DOOD.CA: Guy Stuff

At 20 years old, Chantelle Paige is certainly all woman, and her pictures can certainly attest to that. I’m personally not really a blonde guy, I prefer brunettes, but Ms. Paige here has that something that just works for me. According to wikipedia, the was voted most likely to be on the cover of a magazine in her high school class, and was also a Junior Varsity Cheerleader.

Chantelle has been groomed to be a performer all of her life, appearing in commercials and magazines since the age of 3, and participating in singing and dancing competitions as well. She is currently part of the musical group Flipsyde.

One of the things I miss the most about Nanaimo is the food. Yes, I really did just say that. I moved to Vancouver, and I miss the food in Nanaimo. Given that Vancouver probably has some of the best restaurants that North America has to offer, that is a strange statement.. so please let me explain 🙂

Nanaimo has some really great small restaurants that serve great food, maybe not in the league of the restaurants in Vancouver overall, but there are a few gems, that in addition to the good food, they have a great atmosphere with staff and servers that make the experience a memorable one. Armani’s is one of these places. If you’ve never been to Armani’s Grill in Nanaimo and tried some of Gordo’s fantastic Burgers, Fries and Rice bowls, you are missing out!

I really wish I had taken some photos of the great food that Gordo serves there, but I did not, but might try to get some shots next time I am there.

Here are some recommendations:

French Fries
Gordo makes the BEST french fries I have had. They are chipped fresh, sprinkled with lemon juice, and left to soak overnight. Then they are deep fried straight from raw, which takes a bit longer than most fries that are cooked before they are deep fried. This gives his fries a very unique flavour to them that are bursting with potato flavour and a somewhat more robust texture. He also happens to pile about 2 lbs of fries on the burgers too.

King of Shrooms Burger
His burgers are huge, like half a pound. Not only that, the mushroom burger comes with a pound of slices and sauteed mushrooms that literally is piled as high as the burger is. These shrooms try to stay inside the bun, but they definately do not! There are so many mushrooms that its almost ridiculous… but that’s kind of why I like this place.

Gordo’s Bowl
In my opinion, this is his best rice bowl. He chops up the vegetables to the perfect size, with a large variety of them, and then you get some battered and deep fried pork bits which are covered with something he calls “Gordo Sauce”. It tastes something like chipotle mayo, and goes fantastic with the rice and pork.

Gordo the man himself. Gordo’s one of the other reasons I like to come here. He usually takes the time to come over to the table and chat with us, and he’s got a good sense of humour.. I really enjoy the food, and meeting the chef is always a bonus. Makes the place feel closer to home, and the food that much better.

The portions are about double what most people can eat, so you are bound to have left overs that you can take home with you. Most of the rice bowls range $12-15, and the burgers are about the same. I sure do miss Armani’s Grill..

Well, almost.. its still overcoat season here with our ice-age style weather, but with a little luck, Spring may come. Lots of good stuff from Diesel, Energie and G-Star at Ssense.com. Don’t forget to check Harry Rosen as well if you are local.

Great thing about a Trench is that it goes well with jeans and a suit. With a suit you may want a longer full length Trenchcoat, and with jeans possibly a 3/4 length Trench, like the Energie trenchcoat shown above. Typically colors for the season are of course Black, Grey and Beige.. nothing new there.

I need to keep my eyes peeled for a black trenchcoat, and with this continuing recession, there are deals to be had!

According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), Canada will be not experience the worst of the global recession because of our “strong fiscal package”. The $400 billion dollar stimulus package is supported by the IMF. This is good, right?

In my experience dealing with Canadians and Canadian companies as of late, I notice an slightly less desperate need to sell and save than with our brothers to the south. This supports the IMF views as far as my small sampling of experience is concerned.

However, we’re going to be in for some rougher times still.

See more about Canada’s action plan here on the new site:
http://actionplan.gc.ca/

I was listening to the Kid Carson show this morning, and though this is not really girl advice, it is a way to deal with that clingy girl that you can’t seem to break up with. There was an interesting segment about this website, and how it generates emails for you to use when breaking up with someone.

The emails range from very conservative to straight-up offensive, depending on the choices you make to generate this break up email. Its a neat site, and a funny idea.. check it out if you are bored: http://www.breakupemail.com