03 Apr 14 - YELP's Chiberia Sendoff

 

Winter 2013 – 2014 ...it was long, harsh and one for the record books, blogspot readers, especially here in Chicago. Over 80 inches of snow (thus far ...we’re known to have snow as last as June!) had blanketed this bustling town! We even added new words to our vocabulary like “polar vortex” and “Chiberia” (Chicago + Siberia) and also saw approximately 95% of Lake Michigan frozen over due to the extreme temperatures that dipped well below zero ...not including the wind chill. Yes, blogspot readers, it was a VERY cold winter. Yet, finally, that’s now behind us because spring has arrived. However, winter’s icy grip wants to remain. So YELP decided to chase away everyone’s winter blues by hosting one of its fantastic themed parties at Salvage One Events venue. Thus allowing the lucky attendees to give winter at HUGE heave-ho out of town ...forever. It was a Chiberia Sendoff, blogspot readers! Inside Salvage One, there were two floors of games and fun ...tasting and food samples as well as live music performance by The Hot Sauce Committee and a DJ from Donna & Rocco’s Big Fat Italian Wedding. Attendees were encouraged to take photos or play springtime games of toss or a round of pool  or explore the wonderful possibilities of what Delivery.com could do for them.

SouthSide spent some time exploring the lavishly décor of the main floor inside Salvage One where she tasted a sample of Pineapple, Coconut and Nutmeg soda by Joia (http://www.JoiaLife.com). This company tantalizingly combines a variety of fruits, herbs and spices for a uniquely intense taste in which nothing is artificial – i.e. no fructose corn syrup or preservatives. It’s even gluten free!. She highly recommends blogspot readers trying this particular all natural drink as well as the Blackberry, Pomegranate and Ginger soda. Both sodas a refreshing yet aromatic that you will immediately find tingling your senses before taking the first sip. There’s also other unique combinations like Lime, Hibiscus & Clove, Ginger, Apricot & Allspice and Orange, Jasmine & Nutmeg. Located nearby Joia on the main floor, there was a table dedicated to the few random samples of Pretzel Crisp like Honey Mustard & Onion, Cheddar & Jalapeno and Everything (has all of the available flavor combinations into this particular pretzel crisp cracker).

Cast of Donna & Rocco's Big Fat Italian Wedding

Also on the main floor, were freebies from Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey (who earlier re-tweeted SouthSide’s tweet about YELP’s Chiberia Sendoff event) as well as hosting the open bar for attendees ...a booth featuring Delivery.com – where YELPers could sign up with this company that delivers more than just food like Grubhub.com Yet they do more than that – they can also deliver dry cleaning, alcohol purchases, groceries and more to your door. And towards the back of the main floor, a mini chapel was dedicated to the cast of Donna & Rocco’s Big Fat Italian Wedding in which had one hip Father Tony dancing to the DJ spinning the hottest dance re-mixes. This reviewer loved the DJ’s remix of The Doors’ “Riders of the Storm” as well as many others. Somewhere on their site, there’s a picture of SouthSide with Father Tony, blogspot readers. Now it was time join the many others who were doing some serious partying upstairs on the second floor, blogspot readers, where The Hot Sauce Committee was totally jammin’ with their renditions from the 80s, 90s and today. The space on this floor was reserved for food sampling, dancing and socializing with other YELPers.

Devil Dawgs

Theory

On this floor, SouthSide first enjoyed the delicious combination of Sweet Potato, Arugula & Date as a salad topped with Sesame Dressing and Crispy Wontons from J & L Catering. She loved the delicious combination of seasonal flavors bursting inside her mouth from each bite. Then, she tried a tiny sample of her favorite vegan Mac-n-Cheese from her good friend from Laviyah of Ste Martean (http://www.SteMartaen.com) but this time she also tried some vegan barbecue. Though liking the Mac-n-Cheese (in this reviewer’s mind, it tasted the same as the regular stuff she makes despite it being vegan made), she didn’t really enjoy the vegan barbecue ...perhaps because it wasn’t served warm. From there, she stood in line to sample a fresh batch of donut holes from Beavers Donuts (http://www.beaversdonuts.com) which the hottest and fastest food item of the night, blogspot readers. Every time, the employees of this company re-supplied the table with bags of fresh samples, the donuts would disappear within two to three minutes ...making this particular food item the favorite of the entire YELP event. Next to this table were Local Root (http://www.localrootchicago.com) which passed out yummy samples of pulled pork dipped with jalapeno sauce on toasted bread before moving to the next table where Theory (http://www.theorychicago.com) also had their own version of yummy pulled pork sliders with Cajun shrimp lettuce salad. It was so good that this reviewer had to go back twice. In the middle of this floor was Devil Dawgs (http://www.devildwags.com) where YELPers could create their own Chicago-style hot dog or top it anyway they like ...including drizzling it with (gasp) ketchup. Being a true Chicagoan, SouthSide didn’t top her Devil Dawg with that dreaded red stuff. Sadly, she missed out having a sample from Haute Sausage (http://www.hautesausage.com) because they ran out within the hour after the event started.

