Elite Event: The 2011 Yelpy Awards!

Better late than sorry — in writing this review.
The venu was very artsy and fun. The rum drinks were on point! I enjoyed this year’s Unilocaly Awards much more than last year’s. Last year we remember not being able to nibble on any of the bites. This time around we gobbled up plenty of the passed hors d’oeuvres, our faves were the pizza and pita chips w/​hummus.
I have to give my congrats to all the winners. BIG SHOUT OUT to the honorable mention’s Best New Engaged Couple: Kelly M. & Louis C. :D
*Cheers* to another great Unilocal Event! Way to go Damien.

Easy to find– sure! If you weren’t frazzled like I was. The dimly lit façade of the building was a warm invitation from the biting wind tunnel that is Summer Street.
We were greeted by a lady who told us what the coat situation was, and where we could find ourselves some food an drink. She suggested we go meet the Ipswich Rum boys in the upstairs gallery.
We enjoyed sipping on some mulled cider as we walked down into the contained chaos that is an elite event!
One major highlight of my night: seeing Bethany B for the first time in probably 4+ years!!!
It cemented for me the fact that I’ve met some really awesome people throughout the many years I’ve enjoyed rubbin’ elbows with Boston Unilocalers.
I was not wowed by the food, I got a mouth of chicken bones which turned me off from eating but my +1 4 lyfe enjoyed the pita chips quite a lot.
Having come out of a work-​induced-​hibernation it was great to see my friends and catch up after the holidays.
The bartenders were really very nice, the beer selection was awesome. And the speeches were equally as good. Great way to ring in the new year with Unilocal

Fabulous night! Lets start with Über provided posh transportation to the event, starting just steps from my house– awesome!
The drinks from Ipswich were fantastic, and I’m really all about organizing a group trip out to their facilities for a tour– the guys who run that place were full of interesting information about the rums and how they are made.
The food– top notch! I thought it was a fabulous idea to have both tables that were stocked with food as well as passed plates– this really cut back on the normal Unilocal swarming of the waitstaff that one normally sees at events. :) (Perhaps the smaller guest list helped as well? And the fact that there were ample bites provided? I don’t know what the trick was, but it WORKED!) Oh, and the fact that in addition to things like gourmet pizzas, wrapped asparagus and pork skewers they also have caviar, oysters and pork belly??? (Ok, so perhaps there was mild swarming around the pork belly, but my goodness it is pork belly folks, swarming excused!)
Well done Unilocal.I’d say we all walked out winners this year.

I woke up in the weirdest most uncomfortable position ever, on my sofa, still completely dressed and swathed in a zebra snuggie, somehow managed to stumble up the stairs to bed, discard the dress, and then cocooned myself into layers of snuggie, feathers, sheets and pillows.
The event itself was cozy in a charming space. Weird art and hot rum seem to go well together; I’ll have to combine the two again in the future. Also, I don’t know if you guys know this, but, Unilocalers are a bunch of really pretty people. I mean, you’re kind of expected to be somewhat witty and decent conversationalists given the medium that brings us all together, but you mothers are HOT.
The best story I have from the actual event, is not one I’m willing to commit to in writing, oh, but it’s a doozey. I was there to accept but very much unexpected Lifetime Achievement award (no really, thanks you guys, I don’t really deserve it), but I almost wasn’t. Sadly, my road to permanent infamy was derailed by my favorite +1 (Hi Eric), or perhaps fortunately… hrm. Either way, if you ask me at the NEXT event, I’ll probably tell you.

My life as a professional +1 has led me to a couple elite events in Boston, and they generally follow the same circuitous route to bliss.
Great looking girls show up accompanied by nice fellas. We slap a nametag on, grab a drink, and mingle while having some amazingly tasty bites. Every single time I go I end up having a great conversation with a cool person I didn’t know.
The rum was awesome, a completely different taste spectrum then I’m used to with rum. The beers were smuttynose, and I had enough to not be that cold on the walk home. The bites were all great. Seriously, if you ever eat here, the food I had was amazing. I’ll have to find out if they are this good all the time.
The event was amazing, as always. There were hijinx, hilarity ensued, all ended up well.
Special shout out to Lu’s dress, because it deserves special recognition.

Great event! I loved the rum drinks from Old Ipswich Rum. The guys pouring the drinks were super cool and relaxed. The Channel Café provided us with ample nibbles and it was great to meet so many Unilocalers. Loved the smaller size of this event which made it easier to mix and mingle. A great end to 2011. Happy New Year all!

