Rum In The Sun @ David Burke Garden and Treehouse

You’ll read this review date and wonder how on earth I ever became a Unilocal Elite Member. Sorry I’m three months late Unilocal crew, but I got so wastey here I nearly forgot half the day.
It’s been too long to talk specifics of food and drink, but I remember everything tasting phenomenal and loving the drinks that had whipped cream on top. Unfortunately that bar tender ran out of his ingredients and could only make so few.
Rum is not my friend, and on this day, I got handed no favors. Luckily I wasn’t a vomiting mess, but I was too drunk at 6pm, that by the time I met up with my crew for celebratory drinks, I was already hungover. #FAIL
As my first Unilocal Elite Event, this was Amazing! I loved bonding with fellow Unilocalers. Being a Unilocal Elite only event, this event catered itself to meeting people and being a sociable experience. Imagine that first night in college where you all get drunk together and profess your undying friendship and BFF status. Well this was that for me and my Unilocalers…
I wish I could say more. Jane, thanks so much, this was phenomenal. The Outdoors, the sun, the dumplings being served in little boats, chocolate truffle lollipops, starr rum, and Unilocal pins, what more could I want?

BEST. ELITE. EVENT. EVER!!! OMG! The weather, the ambiance, the cocktails, the celebrities…
I’m sure it helped that I drank so much alcohol. Everyone at this event was in the mood to have a great time. I met so many new people and it was so great having all the different conversations. I talked to one group about Peter and the star catchers, then another group about Employees Only and another about travel and puppies.
I root for more outdoor events this summer! Who’s with me?!
P. S. Did anyone win that free dinner? I probably got disqualified for putting in about 20 business cards. ;-P
Jane, you rocked the socks off of this event (and David Burke)! Fritz, you were so much fun egging me on while I threw in as many business cards as I could find. Ron C., we still need to do our get-​together! My place, queer pier and drinks!
Many thanks should also go out to David Burke for being so gracious and friendly with all of us.

Hotel roof deck patio, drinking outside on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon? Is it summer already? It sure did feel like it. I thoroughly enjoyed this event.
There was a great crowd — a good mixture of new and old faces — catch up with friends as well as meet new people. The space, at the James Hotel, was very sleek and modern without being over the top. I have never been to this spot before, so I will definitely come back.
The service was very good, with the servers buzzing around with trays of food from lobster spring rolls, to short rib dumplings and chocolate covered cheesecake balls on sticks. There were bartenders here from various area bars serving drinks made from Starr African rum. The bartenders were all very friendly and were concocting all kids of interesting drinks. And to top it all off, David Burke himself was hanging out with us Unilocal animals for hours.
Thanks to Jane and the Unilocal staff for putting this great event together!

Considering this was my first Unilocal Elite event, I think the bar has been set pretty high! We spent a wonderful afternoon basking in the sun at David Burke Treehouse, judging a cocktail contest and enjoying some tasty hors d’oeuvres.
Six tables and mixologists were set up, twisting together their signature rum-​based cocktail, featuring Starr Rum. Throughout the two-​hour afternoon, passed hors d’oeuvres made their way around the outdoor venue, consisting of gazpacho, lobster spring rolls, eggplant cheese tarts, and (my favorite) the short rib dumplings. Finally, a full tray of assorted cheesecake lollipops topped off the delicious bite-​sized eats. David Burke circulated around, engaging many of us as we were enjoying the day!
As Jane and many of the reviewers have mentioned, the drinks were all fabulous, and left many of us seriously contemplating the real winner. Although my vote went to the «Les Comores Sour» by Justin Noël, I think we can all agree that a good time was had by all!
Thanks To Jane and the NYC Unilocal team for putting this all together — I met some cool Unilocalers and will definitely participate in future events!

What a PERFECT day for a rooftop party! David Burke Treehouse was the best location for the weather with their cabanas and umbrellas in the sky. It was the perfect intimate Unilocal Elite crowd to talk to one another and gab about the best summer cocktail. I was a few sheets, so I can’t remember if I voted for the 1534 or the blueberry concoction, but I know it was a close tie for most of the day. I was happy to hear 1534 won — well played!
The mixologists were friendly and the grub was delicious. I was a huge fan of the lobster spring rolls that added a perfect salty mix to the sweet drinks we were throwing down like water :)
I don’t know how, but I seemed to have missed the cheesecake lollipops by a minute — I had to step out and couldn’t find them when I returned. Oh well, next time. Thank you as always to Jane and the team for praying to the sun gods and giving us perfect weather and for putting together a kick-​ass rooftop shindig!