The Hot Sauce Committee

Also on this floor, SouthSide met Amy Fausset, owner and founder of 6D Hair Ties (http://www.6dhairties.com) who was giving away free samples of her lovely hair ties (some with the YELP logo) and headbands that you could also wear on your wrists. SouthSide’s daughter has already begun using the few she brought home. And if you needed a sudden boost of energy, there were free cans of Monster drinks featuring the Ultra Red variety. The night’s entertainment featured music performed by SouthSide’s good friends – The Hot Sauce Committee (http://www.thehotsaucecommittee.com). They not only rocked the stage with their party selections from artists like Tone Loc (“Wild Thag”), Sir Mix-a-lot (“Baby Got Back”), The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff (Theme to The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire) and many more but had many of the YELPers dancing along with them throughout the event until it was time to go home. Unlike the last time this reviewer saw them perform (at The Grid for pre-St. Patrick’s Day fun), this performance featured a DJ helping them with programmed beats and visual images running in sync with their set list to truly liven up this Chiberia Sendoff party a notch higher. It definitely hot in here that The Hot Sauce Committee sweated out this reviewer's hair ...again, blogspot readers. Comments heard around the room ranged from “...they are fun a band...” to “...they know how party...” and “...they’re playing my favorite songs...” Yep, YELPers truly dug the sauciness added to this party!

Sadly, the fun at this successful YELP event had to end, blogspot readers, for it was time to go home. In SouthSide’s opinion, this was THE best party she has ever attended ...inside one of the coolest venues in town. She cannot wait to attend the next one wherever it may be...

 

 

Until next time, support your local scene,

SouthSide

YELP's Walk On The Wild Side

Be careful, blogspot readers, things are about to be incredibly wild during this local event!

 

SouthSide's brought out the animal in her while attending YELP's Walk On The Side that was recently held at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. And since the theme of the night was "wild", the organizers asked all attendees to don their best and wildest animal costume or wear something that had an animal depiction in their clothing. People from all corners of the Chicagoland area converged at this popular children's museum after hours to partake in fun activities and exhibits, delicious food and cool drinks and music.

Colorfully costumed human weren't the only creatures roaming around the Nature Museum, blogspot readers. There were some that slithered, creeped and crawled while there were others that walked on four furry paws. Located in the outer courtyard, this reviewer spent some quality time with the representatives of Greyhounds Only, Inc  and some of their lovely greyhounds and Green Paws Chicago. Greyhounds Only Inc. (http://www.greyhoundsonly.com) is a nonprofit adoption and rescue organization whose mission is to place retired and/or at-risk greyhounds from all over the county "...into responsible, loving homes..." as well as "...to educate the public about the greyhound breed, to provide access to high-quality medical care and to collaborate with others who share..." their common goals. Meanwhile Green Paws Chicago (http://www.GreenPawsChicago.com) offer more than dog walking and overnight stays / in-home pet sitting for busy pet owners. From regularly scheduled pet visits to weekly de-shedding treatments and monthly flea and tick preventative care, your furry members will be well loved for by their pet care professionals. Also in the courtyard, this reviewer sampled a few healthy snacks from Manna Organic Bakery (http://www.MannaOrganicBakery.com) like organic bread and some yummy snack crunchies that seem to sprout in your mouth with healthy goodness. You can find these products in places such as your local Whole Foods, Casey's (in Naperville) or Woodman's (in North Aurora).