I’ll admit it, I was a bit hesitant to attend this one. First off, I wasn’t too sold on the idea of a Unilocaly. I mean, we’re all elite, do we really need elite elite? Also, the late notice meant a few of my closest wouldn’t be able to attend. But…
This event was fantastic. Seriously one of my favorites to date.
Somehow I think having such a small event (100 people maybe?) might have done it for me. Most events go by in a blur– I run in, say hi to a million people, stand in line around the bar trying to get a drink, try to hunt down some passed apps that may or may not be floating around. But this event was so different…
First off, the space was great. It felt intimate but open at the same time. The art was a nice touch, and the café space worked very well. Dug it.
The drinks were great. I will admit, I didn’t get a chance to try any of the rum upstairs, I was busy with the beer downstairs. But I hear it was all very good.
The food was awesome and plentiful. Passed apps as well as a couple stations? Genius! (You know how ravenous we Unilocalers get)
And the awards? Surprisingly nice. Cappy gets the Unilocaly for best speech.
All in all, I’m glad to have been part of the event. Thanks to all the sponsors, congrats to all the winners, and a tip of the cap to Damien. Great way to say goodbye to 2011!

I’m still a little speechless over such a wonderfully surprising evening.
Thanks to Damien for putting together such a fabulous event. Thanks to Ipswich Rum and Channel Café and Über for providing all the elements that made the nite so special. Thanks so all you Unilocalers for being your useful, funny and cool selves — not just last nite, but all the time.
You complete me.

I like Alex’s review. I really do, a lot.
I also like this event. I really do, a lot.
Michele’s is pretty funny, great poetry.
Me and Cristina (ha yup, my tag team partner in crime) parked at my job last night and trekked over to the Channel Café for a Unilocalin’ good time. It worked out since we went out after the event and it broke up the walk back to the car.
We started off by checking in and heading to the Old Ipswich guys, who were not only offering us wicked good rum but they were funny and personable. I enjoyed their personalities so much I just kept going back upstairs to visit them!
Their story is great, two neighborhood buddies growing up together and (I forget names) one of them had this distillery on their property. I’m trying to recall the story but it’s a bit foggy. Either way, I want to buy this stuff! I asked where it could be found around here (as in Boston-​ish area) and the other man informed me that closest to Boston to date is the Kappys on route one or you could go closer to where they’re located.
I mingled and mangled and met my trashy reality TV friend, Julie! So glad about that! I congratulated the newly engaged couple, Kelly and Louis! I checked in on how marriage was for Dave and Diana! I refreshed some talk time with some familiar faces, I cheered for nominees and wished them luck and congratulated some winners. I did a whole bunch of everything.
The space, amazing. I want to go back, for real. So if anyone else is interested, let’s do it. It’s small, cozy, dimly lit and I loved it. Comfortable. I chatted up with what I’m guessing was the manager and the lady behind the food, they were both awesome women and I’m glad I had the pleasure to talk to them. I found the space to be beautiful and there is an art gallery linked in there which could be an added bonus for some (although I wasn’t feeling the «hands» theme because other people’s hands and feet bug me out a bit. shh!).
The food, holy-​cow. anything I’m going to be putting in my mouth from there on out will not compare. It was all appetizer style things besides the pizza and man oh fricken man, I loved it. The salmon and caviar (?), asparagus wraps, fried olives? WTF man! Pulled meats and cheese, mozzarella sticks (not fried), beets with grapes. ah what the heck I want it. In my mouth. I want it. Want. It. Nooooow.
So I’ll be getting back there sometime soon!
Everyone was dressed lovely! I even attempted to dress up, we shall see. I tried to get into some photos and I’m not sure how that ended up. I’m afraid to see what I came out like 10 rums in!
Overall, holy crappers I loved it and I want to throw a big shout out to the Unilocal team because Damien is the man he really is. I got to get into this insanely cool event and mingle with some insanely awesome people. I always feel so lucky to attend these events but this award theme, Unilocalys felt like I really got to participate since I put in people for the categories and some of the people I voted for won! So I felt a sense of pride in what I’m a part of.
Congratulations boys and girls, yay! Team Unilocal

Pork belly…
GET IN MAH BELLY!
Art galleries, rum by such a down to earth sponsor, delicious food, awesome awards ceremony… Thank you Damien for such a great event!
I am a happy hungover camper today.

Man, after winning master wordsmith the pressure is really on for this review.
That. was. awesome.

:)
That was fun. Great beer, great rum + cider, great food, great hosts (Channel Café was really cool, with art exhibits everywhere throughout). The rum was particularly good.
So yes, this was an epic win on all accounts.