What started out as an elegant, rooftop, cocktail mixer turned into «shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, everybody!» (well, at least for station number two!)
Wowie, zowie I had a blast. I am a little shy when it comes to Manhattan events but I was so glad people backed out and I got their spot in line.
The day was beau-​tiful, and I got my first sunburn of 2012! The rooftop of The James is a place I wish I could spend every weekend.
There were six cocktail stations and I was so pleased I was able to sample, and sample, then sample again exotic cocktails, mixed with none other than delicious, Starr Rum. The goal of the day was (not to get ripped) but to vote on your fav. drink mixed by some of the best mixologists, from some cool NYC restaurants.
My favorite «situation» of the day was served by the folks at Macao. When I got home the next day, I had like ten business cards in my pocket from that place. This… was…where the shots came in. They were such a fun crowd, having a great time for themselves! They had a burlap like sack, a wooden hammer that transformed into a mortar and pestle. They also sell this contraption at the restaurant! I need one!
Back to the Unilocal goal at hand… the actual cocktail that was my favorite and received my Unilocal button, was from Apothéke. It reminded me of a berry Italian ice with liquor. It had my vote with the first sip.
There was also some fancy-​scmancy food like fried lobster rolls on sticks (even the sticks were cool here!), dumpling with short ribs, a tomato gazpacho! Soooo good… I did NOT get to taste the pops and am little mad I stayed away. I was a little busy hanging out with the crew at Macao.
I love Unilocal because as I came back upstairs from using the restroom, some richies were trying to go up to the rooftop… sorry peeps PRIVATE PARTY till 5!
Thank you Jane K for this event.

Great outdoor space especially when there is beautiful weather outside. Had the chance to attend the venue as part of a Unilocal elite event so I hope all of the yummy food I’m getting ready to describe is on their menu. Some of my favorites were the fried lobster roll, short rib dumplings, and the tuna taco. A-​MAZING! I could have ate a whole tray of the fried lobster rolls. They were so delicious.
The drinks were great as well. There was a small contest between mixologists using African Starr Rum and the drinks were yummy as well.
I will definitely return here soon as I can’t wait to have a full dining experience here. I would highly recommend that you add this to your summer dining lists of places that you MUST try in the city :)

What? What rain? There was no rain and this event took place on a gorgeous day! It was sunny, warm, us elites had our cool looking shades on and sipping on awesome mix drinks. They even made the drinks look cute, oh and the samplers were adorable especially the chocolate pops! David Burke Treehouse totally shined at this event. The space was intimate and I met and hold great conversations with fun Unilocalers throughout the event.
It was really good to see Jane K. in her lovely dress and Jando S. rocking them shades. Thank you guys for this amazingly fun and laid back event.

Thanks to Jane, David Burke, Jeff Z, and the expert mixologists for a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the sun with tasty nibbles and some very cool drinks. My favorite was the mojito, so a shout-​out to Jack for deftly pulling the kung fu bartending moves that created the 3 – 4 of them I had.
Of course, the jalapeño one was interesting, and the guy from Macao Trading Company was a total pro.
This was my first Manhattan event and I’ll definitely be coming to others. Well done all around!

Since I was a guest at an elite event 1.5 years ago — they have gotten better and better until i think each time, the awesomeness can’t be beat. And then it is.
DB Treehouse — Having been to the James before, loved the build out of the space! The waitresses were all very pleasant and never slowed on bringing the food. Seriously, everybody associated with David Burke was super friendly — including the man himself. I have never been disappointed by his restaurants and with how friendly he is in person he was able to catapult himself to the handful of celeb chefs I now LOVE.
Cocktails — Is it just me or is the vest over a button up shirt the «uniform» of mixologists? Everybody was really friendly and I even noticed some camaraderie between them. I even learned that Bathtub Gin is literally two blocks from where I live. hello new place to frequent and stumble home!
Jane, Jeff and ALL — Again, hat off to you. Everything was perfect. You are such a stellar group.
SUN — Muchas gracias. Aside from loving David Burke, you are the main reason I was able to overcome the headache hell and nausea from drinking too much the night before (ended the evening when I realized I was dancing on a bar).
The cocktails cured my hangover. But I might need to invest in advil because I CERTAINLY plan to use my summer pass of sangria with food purchase ALL SUMMER LONG!

