Hooters makes ice bearable

I woke up and walked to the kitchen window this morning. Even though the winter storm headed north and west sparing Milwaukee the brunt of the snowfall, I figured the same weather people who said we were screwed had messed up by saying we would get less than an inch of total snowfall. I looked out and saw that yes, once again, they were wrong.

It was far less that an inch. A dusting if you will. Later I would be pleased to see that my hunch- snow mixing with the watery ice would become gritting and not slippery- had been correct. Not bad out there at all. Even the frozen pond at the end of the drive wasn't slick.

I believe by the time I get home, I can chop up the ice that I salted this morning and clear it away. I could hear the salt giving the ice the Rice Krispie treatment before I left this morning. The chemical reactions were happening and the snap, crackle, and pop was going on.

I have come to realize I have let the weather bother me way too much this season. It has affected me in a weird way. Not good either. I have been overly cautious, letting the snowfalls linger in my brain. I find myself planning ahead on what to do, when, how much, etc. I don't like it. It hasn't thrown off my drinking yet. I think that is when I absolutely need to get treatment, should it happen.

Part of my planning was to get out of the house on Saturday and head up to Hooters. It had been awhile since I had enjoyed their wingy goodness. Since my friend Ryan was not drinking (Lenten fool), I was consuming Leinenkugel Honey Weisses. A couple of the Big Daddy mugs really hit the spot.

The wings were good as usual. I was happy to see that they added two new sauces to the menu. They could have been there for months for all I know as I rarely look at the menus. This time I noticed there was something different. They have gotten rid of the paper menus they had and replaced them with some laminated form. The front was not the usual owl motif but a restaurant look. It was then that I opened it up to see I could have fried pickles if I choose. Uh...no. But then there it was...the potential for the newest best sauce known to man. They had added a Spicy Garlic (Vampires beware!) and a Parmesan Garlic in addition to the classic sauces they had. Mmm...spicy garlic. The BW3 spicy garlic sauce is the best wing sauce ever. Hands down. The combination of the spices and garlic make the chicken come alive. I was waiting for Hooters to steal this one and finally they had. But would it taste good?

It is with a heavy heart I say that no, it wasn't nearly as good as BW3s. But there is hope. First, the wings came looking plain. You could smell some garlic, but they did not have any sauce on them. I picked one up and took a bite. BAM! You could taste the garlic. Not overpowering, but distinct. It tasted good. With the breading, it was like taking a small bite of garlic bread to get to the wing.

I alternated between eating the garlic with the 911. But there was also a third set of wings we had. Upon seeing the spicy garlic on the menu, my brain took a pause from doing back flips to actually teaming up with my taste buds. Spicy garlic wings are good. 911 wings are hot and good. Can I conjure up the spicy and hot wing? Oh hell yeah I can! The third plate consisted of a 911/spicy garlic mix that worked out pretty well. The best part was this is close to how the BW3 wings tasted. Just a bit hotter, but with the saucy goodness I like.

See, my and my friend have been going to Hooters for years. We chat up the girls each time and usually find out about new things they are trying. We had the Daytona Wings a couple years before they became an item on the menu (the way they were made back then is different that how they are now prepared). But we also learned you can have them mix sauces together. For a while we were on 911/BBQ sauce that made for a tangy and hot wing. With that in mind, mixing the garlic with the 911 wasn't that far off. I am willing to bet that if you mix the garlic with the 3 Mile or just the Hot, it would match BW3's spicy garlic.

Yeah, that was my weekend. I now look outside to see it snowing again. They say there isn't going to be much accumulation. They were wrong yesterday, why do I feel they may be wrong today?

One final thought. Someone tell Tank Abbott to retire. He is going to get seriously hurt if he keeps on fighting.