YSB15 Meet The Team @ Atlantic Surf Club

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, «you never get a 2^nd chance to make a 1^st impression.» Well, that’s exactly what I was thinking about as I made my way to Atlantic Surf Club for the official kickoff to Unilocal Spring Break 2015. I’d been to all the previous YSB’s. I still distinctly remember each year’s welcome YEE.
Each year, that 1^st impression had made a difference. In some way, it set the tone for the entire YSB. So what kind of 1^st impression did YSB15 Meet The Team @ Atlantic Surf Club make? A positively stellar 1. From the very 1^st second, checking into the event, all the way through, positively stellar.
Friends, fun crowd, good times, food & drink. A truly stellar YEE has all that firing on all cylinders seemingly effortlessly. & that’s how it was. It started at the door with Joi B., who I met at YSB ’13 in New Orleans & is always great to see again. Inside, it was Unilocal friends from all over, including my NorCal neck of the woods & previous YSB’s.
There were plenty of friendly new faces too. Also from all over. Like previous YSB’s, Elites traveled from near & far. &, of course, there was Blue A. The man of the hour, the day, the entire extended weekend that is YSB. He was constantly flitting about with a big smile making sure everyone felt welcome.
Oh, & the venue. Atlantic Surf Club was a magnificent spot to start YSB ’15. With an open & airy layout + a lofty beach view on a gorgeous day, things were looking good from the get-​go. Add in an endless stream of delicious bites from their kitchen, bottomless tasty cocktails & a friendly staff that was always on point, Atlantic Surf Club totally knocked it out of the park.
So, sure, you never do get a 2^nd chance to make a 1^st impression. For Unilocal Spring Break 2015, there was no need for 2^nd chances. YSB15 Meet The Team @ Atlantic Surf Club made 1 of the best 1^st impressions ever. &, like previous YSB’s, it set the tone, in a positively stellar way, for the rest of YSB ’15.
Thanks Blue A. & the whole Unilocal team, for your enthusiasm in making us all feel welcome. Thanks YSB friends, old & new, for a fun & memorable kickoff to YSB ’15. & much thanks to Atlantic Surf Club for being the perfect host & venue for the official start of Unilocal Spring Break 2015.

Let me start off by saying Unilocal Spring Break was amazeballs!
Me and a friend flew in on the Wednesday before Unilocal Spring Break started and we got to attend the UYE at Funky Buddha. That was perfect to do because we got to meet lots of people before the first official Unilocal Event at the Atlantic Surf Club. It made me feel more comfortable for at the first event.
We came early to the Atlantic Surf Club and waited outside, which wasn’t bad because we got to meet and got to know some Unilocalers beforehand. All the Unilocalers at Unilocal Spring Break were the professional Unilocalers and knew to come early to all the events, that was a little funny to me. Haha
The Atlantic Surf Club is right across from the beach and the view is gorgeous! Since this was a day event on a Thursday, not too many people were able to come and it was mostly the out of towners Unilocalers. Which was fine with me since I was one of those out of towners. It was great to meet Unilocalers from all over. Some of the Unilocalers I met at this event, I ended up sticking with for the whole Spring Break, which was super nice to have a little posse! Haha
Everyone was so friendly and happy to be at Unilocal Spring Break, it was such a nice feeling. Me and my friend couldn’t believe how nice, fun, relaxing everyone was. If there was Unilocal koolaid being passed around, I guess we were all drinking it by the gallons. Haha
The food was amazing!!! The food here was def the best from the whole Unilocal Spring Break! Walking in, the tables were setup with bowls of cerviche and yuca chips. The Cerviche was perfectly fresh tangy tasting.
There were waiters walking around with apps and I got to try steak skewers with Chimichurri sauce, fried lobster poppers, Fried counch with a capers sauce, and Cuban eggrolls with a mustard dipping sauce. My fav was the fried counch if I had to pick one! They had sooooo much food going around. The waiters were super nice and told us to please grab as many as you like! I tried everything a million times. It’s was not a tasting and more like a buffet man. So glad I didn’t eat breakfast that day. That the end of the event, there were still tons of food left!
They were also serving fabulous cocktails concoctions, but alas I don’t drink, so I can’t say. But they were really colorful and pretty haha.
For dessert they served fried churros with a chocolate or caramel sauce. But the time that came out I was ridiculously stuffed and forced myself to try one. It was tasty, but I was def too full to appreciate it.
This event was super intimate, and I really appreciated that as the first event. It wasn’t too overwhelming with people. I was able to have real conversations and got to know some amazing Unilocalers. Blue, Cassie and everyone did an amazing job. They made all us out of towners feel like we were at a Unilocal elite event back at home.
After the event we def hit the beach to work off all the calories we ate. The beach was gorgeous and the water was perfect! We were all super excited for the next event later that day, the Sunset Sips Pink party!