Hands down this was the best Elite event I have attended to date, out of 3 or 4. The Rooftop of the super sleak James Hotel was quite a venue, well done Unilocal Team!
As everyone has said, we truly were blessed with a PERFECT afternoon — Sunny but not too hot. The STARR rum just kept flowing, the passed appetizers were quite tasty, and free summer passes (free sangria /​draft beer pitcher with 2 entrée purchase) was a nice touch.
Favorites:
Latin Fizz — Phenominal drink. All kinds of ingredients I’ve never seen in a beverage, but subtle enough that no single taste was overbearing. Rum, agave nectar, lemon juice, strawberries, alua vera, topped with chocolate shavings and coconut foam!
My other favorite had the STARR rum, orange curacao, cardamom, egg white, fused simple syrup and a touch of Moroccan spices (cinnamon, cloves, etc.).
Lobster bites and short rib dumplings really hit the spot, and the «dessert lollipop» tray was a hit!

This was a perfect Saturday for the perfect late afternoon treat. Thank you Unilocal crew for the warm welcome and throwing another kickass event
I had a great time here and met a whole bunch of new Unilocalers. …in fact I was too busy mingling that I later realized I still had that pin button in my pocket… oops
Either way, that bartender at Macao trading who started offering shots towards the end of the afternoon should take the grand prize because he sure know how to get the crowd going.
Many more to come. !!

It’s no surprise that Rum in the Sun was a huge success, but we sure were glad that the skies stayed true to the «sun» part of the event. With Elite-​only RSVPs, this was probably one of the more intimate Manhattan events that I’ve ever attended, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! As usual, it was a blast seeing some familiar faces, as well as meeting quite a few new ones.
The Starr African Rum cocktails were a delight with different concoctions from David Burke Kitchen (Sugar & Spice), Macao Trading Company (RedSTARR), Yuerba Buena (Latin Fizz), Bathtub Gin (Vivacity), Apotheke (Blue Mauritius), and 1534 (Les Comores Sour). I was truly torn between David Burke Kitchen’s Sugar & Spice kick and the dazzling Les Comores Sour from 1534’s Justin Noël. They tied according to my taste buds! The samples of food were positively amazing. I can foresee stopping by just for a happy hour snack of those lobster rolls. NOM!
The Treehouse isn’t yet open (soon though! They are supposed to open at the end of the month), but I can see it quickly becoming a favorite location of mine. The atmosphere is super cute and is a relaxing outdoor area that I can see quickly becoming my «go to» summer spot for a pitcher of sangria.

The weather was great, the crowd was chill and the drinks were tasty.
Thanks for another great event Jane!
DB Treehouse — where have you been all of my life? And Starr rum? i thought I was done with Africa but maybe not. All of the drinks were interesting and different.
The gazpacho was good and the pork dumplings make me want to come back for more snacks.
Thanks Jane! :)

A perfect day for a perfect Unilocal Elite event! Drinks and food in the rooftop? Even better! Unlike other events I’ve been to, this was the least crowded and most relaxing for me. It was actually nice to find spots to sit around and chat with people while sipping on variety of mixed rum drinks. «Rum in the Sun» was definitely an appropriate name for this event. The hors d’oeuvres came frequent and servers were nice and friendly. If I could spend the whole day lying out in the roof top like that, I would. It was also nice to meet new Unilocalers on such a fine day. Hope to see more of these type of events in the future!
Thanks again to the Unilocal team! :)

Oh happy day! With my fellow Unilocalers. What could be better than a treehouse, the sun, and all the rum you could drink? Jane has done it again!
With David Burke roaming around his Treehouse, and the rest of us sampling beautifully crafted Starr Rum cocktails, and delicious snacks, it was a perfect day. The lobster rolls, and the pork dumplings were delectable.
The sun blazing, a nice breeze, a beautiful setting, amazing people, friends new and old. Thanks Jane!

