Kenny braves the "cold"

Kenny forgot his scarf and gloves.  What a rookie mistake.

First real stop to remedy this situation (well, technically it was the gym but...): Weary Traveler.  There was really no excuse not to drag Kenny along on my great exploration of Madison burgers (and basically reverse his weight loss progress #sorrynotsorry).  Bob's Bad Breath Burger.  Doesn't that just sound like something you MUST try?  Two thoughts - (1) not quite sure it lived up to its "bad breath" name and (2) cream cheese, feeling skeptical.  In the end, we decided that it made sense because it's just another form of fat (and a lot of it) on a giant disk of meat.  Maybe it was the meat and cheese platter (with a fantastic pate) we nommed on while waiting for friends or maybe it was just the fact that it was a big ass patty... but it was a major struggle to finish this burger.  In the end, I had to give my last three bites to Liban.  (I don't think I've mentioned this before, but DLUX was when Liban realized Catherine is a good dinner date if you play the role of perpetually hungry garbage disposal.)  They did a fantastic job of marinating the burger - it was as if the entire patty was coated in a film of sauce, so despite the patty itself being a bit dry, every bite was flavor and a lot of it.  As a side note, the garlicky potatoes were so good, and I totally made sure to polish that shit off.

I tried to capture a frame of the space, too.  Real cute.  Eclectic.  The way my home will look in the future because I'm a pro-hoarder of random and useless things.  Knick knacks everywhere.  My favorites were the giant chess pieces.

But it was quite dark, and I could barely see my food.

The next day it was off to Old Sugar Distillery.  Liquor tasting before dinner for two ultra lightweights?  Sureeeee.  They advertise a "tour" of sorts... but it's really just standing at the bar as a bartender tells you about the history and the equipment around the room.  Turns out you don't need much space to make liquor.  And then it takes something like 1 mo./1 gallon to age the stuff.  So it's no brewery tour, but now I know where whiskey and rum come from.  Not gonna lie, tasting whiskey is not easy for someone who detests shots and needs to hide it under fruity juices and bitters and a straw, but that honey liqueur... mmmm.  Would recommend it to a friend?  Yes.

Continuing on to Alchemy for yet another checkmark on my list.  Or two halves of two burgers.  Good solution for indecisive folk.  We split the Zaremba (because bacon) and special of the night (because portobella).  We both agreed that this one-upped Weary Traveler because it was juicier.  One aspect of measuring success of a burger is how many napkins you must crumple up to catch the grease rolling down your forearm.  Alchemy passed.  Bonus points for portion size and feeling perfectly satisfied after finishing the burgers and the crunchy refreshing wasabi green beans (and the rest of Kenny's fries).  That is... if you don't decide to order a mountain of wings as an appetizer.  Note: Alchemy was Kenny's fave of the weekend, I believe.

No matter how stuffed you are, how ready you are to pass out, how painful your abdomen is from testing its physical limits... there is always room for dessert.  It's not like it has to be a giant slice of cake or a full arrangement of bars and tarts.  I just like something sweet to cleanse the savory, something somewhat sugary to neutralize the overwhelming flavors of dinner.  We crossed the street to the super adorable Chocolaterian, where Kenny demonstrated the least amount of self control for someone who claimed to be descending into a food coma.

Parisian hot chocolate - quite literally a liquid truffle.  It was so thick, I got a hazelnut steamer to turn it into the kind of hot chocolate we are more familiar with.
Lemon tart - yummm.
Ugly cookie - my favorite.
Mint and caramel chocolate pieces.
Nope.  It was not my idea to order all these things, but I fully support it.

Also check out these adorable chocolate molds hanging on the wall.  Did I also mention it's a chocolate AND wine cafe?  

Here's something you might not know.  There exists an entire museum for mustard.  Otherwise known as the National Mustard Museum.  Everything you never wanted to know about the second best condiment (first would have to be hot sauces, duh).  I learned that a ring toss game involving mustard bottles is deceptively difficult.  I learned that lavender mustard is a thing, and it's gross.  I learned nothing really about the history of mustard.  And I learned that coloring is still fun.
Kenny dropped $$ on some honey mustard pretzel dip and shit is amazing.  If you ever wanted to prepare the world's simplest lunch, might I suggest this and this and a bag of pretzels.  And if you wanna get fancy, I also cut up a pear and a block of cheese from here.

Prior to this visit, I went a little crazy while grocery shopping, and it didn't occur to me until I lugged all the bags to the kitchen that I definitely bought more than I needed for the two weeks before winter break.  The solution here was to force feed Kenny some of the food.  Tomato basil soup, salad with Parmesan crisps, tomato and egg noodles, spinach mushroom ravioli, cabbage curry and rice, aaaaaand beef noodle soup adapted from here made with homemade pork/chicken stock and shiitakes.

There's a butchery on campus right next to Babcock, and I kind of love it.  I picked out some beef spare ribs from the huge freezer full of freshly butchered meat for this purpose, and our small bowls couldn't handle it.  There are noodles and delicious-I'm-proud-of-myself broth underneath the bok choy and egg, I promise.

Sendoff dinner at Old Fashioned after I neglected my house guest to take a four hour  nap.  Apologies for being cranky, but now you know how I feel about Sundays.  Kid got one last burger and Sconnie's famous fried cheese curds, while I indulged on the best kind of onion rings (for the next four days...because there was a lot) and an Old Fashioned.  I just want to mention that Brussels sprouts is a choice of garnish for the build your own old fashioned... can someone explain this to me?

Glad I got to catch you one last time before you disappear into Singapore forever to tell your friends about the most forgettable US region.  Now I can officially stop feeling bad for leaving Durham.