This was a lovely start to Unilocal spring break. I really like the set up of the Atlantic Surf Club mostly because of the lovely view of the ocean. I was so nervous because I didn’t know what to expect from Unilocal spring break. After talking to the friendly Unilocal staff I felt more pumped to experience the rest of the trip.
The kiwi strawberry drink and Jamaican rum punch was good. I’m sad I missed out on the milkshakes. When the food was passed around my favorite was the spicy lobster poppers because of the sauce and the presentation. My next favorite dish was the cuban cigars that had a great crispy texture and the pork had a really rich flavor too it! It was a bit dry but I wasn’t a fan of the dijon mustard sauce that came with the cuban cigars. The sauce that came with the conch fritters was amazing and made them that much better! The ceviche and beef skewers were good. I was disappointed with the churros because they were more chewy than crispy.
I loved the staff at the Atlantic Surf club. They showed great enthusiasm and they did a great job on making sure everyone had samples.
ps I was a little sad because we were told by a waitresses to come back later for karoake but they were CLOSED ;_;

I did not know what to expect for my first time in Fort Lauderdale and Blue and his team exceeded expectations. Little did I know this was the kick off to an amazing weekend of experiences and friendships.
This was the perfect venue to experience the area. It was open air casual yet upscale restaurant that overlooked the beach. Being fromSouth Carolina I’m not used to an ocean where you an see your feet.
Let me get back on track. The staff was super. Each person had such an amazing personality and was so genuine. The drinks were made fresh and the appetizers were delicious. My favorites for the day were the flank steak skewers and the kraken rum punch. Again thank you for the wonderful welcome.

Oh man. .. I am so far behind on Unilocal reviews for all the great events that happened in YSB15. I should have started with this one, the opening event, the «Meet the Team» festivities.
The venue, Atlantic Surf Club? oh.em.gee — is truly a diamond. Across from the beach, on the 2^nd floor, with a view open to the beach, having some of the best ceviche ever and bartenders and wait staff that kept the kraken rum punch and kiwi strawberry adult beverages flowing, this is a «come back soon» kind of place.
Although I was late getting to the event owing to one of those «only in Florida» rain events on the road from Orlando, I was still greeted like an old friend by this outstanding YSB15 team. It was as though I was getting welcomed into their home and with no «you’re late» guilt trip. Of course, I missed the Unilocal check-​in for a picture with the team, but it’s all good — I still have it in my mind’s eye. (maybe I can claim that check-​in reward sometime at a future Unilocal event).
It was great to catch up with old friends (my hero Christine R, always good to see you), meet new ones, and enjoy the view, the food, and the boisterous group of my fellow Unilocalers. (With a shout-​out to Diane and Clyde — thanks for all your great recommendations, I think we have similar good taste ;-) and Joe C – thanks for the 100.)
As a preview of things to come, it couldn’t have been a better introduction to YSB 15. Thanks!

