Wednesday Dinner 2/24/10

Buenos Dias my loves! And Happy Thursday and so we have all made it to the end of our work week and the weekend is among us. This week was a little topsy turvy for me with a lot of things but I am here, I am good and keeping it moving! This weeks "Wednesday Dinner" came from a recommendation from my best friend Tiffany. Tiffany had been telling me for a while now I should try this taco place so yesterday I decided to try it. This one is for all my West LA folks who frequent Pico Blvd...... So let the "Wednesday Dinner" story began. If you live close to Pico Blvd or not to far then I am sure you have heard of "Sky's Taco's" http://www.skysgourmettacos.com/, and if you haven't heard then listen closely because this place just might be Pico's best kept secret. Located on Pico Blvd right after Fairfax "Sky's" is a small, quaint eatery with a lot of flavor to offer. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and specializing in "Mexican food with a splash of Soul". As many times as I have driven down Pico and never even saw "Sky's" I was surprised of the location and I thought why haven't I stopped here before, but anyway Tiffany recommended that I try a taco and a burrito and so I rolled with that, so here is what I ate:

Chicken Taco

Shrimp Burrito

Chips and Guacamole

I must say that I was very very please with my food, "Sky's" puts another twist on their food not only is the food Mexican with a splash of soul but the tacos and burritos are served open faced. With a unique flavor on their food and a special salsa that has a very sharp taste of chili powder the food is DELISH. I didn't really care much for my taco but I LOVED the burrito hands down! They were not to skimpy on the shrimp and the burrito would have been enough to get me full. I also ordered chips and guacamole, the chips are your classic home made tortilla chips seasoned (I couldn't quite figure out the seasoning but it was good). The guacamole was good too it wasn't to onion-ny or bland it was just right. Inside of "Sky's" is very quite, clean and cozy, I would definitely suggest it for a date or a lunch meeting or just a quick to go type thing. I also ordered Lemonade and their Lemonade is to die for, served in a Jar if you dine in to give you that down home type feeling (I can dig that). I was totally impressed with the food and the service and this proves my fact that some of the best places to eat are in neighborhoods and on streets you wouldn't expect! After I ate there was still a little room for dessert. I noticed that "Sky's" doesn't have a huge dessert menu they serve one thing and one thing only; Cheesecake! With 4 different types of cheesecake to choose from my choice wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be but I decided to have:

Carmel Crunch Cheesecake

OMG this cheesecake is up there with "Harriet’s" as being one of my favorites. Served with carmel sauce drizzled on the side and filled with nuts this cheesecake was amazing! I spent a total of about $13.00 yesterday on everything which isn't bad because I did order a lot and I must say again that the service at "Sky's" was great to (THANKS). All in all dinner was DELISH and I will be going back sooner than later! Special thanks to Tiffany for the recommendation. If you would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" menu drop me a line wednesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com also follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/wednesdaydinner. In closing I would like to leave you with this "If you want power show it, if you want respect earn it and if you want more take it" Until next week, that's all -Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 2/17/10

Good Morning my loves and Happy Thursday!!!!!!! The week is almost over but we know that doesn't mean our work is done. This weeks "Wednesday Dinner" was very simple and straight forward so let the "Wednesday Dinner" story begin. Yesterday it was so beautiful here in LA so I was in the mood for some BarBQue and because I am a Inglewood native there was only one place to go "Phillips" on Centinela (all my Inglewood folks clap for that, hahaha). "Phillips" BarBQue has been around for a long time and its located right next door to my favorite cheesecake place "Harriet’s". "Phillips" is usually crowded on the weekends and sometimes during the week but yesterday I got lucky because there was no line which means I didn't have to wait long. They have the menu posted outside and inside and I noticed that they aren't participating in any recession friendly deals on their BarBQue. Their prices rang from $9.37 for a sandwich to $17.00 for a combination plate, so here is what I had:


Beef Hot Links
Potato Salad
BarBQue Beans


It came to a total of $10.33 which wasn't bad for the amount of food I got. The only problem I have is that the sides are very small but hey I didn't even finish all of my food anyway. The links were sliced and soaked in sauce; there were probably about 15 slices on my plate. Of course you can't enjoy the BarBQue from "Phillips" without the 2 slices of white bread. "Phillips" BarBQue isn't like your typical BarBQue isn't not sweet and/or sticky like most people are used too, its very saucy and they have 3 different flavors (which I didn't know about) Regular, Mild and Hot. The food was good and I had enough for left over’s which is always a plus in my book. So it was only right that since I was getting food right next door from "Harriet’s" I stop by and get a slice of cheesecake, so here is what I got:

