The First Yelpsgiving @ Providence

I threw our cocktail server a $ 10 bill up front and my drink never went dry. The gin drink with fresh berries stole the show for sure.
Letting us know that the suckling pig we were feasting on was named Winston was a bit freaky, but he sure was tasty!
The food and drink samples were wonderful and the event area was surprisingly swanky considering the nostalgic entrance and stairwell as you waited in line to get into the event.
We had a great time. Thanks Unilocal

Thanks Providence for hosting this event and introducing yourself to me! Had no idea this little place existed. In short, it was a fun event, but it was not as great as some of the previous Unilocal elite events.
As others said, there was some good food; however, snagging said food was quite difficult. Now I don’t come to these expecting to eat a full meal, but they ran out of food so fast that I wasn’t able to try even a sample of each item. Bummer, because I heard great things about those sliders!
Now one thing they weren’t short on were beverages! We had plenty of those, and they were (mostly) delicious.
The space was nice, but it made the Unilocal event a little challenging due to acoustics and the size of the guest list. We decided to share a table with another couple to avoid the standing problem and that turned out great, as we were able to meet some new people. However, I can see how the standing would’ve been a problem for others. I also wish I could’ve heard or seen the presentations, but it just wasn’t possible with the acoustics and people.
Say la vie! It was a free event. I did endulge in free fare, and I did have a good time. BUT the KC Unilocal team has knocked it so out of the park with other events that this one just didn’t compare. Kudos for turning it into a can drive!

Unilocalsgiving at the Providence included a variety of pork-​based hors d’oeurves and unique cocktails. While the amount of passed food was limited, the pork sliders on pretzel buns, whole suckling pig and glazed back bacon were all tasty. The pistachio macarons on the dessert bar were also very good. The bourbon cocktail was nicely spiced with cinnamon — definitely perfect for the holidays. The martinis with barrel aged spirits were very unique — not something you’ll find in many places. It was fun to try the variety of cocktails obviously prepared by talented mixologists.
It was great seeing all the new faces of Unilocal Elites. Mingling was easy in the large event space. I loved the fun photo booth, complete with Thanksgiving pie and turkey props. Definitely cool!
Formerly the Drum Room, Providence has taken over the historic location in the President hotel. I’d never been to the space, but the bar looked fun as we entered. A neat venue for sure.
It was also great to collect food donations– definitely spreading the holiday cheer! Thanks Matt for a fun event!

I love this festive time of year and what better way to celebrate than spending time with my fellow Unilocalers?
This was a great opportunity to check out Providence New American Kitchen and I really enjoyed the space. Things did tend to get a bit crazy and people definitely swarmed the servers when they came out with platters. I stayed away from those crowds and stuck with the nice variety of cocktail samples ;) The Manhattan was especially tasty. And let’s not forget Winston the sacrificial pig! I appreciated the focus on knowledgeable, farm-​to-​table cooking.
In addition to putting together the event at the restaurant, Matt was able to set up a collection of canned goods (hooray for giving back!) and the oh-​so-​hilarious photobooth. Best Monday evening I’ve spent after work in a long time :)

