You Had Me at Crispy Ceci ...

What is this 'Crispy Ceci' you ask? It's tiny balls of deep fried chickpeas mixed with chillies, mint and citrus. I'm talking about Campangolo here - an Italian gem on the outskirts of Chinatown nestled right on Main Street. It is the best little appetizer ever and unique in every way. I'm pretty sure you haven't lived until you've tasted this crackling sensation in your mouth. VanMag published it, so it MUST be good!

Next up, word on the street was that after many revisions of the menu, their pork ragu was one of the few that survived. The Tagliatelle was definitely tasty and made with basil and Pecorino Romano cheese. However, the other two dishes outshone this one in my opinion.

My foodie friend CS opted for my second choice on the menu, their Carbonara pizza. Now you all know I am a LUVA of pasta carbonara, but imagine it on a PIZZA! With a sunny side egg cracked on top ... DROOL-A-RAMA! This pizza pie was HUGE in size and fluffy in dough like an elephant's ear. It was topped off with smoked provolone, bacon, cremini mushrooms and onions. I am screaming 'Excellente!' right now as I bring my fingers together, lift my hand to my mouth, touch my fingers to my lips and release a loud smooch of fireworks for this breathtaking dish!

Last but not least, SC chose their divine Pappardelle. Tossed with fennel sausage, rapini, garlic, parsley and breadcrumbs, this dish wrapped up our lunch quite nicely. I would 100% recommend this Italian resto to you all and hey, why not hit up the Cobalt across the street after? I did one once and it was one HELL of a night! ;)

Drowning our Canucks Sorrows in Delicious Desserts

While screaming and shouting for the Canucks to try and redeem themselves after a pitiful score against the Hawks, my friends and I regained sanity with sugar and berries. You might recognize this treat from an earlier post - this is just the gigantic version. The famous fruit flan from Urban Fare. It was a special celebration of the birth dates of two of my piggy friends, JV and PY. And a third piggy was there, the host DC. Seriously, please go out and try this dessert. The best part is the secret layer of white chocolate between the white cream filling and perfect pie crust. For some reason, the mini versions are 'fruit tarts' but the larger pie is referred to as 'fruit flan'. Weird.

I also had to include pictures of this cutely packaged and scrumptious looking homemade S'more from Butter Baked Goods. I can't personally review this dessert because the birthday girls wouldn't open to share. =( However, I am sure it tasted as divine as it looked. Apparently, Butter's 'Homemade Oreo' made it on Van Mag's Best Things to Eat and Drink in Vancouver 2009 list.

Oh and I also have to give a quick shout out to my fellow foodie/piggy cousin JV and her food blog: Foodmatik! Check it out - she is definitely the go-to-girl for restaurant recommendations!