HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON!

Another year, another birthday and what better way to spend a birthday of a good friend than with a celebration of style and good times. ALISON had a great dinner with family and friends at Lux and then we moved over to Deuce Bungalow for more drinks and cake. Ali was in fine form, holding court and laughing all night long, it was a great evening to be sure and I hope that Ali had a great time.

Happy Birthday sweetie, WE LOVE YOU!!!

GIO'S TOP 10 SAMMICHES

Being off of work has given me time to reflect, rebuild and cook, yes cook and while cooking I thought "hmm, what are some of my favorite sammiches"? So here goes, a look at my Top 10 Favorite Sammiches!

Who says the Internet is filled with useless information...

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SAMMICH

• The classic and the very first sandwich I ever learned to make by myself. Personally I prefer Jif’s Creamy or Crunchy PB and for Jelly I am a Raspberry man but the others taste good themselves. Bread wise, believe it or not, I prefer Squirrelly Bread over white just because I find the extra seeds & grains add some flavor. 

THE SLOPPY JOE

• The original “manwich”! A mix of beef, onions and tomato sauce piled onto a hamburger bun, there’s a reason it’s called “sloppy” because more of it ends up on your shirt and hands than in your mouth but the stuff that gets in there, man is it good. I like to add a little garlic & chili to my manwich just to give it some bite but original is just as good. 

MONTREAL SMOKED MEAT SAMMICH

• A little tough to find unless you are in Quebec but if you do get a chance, order it and you won’t be disappointed. This is a giant pile of meat on some bread complete with mustard and a pickle. Now you may think, “isn’t this just a corned-beef sammich?” It’s not, it’s better… those French Canadians sure do know how to smoke themselves some meat!

“THE RUBE” REUBEN SAMMICH

• As a kid I hated sauerkraut, but the older I got, the more I appreciated and learned to love my dad’s favorite sammich. The Reuben sammich is a grilled or toasted rye sammy made with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and either Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing. Variants exist like for me, I prefer Dijon mustard over the other condiments but you don’t mess with the corned beef, it’s gotta be good. 

PHILLY CHEESESTEAK SAMMICH

• I grew up with this one as I had some friends who worked in a Cheesesteak kiosk and we ate there almost every weekend. Shaved meat, onions, peppers & cheese fried all together and shoved into a bun. Seriously think about it… meat + cheese + fried = good times. There are many many variations to this one and I’ve tried a few, they are all good but the classic is always the best place to start!

CLUB SAMMICH

• Ah tradition… nothing screams tradition like the Club. The original club ingredients are turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato but I like to add a little Avocado to mine, I find the creaminess just helps bring all the flavors together. Cheese is often added to the sandwich as well, usually Swiss, or Cheddar but this is totally your call, bottom line, toast it and the better the bread, the better the overall sammich as this one relies on the bread so much.

GRILLED CHEESE SAMMICH

• Everyone loves a grilled cheese, whether it’s Kraft Singles, aged cheddar or pear & blue cheese, the combinations are infinite but one rule still applies… it’s gotta be cheesy! Take some bread of your choice, butter the outside, cheese up the inside and fry that sammich till it’s golden brown & gooey. I do not know of anyone who would turn down a GCS is it was offered to them, it’s the ultimate in “comfort food”.

CROQUE MONSIEUR

• The ultimate hot breakfast sammich and one worth having time and time again. Eggs, ham, emmental cheese, béchamel sauce and toasted bread all constructed into a tower of tasty awesomeness. It originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars but has found its way here and thank the maker for that! This is a rich & indulgent meal so be prepared to be full yet satisfied. A worthy note, a croque-monsieur served with a fried or poached egg on top is known as a croque-madame!

MEATBALL SUB

• Are you kidding me? Meatballs, marinara sauce and cheese? Does it get any better than this? I’ve made my own which was awesome but if you can find it in the “Italian District” of your hometown, indulge in this one as you won’t be disappointed. It’s like an Italian Sloppy Joe but with meatballs instead of ground meat and for me, even tastier!!!

