement (next to my Barbie dream house and my brother's Lego Village).

My mom never really used a recipe and it always turned out great. That's what I did when I made this on Friday. Luckily we could eat this in the comfort of our Central Air-Conditioned house. Yay for modern technology!!!

My mom always served this with muffins (usually store bought as who wants to turn on the oven when the house is already 85 degrees!). I too bought muffins from the store, mainly as a time saver, but I didn't want to turn on the oven, even with the A/C.

Shrimp Pasta Salad
1 box Medium Shells Pasta
1 bag shrimp (I used small extra shrimp in a bag for $5 at Walmart)
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 cup frozen peas - thawed (canned turn to mush)
1/2 tsp-ish Garlic powder
1/2 tsp-ish dill weed
1/2 tsp-ish ground mustard
1/2 cup light Miracle Whip
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Cook noodles according to box directions. Drain and rinse with cold water immediately.
2) Thaw shrimp in cold water until tender. Check over shrimp for cleanliness but don't rinse too much or you lose the flavor.
3) Add noodles, shrimp, onions & celery to large mixing bowl. Then add garlic powder, dill, mustard, salt & pepper to the mixture. Add in the miracle whip and Greek Yogurt and mix gently to coat everything. Add peas last and very lightly mix so as to not mush the peas.
4) Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
5) Scoop some out and have a muffin on the side for a summery delicious and decently nutritious dinner.

NOTE: I have tried Fat Free Miracle Whip and the flavor wasn't the same. Using all Greek Yogurt changed the flavor too much and it was too watery for my liking so I still use that much light Miracle Whip.

PAIRING SUGGESTION: I had a glass of Cupcake Vineyards Pinot Grigio with it and it really hit the spot. Just make sure it's nice and chilled.

Funny thing about my peas - they were a little overly frozen and freezer burned in spots so I attempted to pick out the good peas. Came across this very frozen chunk and someone in quality assurance was a little 'laxed on the job and missed this! Too funny!

Do you have any summer go-to recipes for when the weather gets really warm? Please share with me :)