DINE OUT 2008

Well, you know what they say... "another year, another Dine Out Adventure". What started in 2006 and continued in 2007 is back in 2008! This year, Michelle and I tried out three different places, two thumbs up, one thumbs down, take a look:

THE SALMON HOUSE ON THE HILL

A West Van tradition and still one of the best views in the City, the SALMON HOUSE has updated their menu so it's not only about the fish. The Lamb Sirloin was out of this world as was the Seasme Crusted Tuna, great service and a great evening overall. Out of our three stops, this was Michelle's favorite.
THE SALMON HOUSE DINE OUT MENU


IL GIARDINO DI UMBERTO

This classic downtown Italian joint is still going strong and tastes fantastic, the Rock Prawn Spaghettini appetizer was by far and wide our favorite dish from any of the places. The Chocolate Espresso Creme Brulee was also top notch. Great service, great meal! This was my favorite restuarant of the three.
THE IL GIARDINO DINE OUT MENU


THE MOUSTACHE CAFE
The North Shore favourite has a new location and a new look, unfortunately, the meal was a miss. While the Carrot Orange Soup was fresh and zippy, our two mains (Duck Breast & Pork Loin) had the same sides and both meals left us with upset stomachs. The service was also disappointing, 1/2 hour wait for appies and another 1/2 wait for our mains even though the place wasn't packed.
THE MOUSTACHE CAFE DINE OUT MENU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAVERNE & BOZLEE

On January 29th, our dog LAVERNE and the Forbzez pooch BOZLEE (who are sister & brother) turned one year old. We had a little party at Casa Del Forbzez and Schwartz came by with Baxter as well, it was doggie goodness! Happy b-day!!!

SAY HELLO TO CARMINE!

Laverne is getting a baby half-brother!

No, we are not pregnant but Laverne's mom was and she gave birth to a litter of seven! We were asked to visit the breeder to return some equipment we had borrowed from when Laverne was a youngling and had no intention of buying a new "Boston Terrier" pup, but cuteness got the better of us. We were planning on getting a second dog for Laverne but our attempts to rescue a suitable pooch had been fruitless, then seeing all these little potatoes wiggling around, the breeder being a family friend and Laverne turning out so damn good was too much to ignore, we got a male Boston Terrier pup and we named him CARMINE! He's only a week old right now but should be able to come home to us in mid-March, pretty exciting stuff for us, not so much for you all but trust me, you'll love him.

Laverne & Carmine, sounds good to us!

Pics of the new pup can be seen HERE!!!

KG 2 DA NYC

I've known Kevin Gamble for 20 years or so. We went to High school together, we acted together (43 lbs., Tiki Bar), we worked together (Grouse Mountain, Esplanade 6 Theaters, Mainframe), traveled together (Europe, Comic Con) and he was one of the groomsmen at my wedding. It's fair to say, we are good friends. One thing you should know about Kev is his love of animation, he loves to tell stories, he loves to make cartoons and he loves the entire process, so it came as no surprise that he got a job with Classic Media in New York City.

It's an awesome opportunity but it comes with the realization that another good, good friend is leaving Van City.

Now I've got tons of peeps who live abroad: Adam in San Fran, Dodson is Saskatoon, Lach in London, Frewer & the Marley Boys in Toronto but Kev is a little different, he's the Gambler, he's my right hand man, my hot wing co-pilot, my scotch buddy, my confidant to all job related thoughts and opinions. I've always been able to talk to Kevin about issues involving our industry (computer animation & games) and through the marvel of modern technology we will be able to continue our conversations but him not being here will be that much different. He's fantastic at what he does though and this is a going to be a great adventure for him, so we bid him a fond farewell and wish him nothing but the best.

In true Gambler fashion, a going away drink fest was held last night at Vibes downtown, filled with friends, co-workers and faces from the past. It's was a great time, a time to catch up with old buddies and a time to say goodbye to the Gambler. Have fun in the Big Apple buddy, you are gonna rock it!

Pics of the event can be seen HERE!
Chad's pics can be seen HERE!

Foody Review: ME & JULIO

The other night Michelle and I decided to try the new local Mexican place on Commercial Drive. It's called ME & JULIO: MODERN MEXICAN KITCHEN & CANTINA (the sister restaurant to Downtown's LOLITA'S) and let me tell you it was great.

Well decorated, funky, a wall of tequila and quite the unique/tasty menu, that sums it up for me. We started with a Lime Margarita and a Mai Tai (both were tasty), we then had two appetizers, the ceviche (3 mounds of citrusy fresh fish - mainly awesome scallops) and the Guacamole (a heaping bowl that also came with star-anise touched Black Bean dip & Chips). Then for the main course we had the Calamare Salad (with squid, chorizo & olives - to die for) and the extremely rich yet extremely tasty Vegetarian Enchilada (wow).

Needless to say, the grub was fantastic, the prices were reasonable and we will definitely be going back for a return meal as well as brunch (their Brunch menu looks fantastic). ME & JULIO opened in October and the website just went live, it will be updated more soon (hopefully with a menu) but you can check out the site HERE and give the food a try, it's well worth it.

Unique Mexican fare with some classic Mexican taste!

BOB: THE HEART OF A LION

Over the holidays, we found out the Michelle’s Dad, Captain Bob,was going to go into the Hospital in February for an Angiogram due to chest pains and possible heart problems. This of course could lead to an Angioplasty or Open Heart Surgery, not the kind of news you want over the holidays. Well, Sunday we found out that Bob was going in this week, Wednesday, as his pain was getting worse and waiting till February could spell disaster. Bob went in for surgery and had the angiogram which revealed a blocked artery and a dead artery. The surgeon repaired the blocked artery with 2 stents to help the blood flow but had to leave the dead one as the heart had already made the compensations for this lifeless tissue and removing it would be a much more invasive surgery that was not required.

Due to the surgeons amazing skill we are happy to report that is was a success. Dad came home with more color in his face than he has had for months and was in great spirits which is good news indeed. He will be running at about 90% so we all have to pitch in to help out around the house more but we are happy to do it, we just make sure to keep the jokes to a minimum so he doesn’t laugh too hard and pop his stitches… that wouldn’t be that funny at all.

365 SELFIES: A YEAR OF ME

One New Year's Day of 2007, I started a Flickr adventure called 365. Basically the premise behind this photo group is to take a picture a day for 365 days, an entire year. I decided to do 365 self-portraits or selfies (holding the camera and turning it to take a picture of yourself) and other than the odd timed or tripod shot, they were all hand-held selfies (I had to mix it up once in a while). Now this may not seem hard especially for a guy like me who likes to take photos but trust me, it is difficult. Not only remembering to take a shot a day but remembering to upload it as well, overall it proved to somewhat difficult but I did it. One New Year's Eve I took my last selfy and 365 days worth of photo work has been successfully completed.

May not seem like much to all y'all but I am extremely proud I did it. View my 365 pics HERE

BACK 2 WORK

And just like that, the Christmas Holidays are done and life resumes to normal. Michelle and I are back to work but it's been a full week off with many a party to attend and lots of friends to visit with. Take a look:

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2008

SEAN & LEA'S ENGAGEMENT PARTY

LACH & MANDY'S VANCOUVER VISIT

OUR FIRST SHOWSHOE OF THE SEASON

ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY PICS