Good evening friends.  Hope you made it through Monday.  I’ll admit, after a lovely weekend of loafing (with a hearty amount of cleaning yesterday) I expected to jump into the exercise sea with arms wide open. But alas, the world (and my anxiety levels) had other plans. So after a long day at work, I rushed home, got the mail, paid the rent, got a toilet repaired, and started organizing what I’m going to need when the beau leaves at the end of the month for Philly (i.e. what he’s going to take with him.) On the list:

• TV
• Knife set
• More body pillows to cuddle with and cope with my loneliness

Those are the big three, I guess.

But body pillows aside, I will truly miss having him around and given my glum thoughts about the future sans beau, it only made sense to nix cooking and have a date night!  We decided to finally make good on a LivingSocial deal that I got FOREVER ago for Milltown, a “gastropub” in Carrboro, a town that I feel like could be described as “Chapel Hill’s artsy hippy little sister.”  The last time I was at Milltown was during Lent, when I had given up eating red meat, so my dreams had been thwarted.  However, this time, I knew they could come true. “What was my dream?” you may be asking…

Bahn Mi ::$9
Miso Marinated Grilled Steak with Radish, Baby Carrot, Pepper, Red Cabbage, and Bok Choy Slaw Tossed in Asian Vinaigrette on a French Roll

Doesn’t that just sound sexy?

Patience, my friends.

Noting the beau’s craving for wings as we passed Ba Da Wings (located conveniently across the street from Milltown), I knew he needed some, and needed them fast.  I’d add a description of the wings from the menu, but they seem to have mistakenly put the description of the nachos, because I know these chicken wings weren’t offered as “topped with chicken”.  They had a sort of spicy Asian-inspired sauce, with a (maybe?!) blue cheese, whipped kind of dipping sauce. I had two, and left the rest to the cravings of the beau.  He was pleased as punch.

In the meantime, we split an appetizer beer (what? You don’t have those?)

This Founder’s Brewing Centennial IPA was a great kickstart beer, with a fruity smell but not overly floral, which I liked. It had a nice maltiness which counteracted the slight sweet fruitiness. Ryan said he probably could not have had more than one of these. I think I could’ve…. But I didn’t.

Because all of the sudden, guess who was coming to dinner?

On the menu was the Bahn Mi: Miso Marinated Grilled Steak with Radish, Baby Carrot, Pepper, Red Cabbage, and Bok Choy Slaw Tossed in Asian Vinaigrette on a French Roll.  All this for $9.   I’d seen a friend of mine eat it before…. the image didn’t do it justice. The steak was juicy, slightly chewy but accented so well with the slaw that the crunch was present enough for me.  The fries, skinny and lightly seasoned, were delicious and had just the right about of softness to fold into two. Which I love to do. Just in case you were curious….

The other star of the show?

From the brewer:

Hercules Double IPA is not for the faint of heart. It is, however, fit for the gods.  HERCULES delivers a huge amount of hops from start to finish. Its hefty backbone of nutty, malty sweetness balances its aggressive hop profile.  10% ABV

Considering the high ABV, I thought this was surprisingly smooth.  The color was orange-golden color, with very little froth/head to it (which was important considering it was only a 12 oz pour). Initially, it smelled like apple juice to me.  I really couldn’t even taste the alcohol, I tasted malt and I tasted a sneaky little fruit (the sneakiness of the taste was more like…. I could smell it through my mouth. If this doesn’t make sense to you, I apologize, but if you’ve ever had this happen, you know what I mean.)

Both beers were great. Ryan had the Smoked Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Smoked Ham, and it tasted like a warm, gooey hug in the most delicious way possible.

This night filled my belly with great food and beers, and my heart with great feelings. Though soon, we’ll be living far away, (SAP ALERT BEWARE!) I absolutely love and cherish every date night we have together. He’s just the best dining and drinking buddy, and the most fun to talk to, and too many gushy things to put in public.  I’ll get over the whole not living together thing soon enough, but I’ll never get over what a pleasure it is to date your best friend.  That’s something that just won’t go away.