Excellent job, Fearless-​Leader Matt and Unilocal Team!
I think this was yet another amazing event from our friends at Unilocal.
I’ve been reading a lot of the reviews posted below, and I’m really appalled, to be honest. Are people seriously bitching about free food, free drinks, and a free mingling/​networking event? I mean, seriously?
This Unilocalsgiving, I’m thankful for the experiences that have come with being an Elite. These events are always a ton of fun, and it’s great to meet new people and learn new things about the KC area. As a non-​native of KC, I’ve learned more about the culture of Cowtown from these events, and made some great new friends.
This event was no exception to that rule:
I think that the Elites did a great job of mobilizing to bring food to needy folks at reStart. While we’re all busy bitching about free cocktails and food, there are starving folks who really need the basics we take for granted. So high-​five to those who brought food for those less fortunate than us!
The set-​up was an open area, where guests could mingle, eat, and drink. I had no problem getting a drink at the event, and there was a ton of diversity of drinks to be drunk. My favorite by far was the whiskey/​ginger/​cinnamon cocktail. The sassy champs cocktail also was pretty good. There were like 6 or 7 cocktails to choose from, all very different, and each one delicious. Couple that with wine and beer aplenty, it was a veritable cornucopia of imbibery! I thoroughly enjoyed reveling with other Unilocalers and enjoying the mixology that Providence and the Drum Room had to offer.
Now, for the food. Yes, there were aggro mobs of manner-​deficient Unilocalers going after the tasty morsels being served. I could care less. I had no trouble walking around and sampling pretty much everything there was:
The suckling pig was fantastic — it was interesting learning about the efforts the chefs took to prepare it. The taste was out of this world! I love the Filipino version, called lechon, so I went right for the skin and fatty parts like the cheeks. The ears and meat were also amazing. The skin had a maple glaze to it, and was so crunchy and buttery. The meat was moist and flavorful. The crowning achievement was when the chef served me up the brain and the rest of the head meat. It had the consistency of mashed potatoes, but was meat-​flavored, like bone marrow or pulled pork BBQ. Epic! Shout out to Roshelle H and her crew for sharing in the vittles and tasting the brains. Should the zombie armageddon come to KC, I think we’ll be ok!
The sliders and pork cubes were also very good, and the desserts were tasty and plentiful! The macarons and bread pudding were the best of the desserts: the bread pudding was firm and not too sweet; the macarons were light and sweet. If you didn’t try the pistachio one, you certainly missed out. It tasted like a cross between pistachio gelato and buko pandan (young coconut).
The crowd was certainly lively — and I made some new friends from the event. It was fun to talk about the holiday season and learn about the new places around KC that people are recommending. I’ll be making some trips to Lenexa soon to try out some new places thanks to advice from new Unilocal friends.
The photo booth was also a nice touch. I had pie and a turkey on my head!
Thanks again to Matt and his crew. The event was put-​together well. Gratitude for your hard work and for showing us all a great time!

I really enjoyed this event and I was able to introduce another friend to the Unilocal community who just loved it and has become a Unilocaler since. (Everyone friend Donna B.!!)
This is my second elite event so I am not sure what to expect overall out of them. This one had a ton of people. Not a bad thing, but they all seemed to be in their little groups. I was able to introduce Donna to a bunch of people as we moved around and I enjoyed meeting a few new people.
Matt did a great job arranging the event as he always does. I can’t wait to put my Unilocal socks to use and they will help fulfill a picture promise once I reach a certain goal (yes striped tube socks are needed!) The photo booth was great fun, especially with the chalkboards.
I enjoyed the information on Winston (the pig was named Winston, correct?) and the drinks, although it was a little hard to hear.
The movement of food and drink was not optimal. We kept seeing people walk around with yummies in both areas, but never saw anyone come by. We finally realized we were standing in the wrong spot. If you wanted food you had to be near the kitchen entrance and if you wanted drinks, you had to be near the bar entrance. I think more employees were needed to accommodate the crowd.
The food was tremendous. I like Providence and have always enjoyed the food. They did not skimp for this event either. The pork belly was the star, not only because it is a huge favorite of mine anyhow, but it was just damn good. The two different sliders were good, but I preferred the one with the softer bun just because of the softer bun. The Italian cookies were tasty, and although the carrot cake had more topping then cake, from past experience, Providence has an amazing carrot cake!
The drinks were all delicious although I never found where everyone got the wine. My favorite was the cinnamon drink.
Overall I had a great time and Matt organized a great event. Providence dropped the ball a little, but that didn’t surprise me because although I love their food, the service tends to lack on regular days.