Another slam-​dunk Damien!
Although some of the food at Channel Café was not my favorite — most of the pizzas were cold and a bit bland — most of what we ate was DELISH. Those salted mozzarella ball skewers and the pork belly? Awesome. And a few of us agreed that the 2 stations + passed apps was a really nice touch that kept people from swarming the passed apps like usual!
The smaller crowd was really nice (and everyone looked smashing!) and it was great to finally be able to HEAR the award winners! This was my 3^rd Unilocaly Awards (still not a nominee or winner though!) and the 1^st time I could hear what people said.
The Old Ipswich Rum Mulled Cider was a nice touch on a freezing cold night, as was the shuttled ride from Über!
A+ for Damien, A for Channel Café and A++ to all the Amazing Elite Unilocalers! :)

I guess I should add my 2 cents, even if it means reiterating what everyone else has already said: Great food + great drinks + great people = one helluva fun party.
What an awesome way to usher in the new year.
P. S. This was my first Elite event, and I’ve rarely felt so welcomed anywhere. You guys are a seriously amazing bunch, and I look forward to meeting more of you soon!

I am pretty sure I am drunk at work right now. I don’t feel like writing a real review right now so refer to anybody that hung out with me last night for explanations on why this event was awesome.
And if anyone wants to play words with friends in about an hour when my hangover kicks in, please be sure to let me know.

Well, having only Charlotte Elite experience, this event exceeded my expectations. You guys know how to kick up the class! C’mon! There was even caviar. Caviar! There were also excellent beverages provided by Old Ipswich and Smuttynose on tap and of course fancy noms from Channel Café.
Old Ipswich brought some Tavern Style and White rum which they provided straight and with mixer options. Option 1: a fantastic warm mulled cider with tavern style rum (the rum has a woody, smokey taste like whiskey so it was fannntastic) or Option 2: a pink lemonade with white rum.
Being vegan, I could only snag a couple corner pieces of the flatbread pizza (they were cheese-​free but rather cold), toasted pita and salsa/​hummus, and a «fancy olive» (it was fried– not sure how that makes it fancy…). I saw other plates going around, including some sort of meat on a stick, cheesy bread (that looked more cheese than bread), some sort of shredded meat on a cracker, and a few other fancy omnivore-​friendly noshes.
Having attended the Unilocal Charlotte Unilocaly Awards a few months previous, I was impressed with the additional categories such as «Strongest Liver» and «Lifetime Achievement». The thank you speeches were also excellent– a few definitely outdid the ones we had in Charlotte (like «I’d like to thank my beautiful wife for having sex with me. Seriously…» and it went on and on). I was all smiles. I can’t wait to meet more of you Boston folks at the next event! Excellent job Damien! Thanks for a swanky event!

I knocked over the downstairs coat rack before I even started drinking the upstairs rum, drooled over the duck and brie apps and stared in puzzlement at a bunch of hand art. It goes without saying I had a fabulous time last night!
Props to the Unilocaly award winners; you’re everything that’s right about this website.
Props to Channel Café for providing a beautiful space and excellent staff.
Props to the sweatered Ipswich guys, who put mint in my last drink because I like it.
Props to Über for the sweet rides to the event AND the afterparty — nothing says class like rolling up to a dive bar in your own private town car :).
Thank god I have a half day at work; it’s time to go home and sleep off this hangover, sponsored by Biddys. Catch you useful, funny and cool cats in 2012!

Holy crap, that Old Ipswich Tavern Style Rum was outstanding. The guys distilling/​serving it up were a wealth of information and cool as hell. Other stuff was good too, I liked how «intimate» the event was, and the staff of the Channel Café were super fun.
But jesus christ, that rum!
I need a nap.

As usual, my husband and I had a great time at a Unilocal Elite event!
The space was cozy, and a bit opposite of the big and loud space where the Unilocalies were held last year. I enjoyed being able to hear the speeches from the winners and cracked up when the grade school shush motion actually worked on the crowd.
I heard the rum was delicious from Unilocalers who tried both mixed drinks.
Watching people try to use their cell phone cameras to capture the night when Damien announced that Tatsu was running late was also pretty funny. Tipsy amateur photo bugs will never come close to the quality of Tatsu’s pictures, but their efforts were appreciated.
Also, congrats to Tatsu for his best foodie win, and being trusting enough to let Alex B. use his camera to snap a picture of his win.
Oh! And thanks to the delay in giving out the awards for helping me discover useful info using my smartphone: Boston parking meters are only in effect till 8 PM on week nights, so I did NOT have to leave the party to go add quarters to the meter I’d parked at.
Once again we were impressed with the friendliness of our fellow Unilocalers and had a good time chatting with them: Sarah D. was cracking us up even before her funniest win. Stephanie L. showed why she’d been nominated for most useful by directing guests to the bathroom and even having a bandaid in her purse when it was needed. We were able to congratulate Dave and Diana on being an adorable newlywed couple. Alex B. proved he can rock both a santa suit (last time we saw him at the ugly sweater UYE) and a real suit and look smashing on both nights! Lu and Johnna both stopped by to mingle too.
We’re always happy to spend a night out with Unilocalers and last night re-​affirmed why that is. Huge thanks to Damien for organizing such great events throughout the year.

Bad poetry on the way:
I had some fun
With Old Ipswich Rum
Then had to run
My headache had begun
Yay Unilocal