 

Upstairs, that's where the party was truly rockin', blogspot readers. The entire second floor featured live DJ music to keep everyone in a festive mood while sampling a wide variety of yummy dishes from area restaurants like Shaw's Crab House (serving delicious mini crab sandwiches and tuna tartare) and J & L Catering (serving a samples of curried chick peas with herbed couscous and cucumber raita on cute scallop-like shells). SouthSide highly recommends trying the all natural pickles and veggies from Fully Belly (http://www.fullbellyyum.com), blogspot readers, at fine retailers such as Paulina Market and Gene's Sausage Shop in Chicago or Sunset Foods in Highland Park and Northbrook. Got a taste for Italian? Try Ciao Amore's (http://www.ciaoamoreristorante.com) authentic Italian dishes located in the Pilsen neighborhood. Also try some casual, contemporary Indian cuisine from O Mango that served a summertime delight of tender shrimp salad - a very tasty treat even though it's not featured on the regular menu. Couldn't be a Yelp party without yummy but unique pizza slices from Big G's Pizza By The Slice (http://www.big-gspizza.com), blogspot readers! Besides the usual cheese, pepperoni and sausage slices, this vendor also served a unique selection of pizzas to the guests such as BBQ Chicken, Buffalo Chicken & Bleu Cheese and its pis de resistance - Big G's Mac N Cheese. Yep, SouthSide took that challenge of trying a slice of Mac N Cheese and found it quite delicious but very filling after a few bites. She had a cool sample of fruit punch sangria  and Coco Water (coconut water with pineapple) to quenched her thirst.

 

After a sampling some food in the south wing and courtyard of the museum, SouthSide took a break by enjoying the ever popular Judy Istock Butterfly Haven which houses some of the wold's common as well as rarest butterfly species under one temperature controlled room. Walking through the newest exhibit Food: The Nature of Eating, there were some Yelpers taking advantage of free massages and rubdowns by Spa At Dana (http://www.danahotelandspa.com) while others were browsing at the other exhibits or mingling inside the north wing. This wing featured free servings of frozen yogurt treats and yummy toppings by Forever Yogurt and cake pops, cookies, and mini pastry treats and mini versions of the adult root beer floats by Wow Event Design & Coordination (http://www.letmewowu.com) and Hel's Kitchen Catering (http://www.helskitchen.com).

 

However the smell of tangy BBQ sauce caught this reviewer's attention before sampling the array of food samples from The Original Just Turkey Restaurant (http://www.OriginalJustTurkey.com) located in the Edgewater neighborhood, blogspot readers. Yet, this wasn't ordinary samples of BBQ food - hence the turkey prominently featured in this establishment's food menu. She tried a good portion of their turkey rib tips, sausage and creamy cole slaw. The verdict? YUMMY...especially when it's lovingly smothered in that tangy BBQ sauce! Back downstairs in the snack machine area, there were Yelpers rockin' out to their favorite songs like a rockstar with a DJ, karaoke machine and dazzling strobe lighting.

Sadly, blogspot readers, her walk on the wild side had to end. However, there's always another party in the works for Yelp members like the one happening on New Year's Eve held inside the legendary Palmer House. This annual soiree will feature top shelf drinks and champagne, hors d'oeuvres, buffet, chocolates and desserts as well as multiple rooms of entertainment, celebrity DJs and a live cover band. For tickets and information, visit http://www.ChicagoNYE.com.

 

Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide

Yelp's Elemental Experience

Come with SouthSide and experience the four elements of life like you have never before...

Recently, this reviewer took a much needed break away from the music scene for a fun evening basking within the dazzling glow of club lights and music with other Yelpers at YELP's Elemental Experience. Housed inside the newly renovated Castle (formerly known as Excalibur), this River North nightclub offered its participants an unique, mind-bending event which inspired as well as tantalized the senses. Each part of the Castle's four clubs represented the basic elements of life - the main floor was Earth, club Palladium (upstairs) was the perfectly named Wind, club Sanctuary was the ruby hot Fire and the pub underneath was relaxing Water.

