So what did we order? We ordered pulled pork, brisket, ribs, pickles, sauerkraut and baked beans. The dude behind the counter was friendly and quite helpful. Totally willing to express his own opinion about which version of ribs he preferred, and to give us a sense of whether we were ordering too much or too little.
I believe Mr. Ass ended up favoring the ribs the most out of all the options, while I went back and forth between the meltingly fatty brisket and the ribs. All the sauces were good, but the meat on its own had a depth of smoky flavor that didn't even need the extra help.
I decided to have a Templeton Rye, as it makes me feel like I know something and reminds me of my Chicagoist days. It was a rainy night and I had been a tad bit stressed that week, so it was great to touch base with Mr. Ass and finally cross Fette Sau off my Philly new restaurant list. Big thanks to Mr. Ass for driving me to and fro even though it was out of his way, and for listening to me rant about this thing or that thing for a good majority of the meal.
I'm a true lover of a good Salad Lyonnais, and this one's egg to frisee ratio was pretty good. I would have actually enjoyed just a smidge more dressing.
The one thing I'll need to do a bit more research on, is just what champagnes we enjoyed, and the order in which we enjoyed them. Over the course of our evening we consumed three bottles. All of which were good, though the first two were particularly delightful. 
I dressed myself up a bit. That bow is from a gift box. Classy. 
This was ringing in the New Year proper midnight style. You'll note that T. has both the champagne of beers and a glass of champagne. Or wait, is Miller High Life the champagne of beers? So perhaps Coors Light could be, like, the Prosecco of beers? 
Now this is a funny photograph because it seems very much like AK is trying to tell me something, and I am far more intent on a photograph. 
Well it was definitely a more boisterous evening than the NYEs I've enjoyed of late. But it was a balance on the whole, or at least in many a way. In other words, I was able to function at work.
In addition to LW's arrival coinciding with the curds, it also coincided with my need for a second cocktail. So here you'll see the curds fresh-on-delivery and the equally freshly prepared cocktail being poured with gusto into my new and waiting glass.
I also had a third beverage, this time a stout of some kind. I can't recall which because this was about two or three weeks ago and their taps change. We were also gifted a fairly delightful maple pot de creme and chocolate hazelnut cookie. This was an absolutely pleasant and welcome surprise. I dug the creme a bit more than the cookie, but combining the two was also a smart move.
We also split the Claudio Mozzarella Sandwich with Crispy Prosciutto, Piquillo Pepper, Pesto and Garlic Vinaigrette, which was above average for a fanci-fied mozzarella panini. I was especially fond of the pesto element. 
We additionally enjoyed the Housemade Lamb Sausage with White Beans, Piquillo Peppers and Mint-Feta Sauce. CPM enjoyed the white beans a whole heck of a lot while I became enamored of the lamb sausage, which was savory and hearty and magic. 
We also enjoyed a chunk of Crémeux de Bourgogne cheese with its accompanying preserved cherries, but the photograph of the cheese just didn't come out well enough to bother showing you. We each ordered a second glass of wine to round out our treats. The Tria industrial complex (heh) is not fooling around with its curated wine list or attention to interesting flavor combinations and I was glad to finally check out the third of its locations. Afterwards we were going to try and have fancy cocktails at Franklin Mortgage and Trust, but it was cold and there was already a line of a good 10 people and that would have translated to a good 30-who knows minute wait, which we were having none of. Instead we went in a markedly less high-brow direction to The Bards, where we ran into LW. LW was playing darts but with folks who really know how to shoot...and CPM would not have had much fun if playing against them, so we set up shop at the lower board and played a game or two with two dudes. We topped the night off with one round of beers at McCrossens, which is generally a good way to end a night and lived up to that description admirably on this occasion.
After breakfast and laying about for a bit, we took another walk adventure in the now snow covered woods. 
We had an especially good time breaking ice, of which there were a few different sets. Here you'll see Fatty holding on to a tree while investigating this particular ice pool. 
Here you will see me truly thinking that I was about to be eaten by the ice (it was hard to sense how deep it would be once we broke through, so it was a little scary for a second). Poor L. didn't have very warm shoes/socks and even though she was wearing galoshes they weren't 100% water proof. 
Ice. Ice. Baby.
Stop. Collaborate and listen. This ice is going to glisten. 
My hat in a new configuration.
A lovely morning and afternoon. I was very sad to see the two of them leave shortly after our walk but I was very glad that they had been able to make it at all.