Sunshine. Patio. COCKtails and even Cheesecake Pops…
What else do you need?
The sun was shining bright this Saturday morning. Friday was dropping some misleading hints of rain, but the gods moved that shit over for some fun. It was the perfect day for some adult refreshments and some bonding time with my fellow elites.
I’ll be honest, I was a bit out of it when I got there. I woke up about an hour before it started and still recovering from a yearly festivity. A rum tasting was definitely what I needed as a pick me up. No coffee, tea. Just straight up rum and sunshine.
After sampling what everyone had to offer, I would say that Macau Trading Co took this round. The drink was refreshing and strong and refreshing. I know I had a bit too many and even took shots with the bartenders. Yup, I was one of the guys singing, «olé, olé olé olé…» Multiple times. Rum just brings out the sunshine in me.
To even out the liquor some short rib dumplings and lobster spring rolls made it’s away around the event. The lobster spring rolls were light and very crispy. I could have eaten those all day. What ended it for everyone was the delicious Cheesecake Pops. I’m over the cake pop fad, but cheesecake is always welcome.
Much love to Jane for hosting a great event and thanks to David Burke for setting the stage for an awesome afternoon.

For my 200^th* review another awesome Elite event hosted by Jane K. and the outstanding Manhattan Elite Squad.
Location was perfect, awesome little rooftop location (I say little, but it’s actually pretty spacious with the upstairs areas). Weather was perfect, could not have asked for a nicer day to be outdoors drinking cocktails. Drinks were outstanding, I had a realllly hard time deciding on my favorite, every single one of them was a winner to me. Snacks were plentiful and tasty.
I hope everyone got one of the business cards with the free pitcher offer on it… I’ll be back to check out this place in action for sure with an offer like that!
Glad to meet so many new people, see a few from my last event, and finally meet a few in person for the first time. I’m awful with names, so if we met, feel free to add me as a friend!
Thanks again Jane for the invite to an awesome event, can’t wait for another!
*my 100^th review was my first elite event, I guess I need to get to writing before the next.

What a great Unilocal event! Thanks Jane! I had a wonderful time sampling cocktails and meeting new people at this gorgeous Manhattan location. And seriously great weather to boot (if only I had brought my hot pants and sunglasses!). I’m looking forward to coming back to DB Treehouse over the summer with a group of friends and using my pitcher card. :)
Extra bonus: the absolutely fantastic hors d’oeuvres, especially the lobster rolls and short rib dumplings. MMMM mmmmm MMMM. YES. More please.
When do we find out which cocktail got the most votes?

I really wanted to wait to write this review while more clear headed, after most of the rum had evacuated my system, but nuts to that. I have a feeling it’s going to be a while. Ha!
First, I’d like to thank Jane and the Unilocal crew. That’s a given. Another winning Elite Event! My hats off to you all! (P.S., Jane: I LOVED your dress.)
Second, I’d like to thank the benevolent weather gods for bestowing an absolutely perfect late afternoon of weather. Nice filtered sun, about 70 degrees, with a nice breeze. Absolute perfection. Not to be clichéd (…but dammit, I will be…), but the weather could not have been nicer.
Third, I’d like to thank the talented bartenders that made up various rum concoctions that left me feeling too tipsy for 4 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. Strawberries, jalapeños, cherries, agave, limes, oranges, mint, ginger: if it wasn’t for the mass amounts of rum, those would have made some extremely healthy smoothies!
Fourth, the staff at the bar were extremely courteous. The food was delectable, and it was nice to actually chat with some of the servers. I had about 10 of those gazpacho shooters. I could have had about 10 more. (Okay, I’m lying… I could have had about 20 more.) Also, can we talk about the cheesecake lollipops? I’ve never had an issue with having explosive foodgasms in front of people. I had multiple ones in front of people I just met while eating these. No shame. No shame. (Us Elite peeps… we do not judge! [Unless it’s a bad restaurant we want to give a one-​star review to, I suppose… ;-D])
Fifth: Speaking of Elite peeps, I met SO many lovely people today.* I say that in all honesty. Not a single Unilocaler I ran away from. (Yes…I’ve done that in the past. «Excuse me… I REALLY need to use the restroom… for the next 20 minutes…») But I met a bevy of lovely and engaging people, and there was good conversation all around. And it was nice to see Aaron L. again for the first time in ages, I must say!
I’m just as happy as a clam right now, and delightfully relaxed.**
An all around winning Elite Event for the record books!
* — Add me if I haven’t added you as a friend! (How «Facebook» sounding… haaa…)
** — still buzzed as all hell.