First event of YSB15! I couldn’t get dressed and ready to go faster that day! I had a breeze checking in as usual and the day was absolutely PERFECT! Sunny skies and tons of new Unilocalers to meet! I knew our CM Blue would have a TON of fun planned for us and Thursday was a BIG day!
I had my pre-​pinky party shirt on and I was ready to mingle and meet as many new people as I could and the first face I spotted was Michelangelo S., who also became my new party buddy for the duration of Spring Break LOL! I walked around the bar and met a lot of Unilocalers from out of town that I had connected with on Unilocal before they had arrived. It was really great to meet everyone BEFORE all the craziness started and I ended up with a ton of new friends. Shout outs to Christine R., Vanessa T., Meg T., John. F, Lindy P. and Sara B. to name just a few of the awesome Unilocalers I had the pleasure to meet and party with all week. I love that my Unilocal family is growing!
Food? I only got a chance to try the churros because I was way to busy talking and they were awesome! I did have a couple of those delicious fruity drinks though! lol! Atlantic Surf club as usual was very generous with the food and drinks. They also have one of the best views of the beach if you ask me! I wish I had eaten more of the food but I was on a mission that day haha!
This event was awesome and the best way to kick of such a unforgettable week! Thank you AGAIN Atlantic Surf club for hosting us! Also BIG thanks to Blue and the whole YSB team! You guys knocked it out of the park! So very proud to be apart of Unilocal and especially the BPB community!

Our first official Unilocal Spring Break and at one of my favorite places…
Atlantic Surf Club has always been great to us. Their view is amazing, service is always great, food is delicious, and drinks always flow.
Fist face I see, our CM Blue, and Cassie from Miami. You can tell everyone was super excited for this weekend.
Right there I met Andi from Orlando, one of my favorites all weekend long. Super sweet and, right along her boyfriend, so ready to help, and show everyone visiting a great time.
I didn’t even make it to the bar before the staff was already offering me food.
The Lobster rice bites were delicious, the conch fritters I must have again, they also had some kind of eggrolls with a sweet and spicy sauce that I loved, and the Churros with Chocolate sauce, who can say no to that?!?
The Rum Punch was the perfect drink for their beach view and hot Florida day.
At this event I got to meet Michelangelo, John M., and John F. I don’t know if it’s because these are Unilocal Spring Break veterans, or just because of how genuinely nice they are, but you immediately become friends with them. They all were so happy to be there, so eager to meet the people coming to the events, and so supportive of all of them. I was so happy to meet them on the very first day and hang out with them the rest of the weekend.
Must say Thank you to Andy V. for introducing me to Rachel (from Pittsburgh), she is so bubbly and happy, and so glad I got to spend some time with Colleen too. These event, being one of the smallest, allowed us to talk, get to know each other a little better and be in the lookout for each other at the other events.
Also, thank you to Christine R. for my beautiful San Francisco postcard, and for being so sweet. Hope you let us know next time you’re back visiting family and we can all meet again.
Perfect start to our Unilocal Spring Break weekend, if you ask me.
I was happy, excited, and ready to see what the other event would be like and make more friends.
Thank you, once again, Atlantic Surf Club, for always being such a great host and Unilocal BPB partner.

This was the first official event of YSB15 and a great way to kick off the weekend. The location was perfect as it overlooks the ocean and you get a nice refreshing breeze from the open air restaurant.
While Andi from Orlando checked us in, Blue came over to welcome us and we entered to find lots of smiling Unilocal faces. We reunited with a few BPB-​ers and met some out-​of-​towners. Definitely got a few welcome back hugs from Jenn S, Ros P, Savanna, Ashley, Greshka (sorry if I missed anyone). Nice to reunite with Christine R and John F, fellow Unilocal 10-​year Unilocalers and got to meet and chat with Gary G and John M. Funny we had to travel all the way to Florida to meet my Cali folks. Also met Mike and Casey and Jim from Nashville; Rachel, hubby and pup from Tampa. There was lots of excitement all around from all the YSB attendees.
We were only about 15 minutes late, but we missed out on the food. We made it for the churros with the chocolate dipping sauce. These were a bit sweet for me, but I also hadn’t eaten since before taking off from LAX. I did have my share of rum punch. The servers were friendly and very attentive. I don’t think anyone’s hand stayed empty for any amount of time. The rum punch was refreshing and tasty and got me feeling happy and ready for spring break festivities. They also served a few adult milkshakes (with Kraken Rum). From the taste I got, that milkshake is dangerously creamy and the alcohol was subtle.
Thanks Blue and Atlantic Surf Club! From here we were ready to rock the rest of YSB!