Praline Cheesecake

Before I go in on the cheesecake, let me just say that I love, love, love "Harriet’s" but the Praline cheesecake just didn't do it for me. Maybe it was because there were too many nuts and the tasted more like almonds than Pralines, I'm not sure but I won't be eating that flavor again. All in all dinner was good and I went to bed FULL. Neither "Phillips" or Harriet’s have a website but they can be googled but if you know like I know you know where they are! Dinner wasn't to interesting this week because I am in the first week of studying for the BIGGEST test of my career, but next week I'll be sure to bring the heat! If you would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" frontline drop me a line wednesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com and follow me on Twitter, www.twitter.com/wednesdaydinner. In closing I would like to leave you with this "It's not how much money you make, its you do with the money you make". Until next week, that's it & that's all - Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 2/10/10

Good Morning and Happy Thursday to you all! I hope you all are feeling good and being positive! Valentines Day is Sunday and I am so not excited or interested in any of its festivities, with that being said let the "Wednesday Dinner" story begin. This week I went to dinner with an old friend from high school Maurice Hall. Maurice and I had been trying to catch up and do a "Wednesday Dinner" for a while but we just kept missing each other. So last night we met up and went to dinner. I had been having a taste for Sushi and Korean BBQ so Maurice suggested "Wokcano" (http://www.wokcanocafe.com/) so "Wokcano" it was. "Wokcano" has 6 locations through out Southern California and we went to the location on 3rd Street. Maurice lost some cool points with me because he was 14 minutes late (hahaha), the location on 3rd Street is small but it was clear that people love eating at this place because business was booming yesterday from take out to dine in "Wokcano" was getting plenty of business last night. We even had a celebrity sighting, we saw Capricorn from "I Want to Work for Diddy 2". So now it was time to order and here is what we ate:


Vegetable Tempura
Shrimp Tempura
Philadelphia Roll
Spicy Tuna Roll
Shrimp Tempura Roll
California Roll
Korean Short Ribs
Spicy Garlic Chicken


Before I get into the food and the conversation I must say that I was not to pleased with the service at "Wokcano" last night, our waitress wasn't the best and I don't like that. Over dinner Maurice and I did A LOT of catching up, we haven't seen each other since high school but thanks the Facebook we got back in touch with each other. I just have to say that Maurice is hilarious and he has a great spirit and laughs a lot. Catching up with him was great we talked about so much from what he has been doing since high school and his recent fascination with Poker. Maurice appears to be the next big Poker sensation; he plays both online and at casinos. There wasn't a dull moment at the table last night at all, Maurice kept me laughing. The food was DELISH . "Wokcano" is a cross between Asian/Korean Fusion food. I did find it hard to believe that it was taking as long as it did for the Sushi to come out but when it came out it was DELISH! I hadn't had Sushi in a long time so this was a treat. I appreciated the fact that Maurice ate Sushi too. We had a really great conversation; he shared with me his amazing story of recovery after being shot a few years ago. I noticed that Maurice has an amazing attitude and outlook on his situation where I know most people would have given up and let it get the best of them but Maurice is the total opposite. When the rest of the food came out it was piping hot and DELISH too. The ribs were a little fatty but seasoned well the spicy garlic chicken was DELISH too it had a little bit too much onion for me but it was still DELISH. Maurice also shared with me over dinner his interest in dating outside of the African American race and it was too funny, he said "Foreign women are more willing to try freaky things". Maurice suggested that we go to dinner together once a month, I'm not sure how I feel about that (hahaha) just kidding, I would love too. Dinner came to a grand total of $74.63 which I guess isn't bad for the amount of food we ate. I am not to sure if I will be going back to "Wokcano". After we ate I was extremely full and there was absolutely no room for dessert, but I was in for a little treat. After the bill was paid our waitress brought out fortune cookies, but these cookies were dipped in white chocolate OMG DELISH so maybe I'll go back to "Wokcano" just for the fortune cookies. Before I close I do have to give a quick "Shout Out" to Maurice for hitting on me during dinner (hahaha) I saw you being mesmerized by my beauty (just kidding), but really I enjoyed myself. Maurice you were a lot of fun! Check out Maurice's blog (http://mbhall.blogspot.com/) also. If you would like to get on the “Wednesday Dinner” team or have any suggestions drop me a line at wednesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com . Also thanks again to Maurice for dinner and taking all the photos last night! In closing I would like to say "Love Who You Are, For Who You Are"! Until next week, hasta la vista- Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 2/3/10