I’m tardy on this review, but I must say, Brandi C. and Angela K and several others had the gist of this event. It was a fun event and well-​organized by Matt E.
Loved the photo booth. Loved the food drive. Loved the plentiful wine. Love my new socks.
However, the waiters walked past our table repeatedly without stopping. We had to highjack them to get any food, yet we were right by the kitchen.
We also only ever saw one specialty drink, but plenty of empty trays passed us.
The food, apparently, was superb, says BF, the carnivore. I ate three tater tots, one little salmon toast and a couple macaroons.
So I left happily drunk, but none the wiser about the menu. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun, but I did pay for it the next day — not enough sponge for all the wine.
Still, Unilocal,has the best events and I was very pleased to be able to try another new place and meet more friendly Elites.
P. S. The drinks consultant was fantastic and very interesting. Really enjoyed talking to him.

First off, thanks to Providence to hosting this event for Unilocal.
Got there a little early (I wish there were some parking tips included for those that don’t know the area… gotta love my go-​to/​back up parking garage a couple blocks away, and am thankful the weather was decent), and there was quite a line to get in. The servers kept going up and down the steps with the drinks until I said, HEY, let me help you one of those, and then the lucky guy got to refill his tray, and turn around to serve all those in line instead of navigating the stairs.
It was GREAT to see people that I hadn’t seen in awhile, plus meet some new people that were lucky enough to snag one of the few tables along the walls; but this is a cocktail hour and we’re meant to socialize. I learned long ago that I probably don’t need my 6-​inch stilettos for these! Again, I wasn’t able to get near the food trays at the right time, but I’ve long ago resigned myself that it’s pretty much hit or miss if you get to try any of the food at Unilocal events. Instead, I’ll drink during the cocktail hour. I enjoyed the samplings of the many drinks, and they made their way around often with new full trays! I dropped my tip off at the bar on the way out, but wish they’d had tip jars either on their trays or on the bar so they would be sure to make some dough.
Like others, I couldn’t hear the presentation and didn’t know anything about the photo booth (which I should, really, since there is one more often than not). I suppose the check-​in line could have gone quicker, but that’s how it always is at almost every event I’ve been to. Slow check in does keep the room from filling up super quickly and overwhelming the staff immediately.
I heard a lot of people saying the food was great and the menu for Thanksgiving looked good. Thanks again, Providence, for hosting, and I look forward to seeing some of my fellow Elites very soon!

Thank you Providence for hosting such a lovely event for us. I was especially impressed by your staff, there were a lot of Unilocalers and yet I felt like everyone there was making us feel like each of us individually were your most important customer.
Matt, love to see more food drives or donation drives throughout the year, there are always needs out there and we Unilocalers are a generous bunch. I was really happy to see the growing mound of food overtake the table.
Recognized a few familiar faces from prior events, nice to see people staying active with Unilocal

We pretty much had the exact same experience that Angela K had. Lots and lots of very tasty drinks (the Quiet Man, with Jameson in it, was SUPERB), but no food to speak of. We were also at the back of the room, so we couldn’t hear anything and had no idea what was going on. Totally missed the photo booth, too, which was really too bad, as I would’ve enjoyed some silly photos with friends. And I felt really bad for the presenters, as they definitely had the attention of the folks in the front of the room, but there were others talking through the presentation, and those of us at the back just couldn’t hear, much as we wanted to.
My husband and a friend were each able to snag a piece of pork and a bite of dessert, and they said both were great; but that was the only food consumed, which is really too bad, as I know from a past visit that the food at Providence is really good.
Even though I didn’t get any food and didn’t get to see the presentations, I did have a really good time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I was able to meet 3 of my Unilocal friends in person for the first time, which was awesome. The socks were a nice freebie, especially as I LOVE socks (honestly, I do), and I was super happy to see so much food donated. That overflowing table of donations spoke volumes as to why Unilocalers are so awesome, and it was so nice to be able to kick off the holiday season by helping out the less fortunate. And again, the drinks were tasty and plentiful, and the staff bringing them out to us were really nice as well as great at explaining each drink.
I’ll definitely be back for that Quiet Man cocktail, and look forward to having a meal at Providence again soon.