The first official YSB15 party! And it was a great kick off. The location couldn’t have been better… right on the beach upstairs with the cool breezes blowing.
The servers were great and the snacks were tasty and plentiful. My favorite were the conch fritters, the lobster salad over fried sushi rice and the churros. The Kraken rum drinks were free flowing.
While folks were mostly friendly, I wish there had been some sort of ice breaker or way to more easily meet all the new faces. It seemed like mostly people kept to the people they knew from their home cities… although the Unilocal staff was great about wandering around and mingling.
But y’all that location. Really the Atlantic Surf Club was an amazing spot to start the week off. I could have just sat and stared at the ocean the whole time.

I kicked myself for not making last year’s kickoff Meet & Greet in Nashville. Something told me Blue & BPB Unilocal community would be totally different and off da hook! Nothing was going to stop me this year; I made sure to fly in the night before.
Guess what? It was indeed off da hook! It was awesome to see so many familiar faces this year and kick it off with new ones. Of course it’s always a JOY to see JOI from Nawlins. Nice to finally meet the other CM’s Cassie, Andi, and Rachel in person. Thank you Chris at Atlantic Surf Club and his friendly staff for their hospitality. Endless ceviche, beef skewers, eggrolls (aka cuban cigars), spiked shakes, and warm churros dipped in chocolate — unbelievable! His staff came around serving drinks… the strawberry kiwi drink was refreshing. Lively restaurant with a nice ambiance overlooking the beautiful LA PLAYA!
Thank you Blue and YSB team for a warm and memorable welcome. We highly anticipated the next big pink party to commence.
P. S. Special shout out to BPB’s Charlie’s Angels (Savanna, Ashley & Greshka) for a Unilocal-​tastic welcome ~ girl power! You ladies are lovely at every event.

Perfect!
I drove straight down from Jax. to this event, and im so happy I dragged my butt out of bed to come a little early to make it!
From the moment I pulled up I was in love! The beautiful beach was right there it looked so tropical! I parked in a parking garage and walked up to Atlantic Surf Club… greeted by pretty girls they checked me right in. I was meeting some fellow Jax. friends there, Jimmy and Fredrico they were at the bar already eating and drinking.
This is on the second floor with an open bar area that has a killer view. Great hang out spot! I would def come here again!
As soon as I walked up the servers gave me a punch drink that was delish and perfect to start my vacation! There was plenty of food available… and I have to say this might have been my favorite food of the whole trip! I LOVE hispanic food!
Ceviche with tostones… Cuban cigars (pork Spring rolls)…crab on a potato cake… skirt steak skewers with chimmichuri… Heaven!!!
I love that Blue wrote this is not a full lunch, but just snacks… this was so much food I left completely stuffed! Blue you are a man after my own heart! :)
I wanted to come to this event because it is smaller and I hoped to be able to meet some people before the huge events and thats exactly what happened! Got to meet a bunch of cool people! Jennifer you are so friendly and awesome and it was so great to meet you!
Just loved this event!