Good Morning!!! And so it is we have been granted another 24 hours of life, what a wonderful gift. Make things happen and get one step closer to your dreams. This week has gone by fast for me, I have learned a lot this week and I have decided that I will be doing less talking and a lot more listening. With that being said let the "Wednesday Dinner" story begin. This week I went to dinner with my sister Melissa, Melissa and I hadn't done a dinner where it was just her and I it’s always been the three of us (Ashley, Melissa and Shelby). I had been thinking and thinking and was very undecided about what I wanted to eat for dinner the original plan was to have Melissa meet me somewhere by my job and we would eat over here somewhere but I just didn't have a taste for anything over here. So when I got to my moms house I asked Melissa what she felt like eating and clearly she was undecided, so Shelby's friend Maya suggested that we go to one of her favorite Soul Food Place "Flossie's"(http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/170925/torrance_ca/flossie_s_southern_cuisine.html)"Flossie's. She was like "Ash you'll like it", so I double checked with Melissa and off to "Flossie's" we went. Everyone knows I'm always down to go somewhere local and get something to eat and I am a firm believer that some of the best food is found in the most unexpected places. "Flossie's" is located in Torrance around the corner from El Camino College on Redondo Beach Blvd, located in a shopping plaza there is a lot happening over there in that area. It was about 15 minutes away from my mom’s house which was great and when we got there it wasn't crowded at all. I noticed that "Flossie's" really has the down south appeal with Black Art on the walls; pickled jars of who knows what in them and the people there were very hospitable. It’s very small inside with maybe about 7 tables and a flat screen TV (I was able to watch Tyler Perry's House of Pain-which is one of my favorite shows). At the time when we got there it wasn’t busy but as we sat down and ate it picked up, most people took they’re food to go. I noticed that there was no menu posted but they are more that willing to share with you what they have available, I liked the fact that all the sides and meat is pretty much viewable when order, they have a buffet style set up. They have a ton of sides from Jambalaya, Steamed Zucchini, Mac & Cheese, Cabbage, Yam, Greens, Mashed Potatoes, Rice & Gravy, Corn, Red Beans, and Green Beans. And as far as the meats yesterday they were serving; Meat Loaf, Baked Chicken, Fried Chicken and Catfish, whew that’s a lot of choices but here is what we got:

Ashley- Catfish with Corn, Mac & Cheese and Yams
Melissa- Catfish with Greens, Mac & Cheese and Cabbage

"Flossie's" is not like most soul food places (M&M's & Soul Food Kitchen) they give you your monies worth! Those two places I named charge way too much and are skimpy on the food. For $10.99 (plus tax) which brought dinner to a total of $24.12, we got our dinner along with hush puppies, biscuit or corn bread and a drink WHAT! That is crazy talk! And I also love that fact the "Flossie's" website is in accordance to what you actually get when you go there. The catfish was filet'd which I love because fried fish is one of my favorite things but I don't like bones in my fish (Ewwww). The food was well portioned and DELISH! Over dinner my sister and I just caught up and had a brief chat about her finding a new job (So if you know of anyone hiring hit me up asap). It was hard to keep a conversation going because we were both so into our food. They have this

amazing tarter sauce to accompany the fish that is the bomb, the mac & cheese was dope not to cheesey and not to runny, the corn hit the spot also! The yams were ok; they could have been a little sweeter. To drink I got my usual Arnold Palmer (Iced Tea mixed with Lemonade) and that was good too. Melissa enjoyed her food also, I noticed that "Flossie's" food doesn't taste like all these other soul food places their food really stands out, I know most people I know always say "All those soul food places taste the same" but that wasn't the case here. So after dinner it was time for dessert, the dessert menu for yesterday was; Sweet Potato Pie, Peach Cobbler and Lemon Ice Box Pie and we decided to go with:

Lemon Ice Box Pie

I like peach cobbler but I like mine with vanilla ice cream and I didn't ask them if they had ice cream but I should have because I wanted to try the peach cobbler. But Melissa decided on the ice box pie, I have eaten the ice box pie before but this slice was different it was meringued on the top which kind of threw me off. The pie was good a little to frozen for me but it was still good, they're desserts are $4.00 which isn't bad at all. Two people ate for under $30.00 sounds like a win to me! If you haven't been to "Flossie's" get down there and check it out, they have my vote and we definitely be going back! All in all dinner was delish and I had enough for left over’s today! If you would like to play in the "Wednesday Dinner" band or have any suggestions drop me a line at wednesdaydinnerwithash@yahoo.com. In closing I would like to leave you with this "Don't just make a difference make history" until next week Arrivaderci Ashley