The champagne began before the food. I loved the sassy champagne, and also the chai drink. More drinks appeared, and more.
There was one drink I didn’t care for, but I was offered it a couple of times. Still more drinks… no food came to our table.
I had brought a friend with me, it was her first Unilocal event. We got up, and had our photos taken in the photo booth. By the time we got back to our seats, we were offered more drinks. I hunted down the server, and got a pork slider, but there wasn’t enough to take back to my table for the others.
We were served more drinks, still with only a tiny bit of food. Finally they served the pork, which we got a morsel of, and carrot cake, the only choice, and a good one at that.
If I could figure out the sassy champagne, I’d make it at home. It tasted like a mixture of kombucha and ginger. I have no idea how the Drum Room came up with that!
I had to stop the alcohol, it was making my stomach start to turn. I couldn’t figure out where to get a soda.
I’m not stuck up, but I’m not the mingling type, if I see someone across a room I know, I will say hi and start a conversation. But it was so loud. Even the presentation, which I c

Before tonight’s event I had never heard of this restaurant. The line to get in moved quickly and there seemed to be plenty of seating. The couple we sat with were great and made for a fun evening for my date and I. This is one of the biggest reasons I come out is to meet other foodies like myself. We even got to try some pig brains (while neither me nor my date ended up being fans of it, we both gave it a shot).
The drinks from the bar were fantastic. I was a huge fan of the Bootlegger’s Punch. I was impressed at both the quantity and quality of the drink samples, as well as the frequency that they came around.
The downside to this even over the last one I attended (Hollywood Casino), was that the food was VERY hard to come by. We only got to sample a couple of things and left the place starving. What we did have was impressive enough that I do believe I will be booking settings for Thanksgiving here for my parents and I.
I also wish that the Chef talking about the pig would have been mic’d up so we could hear him.
All in all a great time though and a superb job by Matt, Unilocal,and the Providence for putting this thing together. I will be recommending this establishment to my friends and family and I am looking forward to December’s Elite even as well as future events in 2014.

We had a great experience, and will most definitely be returning to the restaurant in the very near future. I had already been to the Drum Room Lounge previously. But this was the my first visit to Providence. First of all, I have to note that every single Providence employee that we came into contact with went above and beyond with service.
I agree with some of the other reviews in regards to the presentation portion, and the fact that lack of signage, or direction made it difficult to know exactly what was going on, and where. But the space was small enough, that if you really wanted to find out what was going on, you easily could investigate. Having a way to amplify the volume (with a mic) for the Winston the Pig presentation, OR at least if the folks who continued to talk rather loudly during would have ceased, that would have been nice.
The drinks were indeed plentiful. And everyone in our group seemed to favor the Sassy Champagne Cocktail and the one with the Cherry Chai Syrup. Other favorites at our table were the lamb sliders, the macarons, and the pork belly.
I met a few new folks, and chatted up some friends as well. And I managed that even in my exhausted, and somewhat antisocial Monday mood. I am very thankful for events like this. I feel that we got a very good feeling for what Providence has to offer, and were impressed enough to return. Not bad for a Monday night. Thank you Matt for arranging our First Unilocalsgiving, offering us something to be thankful for (oh & new socks, too!), AND for motivating the Elites to donate non-​perishable food items.

