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82 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED BY ALAN KARPICK AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com A shley Burkhardt doesn't think of herself as a pioneer. In fact, she would just as soon not draw any attention to herself. The former All-Big Ten Boilermaker softball player has always let her game, if not her actions, do her talking. But when it came to being the first female to have a food item named af- ter her at the Triple XXX, she was hap- py to break the barrier. "It was quite an honor to be the first," Burkhardt said. "But it comes naturally as I think I have tried every item on the menu at one time." Carrie Ehresman, who along with co-owner and husband Greg, had been looking for female representation, and they believe they have the best in Bur- khardt. "First of all, it is long overdue on our part," Carrie Ehresman said. "Ashley isn't the first great female student-ath- lete to frequent the restaurant nor is she anywhere close to the first female worth honoring. But when you think of her accomplish- ments not only at Purdue, but the fact she comes in a lot, she is a natural." To put it mildly Burkhardt loves — loves — the Triple XXX. The Ehresmans brought the idea up of "immortaliz- ing" Burkhardt with a food item last spring, and it all came to a head when the BTN visited Pur- due to interview Burkhardt prior to the 2015 conference tournament. "They said, 'Hey, we are going to bring $10 when we come to town, so tell us which restaurant should we go to on campus?' I said, 'Duh, the Triple XXX of course,'" Burkhardt said. With that endorsement, and the fact that Burkhardt was going to extend her career professionally with the Dallas Charge of the National Pro Fastpitch league (NPF), it was a no-brainer. The dif- ficult part was coming up with a menu item. "I have eaten just about everything on the menu during my time at Pur- due," Burkhardt said, realizing she was doing the first infomerical of her career. "I loved their biscuits, but to be honest, I didn't eat chicken and biscuits growing up, it wasn't any- thing like that. We just brainstormed and came up with the chicken tenders with the biscuits." As the menu states, the Ashley Burkhardt Chick- en and Biscuits starts with two buttermilk biscuits with all-white-meat chicken ten- ders tossed in Burkhardt's secret-weapon sauce. That sauce is buffalo-style, which includes Triple XXX Root Beer jelly, along with some other not-too-spicy flavors. And to top it all off, Burkhardt likes to driz- zle honey on the biscuits. It is served with either sweet potato fries or hash browns. "Greg is a wizard with the sauce, and it came out better than I anticipat- ed," Burkhardt said. "I literally could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Burkhardt, known as the "Mayor" during her days as an undergrad be- PRESENTS: PURDUE'S GREATEST STORIES AND TRADITIONS The Triple XXX Family Restaurants Route 66 Diner Salute Purdue's Great Traditions, like Ashley Burkhardt Indiana's Oldest Drive-In On the Hill, But on the Level Since 1929 Triplexxxfamilyrestaurant.com Ground Breaker Burkhardt first female to be honored by Triple XXX Photo by Tom Campbell