Could there be a better place to start YSB15 then the Atlantic Surf Club? I don’t think so! The food, the drinks, the view, are all fabulous. The people who served us food and drinks were outstanding.
When Clyde and I walked into Atlantic Surf Club the first thing I saw was a table set up with bowls of shrimp and scallop ceviche and warm tostones. Ceviche isn’t usually one of my favorite foods, but this ceviche was so delicious that I could have eaten just that and been happy. We found a seat at one of the high top tables, ate our ceviche, and watched as the servers brought around trays of drinks and food.
For drinks I had both the plain Kraken rum punch and the kiwi strawberry Kraken rum punch. Both drinks were delicious, but the kiwi strawberry was my favorite. Clyde preferred the plain rum punch.
The food that the servers were passing around was delicious. The lobster poppers were so good. I want some right now. We also ate churrasco beef on skewers, conch fritters, and Cuban cigars made with pork and gruyère. For dessert we had churros with chocolate and caramel dipping sauces. Everything was wonderful. There was so much food, I don’t think anyone left hungry.
I was looking forward to trying the adult milkshakes, but they only served a few before they ran out. I’d been thinking about them ever since Blue said how delicious the piña colada milkshake was. When I go back I’ll be sure to try it.
It was great to meet so many people from around the country. A special hello to my new friend Ann from North Carolina.
Thank you Blue and Cassie for a great start to Spring Break. Blue I truly appreciate being included in the festivities. Thank you so much to everyone at Atlantic Surf Club.

What better way to kick off Unilocal Spring Break 2015 than gathering at Atlantic Surf Club in Beach Place on Fort Lauderdale Beach?! It was such an intimate meet&greet surrounded by lovely Elites from near & far, CMs, other Unilocalers too. Huge thanks to the BPB CM Blue for putting together a long weekend of Unilocal fun!
Atlantic Surf Club was the perfect venue, & man they provided fabulous drinks and food for us. The flank steak skewers with fresh chimichurri sauce was my favorite, but the plantain chips & pork spring rolls were a close second. I absolutely looooved the kiwi strawberry Kraken rum punch, what a great beachy #YSB15 drink! The service couldnt have been better too.
This event really set the bar high for YSB15… I’m so stoked for what’s to come!

Can we just jump right in a talk about the food? (I must be hungry right now lol). Seriously a ton of food at this event, and it was all spectacular. The conch fritters even passed my Bahamian test, and caper aioli may be the new «it» aioli. Crispy fried rice is one of my latest obsessions, so I had quite a few of those lobster rice bites. The ceviche was delicious, the skewers were great, the egg rolls… and then to finish it all off, the CHURROS! I remember my first time ever having churros when I went on my first trip to Disney World, and these were amazing!
Ok, now that that’s off my chest. This was an amazing way to kick off the Spring Break. So glad to be able to mingle with the out of towners before things got nuts at Sunset Sips! Pretty sure John F. and Michelangelo S. won’t be leaving on their flights at the end of the weekend, because we are already having THAT much fun!
Between the delicious Kraken rum punches and the adult milkshakes, everyone was having a blast getting to know each other, and doing the most popular Unilocal hobby — taking pictures. I even saw Andy’s self stick come out at some point!
Atlantic Surf Club has one of the best locations around and the view can’t be beat, so I’m pretty sure everyone who flew in now knows exactly why BPB is hosting Spring Break this year!
Can’t wait to see what’s in store at the rest of the events!
Thanks to Blue for putting this together (and all the other CMs who came down) and huge thanks to Atlantic Surf Club for hosting. Honestly, the service was nothing short of amazing!

YSB15’s first event at the Atlantic Surf Club was really really fantastic! There was a non stop flow of amazing appetizers such as lobster on potato cake, tri-​tip skewers, ceviche on banana chips, and Charles! of course the best part was the open bar Kraken rum drinks! there were from all across the country. Michelangelo from California was here as always taking many many pictures. It was super fantastic and his staff and many other community managers from across the country!
If the rest of the events this weekend are only half as good as this one they will still be incredibly amazing. Next event in an hour and then a couple hours after that and then tomorrow and the day after and the day after formation. It’s going to be an amazing spring break in beautiful sunny Fort Lauderdale!

Awesome place to kick off the YSB15 event! Atlantic Surf Club showed their Unilocal love with delish bites and sips.
I tried the fried conch with a roumalade, beef on stick, spicy lobster on fried rice roll, churros with chocolate and caramel sauces and one of the house special drinks. Everything was good.
The picturesque ocean view was amazing and the staff treated us well. I had a great time catching up with some of my Unilocalies that have traveled from afar and well as meeting some new faces.
Kudos to the YSB15 team and Atlantic Surf Club for getting the party started!