My Very First Unilocal Event…
It was packed… But that is not necessarily a bad thing. I had a hard time discerning people as their «headshots» were not reflective of what they actually looked like in person… LOL Catfish… JK JK
I think Matt jumped in and started taking the donations helped a lot… One lady brought half of HyVee! Awesome Sauce!
I usually ALWAYS have a marker on my person at all times… This was the lone exception and boy was it an inopportune time. The limiting factor for waiting in line was not efficiency nor bad logistics… It was ONE sharpie… I blame the sharpie for not bringing his friends to help out!
The drinks were coming and coming and coming… And kept on drinking and drinking and drinking… Even when I told them politely I had already sampled that drink they told me just to take it anyways… Mom said alcohol is your enemy… Jesus says to love your enemy… So…
–Sassy Champagne… Ladies love it… It was sweet and sassy.
–Ginger Manhattan (someone else said it was Champagne)… Gingery… First sip was good… Second and third… Kind of overbearing.
–Manhattan Barrel Aged… My favorite of the bunch. If you dont know barrel aged cocktails… Learn!
–Pumpkin Stout… I will bypass as I do not like stouts to begin with.
I was able to have some of the pig named Winston that Polly P. may or may not have licked. It was ono! The only other food sample we were able to try was the pork belly which was ⁶⁄₅ stars! The cut and preparation was excellent. We noticed, only afterwards, that the food stopped at the crowd by the entrance/​exit. I guess you gotta go and «get yours» at these events. Lesson learned.
So I will say this… Explanation upon what is actually happening could have been better… We didnt know there were drink exhibitions, a photo booth, and the chef needed a mic… I know someones got a karaōke box they can bring!!! But I think for as small as it was and as many people that were there… it was Fabulous.

I had so much fun mingling and chatting with everyone tonight! It was my friend’s first ever Unilocal event and I spent the evening introducing him to everyone I knew (which just happened to be most of the room! When did I become so popular?!)
Any event with a photo booth is delightful for me. The props were even seasonally themed. We got to act silly in turkey hats which made me very happy.
Those drinks… they never stopped coming! Every time my cup was empty, a waiter placed a new one in my hand. (I felt like Lilly on HIMYM. Anyone been keeping up on that?)
There wasn’t the amount of food I was expecting (the servers never made it to our table nor could I find one in the room) but what lacked in food was made up for in drinks. I suppose if my mouth isn’t full of food, then I have more time to mingle? :)
By the looks of the donation table, we helped raised all sorts of donations! I’m proud and thankful to be part of such a great group of people!

This was an outstanding event! Way to go Matt and crew… total blast. Wilson, the pig, was a great meal nd the presenters were well prepared and entertaining. Pork belly… melted in your mouth. The Crown Valley Imperial Pumpkin Smash was an absolute hit! Thank you Unilocal team!

Sassy Champagne was the best lil thing ever. Like a boozy Hawaiian punch.
Manhattan was super strong.
Mottled raspberry was very good, the sour was a great juxtaposition to the Sweet Sassy.
The Chai tasting Cider thingie was a nice mixture of flavors too.
Pork Belly was so great… like bbq bacon cubes. Mmm… If it wasn’t for these things I don’t think I could have made it. Extra special thanks to Providence and Matt for making sure I got to sample them. I was fading fast.
There seemed to be some problem with food distribution.
I also got a sliver of turkey and a couple of desserts.
As Sara mentioned, the booze was plentiful.
Unilocal socks are too awesome.
Turkey hats and photo booths… yah mon!
Great seeing a lot of new faces and the pioneers of KC Unilocal Elite.
Thanks for the hard work to all involved.

My first Unilocaler event, so I came in with a very open mind, not knowing exactly what to expect. Ernie M. and I joked as we waited in the Drum Room that it felt like we were waiting to meet online blind dates. We arrived early, but couldn’t come in until 630, so we dropped off our donations and went back to the bar. I joked with the lady at the table that I brought both salad dressing and stuffing (aka dressing in the South). We watched people come in the door trying to see if we could could match faces with Unilocal profiles, but then realized we allowed the line to get really long, so we found a spot in line.
There were plates and trays going around, sort of a «get in where you fit in» to sample things and that’s just what I did. I got to try the pork belly, Winston the pig, and lamb sliders. There was a desert table. I tried the carrot cake which was ok. I sampled the drinks too, can’t remember exactly what I had.
There was a raffle, unfortunately I didn’t win :-(
Overall, I really enjoyed the even and met a some great people. It was fun for a Monday night. The Elite socks and photo booth were a great touch. A big shoutout to everyone donating to a great cause, ReStart. The donation table looked great and packed with goodies!