PULLED PORK SAMMICH

• The ultimate in my books, whenever I see it on a menu anywhere I have a personal battle on whether I should order it or not. Slow cooked pork butt, marinated in homemade BBQ sauce, then little strips of these golden brown beauties are piled high on a bun, hoagie or between any two pieces of bread. To me, this is the ultimate savory sammich, a flavor so good, it’s worth having time and time again.
  

Now don't you want a sammich???

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

JOBHUNT: WEEK 2

Man is it tough out there. It appears that Vancouver has become somewhat of a saturated market for my line of work. There's hundreds of people all going for the same handful of jobs, for example, one of the smaller companies in town received 1400 resumes last week... 1400. They usually receive 10 or so a week. It just goes to show that the economic downturn has hit the Gaming Industry and hit hard.

With that in mind, I am looking abroad as there seems to be more work around the world than in Vancouver. San Francisco, Montreal, Boston, London, Sweden, Singapore, Australia... there's a lot of work, just none in our hometown. So be prepared, Corsiworld may be on the move.

But until that time, I am pounding the pavement, surfing the web, hooking up with recruiters and taking a lot of phone interviews. Keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted.

DINE OUT VANCOUVER 2009

Can you believe that DINE OUT 2009 has come and gone already? Well, true to Corsiworld tradition, we took part in this years DINE OUT by visiting four places and they were all fantastic, take a look...

BURGOO

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BURGOO’S DINE OUT 2009 MENU

The dollar value to food ratio here was amazing, for $18 we were absolutely stuffed. The Stout & Chedder Fondue was a clear favorite but the Hungarian Goulash was no slouch either, the homemade dumplings were an added treat. I felt the Butter Chicken could have used more of a creamy kick but otherwise it was still enjoyable!

ABIGAIL’S PARTY

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ABIGAIL’S PARTY’S DINE OUT 2009 MENU

What a feast and such a cute little place too! The Brie Bruschetta was a rich indulgence, the Ling Cod fresh and tasty and everyone agreed that the Apple Cobbler was one of the best ever. Also if you get a chance, order the Merguez Corn Dogs off the regular menu, they are fantastic!

COBRE

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COBRE'S DINE OUT 2009 MENU

Another home run! The Duck Tacos were rich, the Sablefish was “to die for” and the Dulce de Leche was a dream. Add to that the Cornbread with Sweet Chili Butter was out of this world. Do yourself a favor and get to Cobre, it’s latin-inspired goodness worth a return visit!

THE FLYING TIGER

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FLYING TIGER’S DINE OUT 2009 MENU

There's no better way to celebrate Chinese New Year than with a kick ass Asian Meal. FLYING TIGER is fantastic, there were 8 of us and of all the dishes we tried, everyone loved everything. The Togarashi Tuna and Panang Red Curry Mussels were personal faves but who can say no to crispy deep fried chocolate ganache-stuffed bananas. We will definitely be back!

You can check out our previous three DINE OUT adventures below:

CORSIWORLD DINE OUT 2006

CORSIWORLD DINE OUT 2007

CORSIWORLD DINE OUT 2008

And here are all the pics from the last four years of DINE OUT VANCOUVER!!!

Looking forward to next year!!!

JANUARY ENDS WITH A THUD

Here's the month in review...

• Sean & Lea threw a great New Years PARTY!

• The big news ofcourse is that I lost my JOB!

• I wrote an in-depth report on THE BEST WINGS IN VANCOUVER!

• Our beasts, LAVERNE and CARMINE both celebrated birthdays!

• VANCOUVER EATS reviewed three new places: LA CASITA, LA REGALADE and SECTION (3)!

• Our friends, BUCKLEY and VICKY also celebrated birthdays!

• We ended off the month with a great day at WHYTECLIFF PARK

• Finally, take a look at all of our JANUARY pics HERE!