UYE Wednesday Lunch Social @ Downtown

UYE!: This was officially my first UYE gathering, and it was so awesome that Emi could put it together at last moments notice. Since I seem to have the world’s worst or best schedule (depends how you look at it), getting together for these sorts of things is almost impossible for me. But I’m so glad that I had the day off and was able to meet a group of wonderful Unilocalers in person. I give two Unilocal «stars» alone for the great company. Although being Unilocal friends for awhile now it’s always nice to be able to now put a name to a face/​review. Thanks Stevie K. and Will L. for reminding me that I do have a Twitter account… even though I haven’t logged on in over a year and don’t really know what to do with it. (Stevie and Will… please ignore my Twitter profile pic… hehe…it was from an excursion in Tokyo… and well… umm…nevermind…hehe).
FOOD: I’ve been to Downtown a couple of times before, and although it’s always been kind of underwhelming to me (my first time; bad, second time; slightly better), my menu selections this time were definitely more satisfying. I’m always willing to give a restaurant another chance because the menu does change and maybe I just made bad selections before. This time I ordered the pasta with arugula pesto, which was filling but light at the same time. I also had a few bites of desert, which I’ll say was my favorite part of the meal… the lemon custard was rich but not too sweet. Being able to share several deserts was perfect because I prefer to sample different things as I tend to never finish my deserts by myself. The only thing I wouldn’t suggest is the Italian fountain soda. I ordered the blood orange flavor, but it came out tasting and looking a lot more like strawberry… hard to tell if that was what I did get.
Thanks, Emi! Hopefully I can make it out to another event in the near future :0)

I’m so glad I came across this UYE on the frontpage! It was perfect for me as I work in Downtown and am always looking for an excuse to leave the box which is my office! Plus, I hadn’t been to a Unilocal event in while — it was seriously nice to get back into the groove of thangs with this more intimate UYE, where I got to have prolonged «adult conversation», as Emi put it, with four fabulous Unilocalers… well, unless you count that one part when we talked about poop getting run over by a car: P
I ordered the shutome dish, which was very tasty and healthy (anything with some veggies in it I call «healthy»). I’ll admit though, I was eying out Kelly’s and Sherri’s pesto pasta dish! The hauula tomatoes looked so good!
And OH, the desserts! They’re always so good here! And I’m glad Emi suggested we order three and share — I always end up wishing I ordered what the person next to me had, so sharing is always the best way to go for me ;)
Thanks to the «–E» crew — Emi, Will (lee), Kelly, and Sherri for a fun lunch! Looking forward to seeing you guys around more often :)

I was so honored to have had lunch with four lovely women at lunch today. When I told my wife that she slapped me. Not for reals, she actually laughed as she is a most tolerant wife. Really, this wasn’t planned like this. I wanted to be there for @Emi, who’s the best Unilocal CM I know (full disclosure: I only know one Unilocal CM).
Besides the fact that I must have looked incredibly studly being the only guy there with 4 other women (although I suppose it could have been interpreted as «I guess that dude is gay»), my seared ahi salad (it was a seared ahi club which was made into a salad on my request — noice) was outstanding and so were the desserts that @Emi ordered.
What was funny was when we ordered coffee, we were given ginormous coffee mugs that were fit for Yao Ming (take a look at the picture if you think I’m joking). I literally could put my entire hand in there, it was so deep. Where did they order these coffee mugs? From Coffee Mugs Big and Tall? I didn’t need a stirrer, I needed one of those Seven-​Eleven foot long straws for their Super Duper Ginormous Big Gulps.
Oh, and I have to delete one star because Sherri told us a story of a boy making doo doo on the sidewalk. It was funny at the time but I’m cringing right now as I think about it. No worries Sherri! It was also nice meeting Kelly and Stevie. Perhaps my next UYE in downtown will again be me with da wahine. That would be just be utterly glam-​fabulous. I could be like Star Jones on The View and exclaim loudly in the dining room, «I’m a Lawya!!!»

Although there were only five Unilocalers at today’s UYE, I had a great time! I’m a fan of smaller, more intimate gatherings, because it really allows you to get to know one another. A lot of times when we have a big group of 20+ I don’t get to have a conversation that’s more than five minutes long. Well that was not the case at today’s lunch because our group chatted it up for an hour and a half! As a work-​at-​home Mom, this was just what I needed: Adult Conversation!!! Don’t get me wrong, I love my little baby Isabel but sometimes I need a break and a lunch with great Unilocalers was pure perfection.
I had called two days earlier to make reservations at Downtown and Keoni forewarned me that we should take at least 1 to 1 ½ hours for lunch because we had a group. I really appreciated that he did that because it mentally prepared us for a leisurely lunch. I ordered the Grill Shutome with locally grown veggies and I was pleased with my entrée. It was healthy and flavorful yet satisfying. I have to say that the highlight of the meal was not the entrée, but the three desserts that we shared. A lemon tart, a banana shortcake and a blondie with ice cream. All were wonderful and different, much like today’s company, and it was more enjoyable because we ate them together.
Kelly T told a great yoga story about how her über hot teacher looks like Kate Beckinsale. Stevie K talked about her plans to go to design school at HCC. Sherri V gave us a short lesson in easy parenting and I learned a thing or two. Will L was just hilarious and added some much needed testosterone to the group. And I gained even more appreciation for my Unilocal community and the people who make it truly wonderful. I can’t wait for more downtown lunch UYEs!