Upon her arrival, SouthSide began her journey with Earth by sampling of Peckish's dried-frozen veggie snacks. Now, it may sound difficult to wrap your mind inside the concept of eating a frozen mixture of broccoli and other lentils as a snack but to this reviewer it was simply like popping a few kernels of popcorn into her mouth. She even took some home for the test audience to try ...and she couldn't stop eating the rest of the tiny sample! Next in her journey, she tried some Southside polish pizza (that consisted of kielbasa sausage, applewood smoked bacon and a hint of sauerkraut mixed with their secret sweet sauce), blogspot readers from Chicago Pizza Tours. In one word - yummilicious! You didn't really taste the sauerkraut in the pizza until it reaches the back of your throat ...and plus that pizza sauce gives it that sweet taste instead of that harsh sour cabbage odor. She completed her journey with other Yelpers on this floor at Koi for a delicious sample of Asian noodles (with peanut sauce and a hint of cilantro) with some California maki sushi rolls (with fresh mango and drizzled dressing) and vegan macaroni and cheese. Don't knock the vegan mac and cheese, blogspot readers, until you taste how creamy and yummy it was. Even SouthSide was fooled because it simply tasted like her mother's mac and cheese! Plus for live entertainment, there was a car racing video game and DJ spinning lively dance/club mixes.

Leaving Earth, she climbed up the steps to venture into the exciting element of Wind where most of the Yelpers congregated during the event because it featured more than just delicious samples of food and DJ, there was a seductive fire dancer and flash photo-taking. Here, this reviewer sampled more Asian dishes, sweets by Jaafer Sweets, some Filipino pork egg rolls and bihon by Isla, and some Mongolian soup. This reviewer did take a jab at her boxing skills with Reach Boxing Chicago and some exercises on the second level to work off the food eaten thus far. And to cool off a bit, she sampled some Pomegranate and (Not so) Sweet teas from Honest Tea. Both were good, blogspot readers, but she liked the (Not so) Sweet tea better. She then went to tried some sweet, tangy and a little spicy pulled-pork from the team of Porkchop and some more veggies (with some humus dip - first time trying it too) to balance out her tour of Wind before going back downstairs to visit the Fire room.  It was somewhat steamy and a little warm inside this room when she entered the ruby red room where the Fireball Whiskey and Four Loco girls greeted visitors. Here under this red glow, there was more pizza try and plenty of floor space to dance to the room's DJ spinning from the balcony.

By now, SouthSide took a quick breather to meet two organizations in the Earth room that were being featured by Yelp during this event. Delete Blood Cancer was there to inform participants about their fight against blood cancer in which you can register as a potential bone marrow donor, blogspot readers. This organization globally works to fight this disease with families, communities and organizations to recruit more donors for patients in need. As a donor, you would be helping others have a second chance at life ...and it's easy and quite painless to do. All you have to do is register online. For more details or to register, visit http://www.deletebloodcancer.org. Also SouthSide met a representative from the Academy for Global Citizenship (located near 47th and Cicero) in which she was informing interested Yelpers about the school and their upcoming fundraising event. This school uses an innovative and holistic approach towards the education process by fostering systemic change and inspiring different ways society teaches students. Currently Kindergarten through 5th grade (will have start the middle school grade next school year), this school aims to show their students that the world is larger than where they live and provides organic lunches too. And there's a way to get involved with this school, blogspot readers, by attending their Chef's Playground that's happening on Thursday, May 16th. 14 legendary and famous chefs like Rick Bayless, Paul Kahan of Avec, Bill Kim of BellyQ, Jose Garces of Mercat and more will be doing to their unique take on school lunches to which participants will have a chance to sample throughout the night. The event will take place at Terzo Piano at the Modern Art Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. For more information and tickets, visit http://www.accchicago.org/chefsplayground.

While in the Earth room again, this reviewer sampled more delicious eats from the Castle kitchen and highly suggests munching on the fat onion rings and juicy burgers served with cole slaw on the bun. These were the most sought after munchies by most of the Yelpers. Also she suggests trying a cool glass of Black Cherry Honey Sweet wine from Oliver Winery, blogspot readers. Then, lastly before saying "good night" to Castle, SouthSide went under the sea to spend a few moments in the Water element to relax like the many others who were sitting at the high tables or booths. Unlike the other three rooms within this vast nightclub, the underground pub/restaurant is mostly designed for friendly get-togethers without having the noise of the clubs above. You can either relax at the bar or enjoy a game (or two) pool on one of four tables.  Also while down there, view the rock memorabilia displayed along the walls from a photo of Lady Gaga to a cool photo of Jimi Hendrix rightly placed near the Women's restroom.

Overall, the event was smashing time. You should check out Castle which stays open until 5a Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit http://www.castlechicago.com.

Until next time, support your local scene,

SouthSide