What a great way to kick off this year’s Unilocal Spring Break with by meeting the the CM’s and by dining and drinking at the Atlantic Surf Club.
The weather was ideal for this somewhat outdoor event. The location couldn’t have been better, especially for our out of town Unilocalers. How beautiful is that view, right?
The event was great. It was a relaxed lunch with amazing ceviche so many other treats. I have to admit, the churros (with chocolate) weren’t favorite.
The drinks were great too. You can’t beat being by the beach and sipping on some rum punch, oh yeah, milkshakes with alcohol– always a great thing.
This event was great as a local because this way you got to talk to the out of town Unilocalers and get to know them. It was the perfect setting for what is sure to be an amazing weekend.
Thank you Blue and the Unilocal team for making everything possible.

Every minute something delicious was being served from conch fritters to beef on s stick to lobster on a tiny fried rice ring to a Cuban cigar (their version of an egg roll). Wow everything from the ocean view to the bites are top.notch. the specialty drinks were excellent I loved the strawberry kiwi one the most. So good meeting Unilocalers from all over. The fun has begun. The 2 hours passed so quickly. I said goodbye until tonight at sunset sips! it was so great meeting the girl (CM too) from Louisiana!!! I cant wait to visit there! and The so and no calers! love your state most! Texas, DC. Hawaii… wow. what a great group of people. Thanks ASC for the great afternoon!
I found the one air conditioned area. I called it the VIP. it was nice with all the pillows and fans and AIR CONDITIONING!!!

It was quite a treat to meet so many awesome CM’s and Unilocalers from around the U.S. The kick off party was fantastic, and it was really awesome to hear how so many different communities ran!
And then there was the food. So.much.good.food! My favorites were the plantain chips, the lobster on fried rice, and the strawberry kiwi rum drinks!
Atlantic Surf Club was a fantastic host and all their servers were super upbeat and crazy friendly, we felt insanely welcomed!
A big thank you to ASC for having us and a huge thank you to Blue, Colleen, and the other fantastic CM’s from the surrounding communities for putting on such an awesome shindig!
What a great opening party! We had a fantastic time! :D

Great Welcome To Ft. Lauderdale Unilocal!
SITREP
It was a dynamite time on the Ft. Lauderdale strip this afternoon as we got to meet the dynamic team behind Unilocal Spring Break! Andi from Orlando, Cassie from Miami, Rachel from Pittsburg, Joi from New Orleans [and many other Unilocal employees names I will need to sneak in here on *Edit* when I finally put names-​to-​faces!] — it was all good delicious fun!
THE SETUP
Hosting this marvelous event was the Atlantic Surf Club (ASC), right across the street from the beach — this made for some of the most spectacular views you could possibly have of the Atlantic Ocean whilst drinking & dining!
Unilocal SPIRIT!
Unilocal excitement was in full sway as everyone from everywhere got to check in with and re-​establishment connections from Unilocalers in other Cities and States! Loved seeing the crews from New Orleans and Nashville — the sites of the previous 2 YSBs!
But what’s a Unilocal party with out drinks & nibbles, right?
THE NIBBLES
Chef Tim astounded our taste buds with delectable fare, such as:
* Tim’s signature spicy lobster poppers– tempura sushi rice cakes topped with spicy butter poached Atlantic lobster salad served with Meyer lemon ponzu. Hands-​down my favorite item.
* ASC’s Cuban Cigars, which look like egg rolls but are actually slow roasted mojo pork, gruyère, house made pickles and crispy bacon spring rolls served whole grain Dijon mustard
* I loved Tim’s signature shrimp & scallop ceviche canapé– made of Florida pink shrimp and bay scallops, cilantro, Fresno chilis, lime and cilantro served on warm tostones
* A real treat was ASC’s Conch Fritters– tender Bahamian conch, citrus zest, fresh herbs and garden vegetables fried golden brown with roasted pineapple marmalade — yummy scrumptious!
* Chef Tim also did a great job on the Churrasco Beef skewers– made of flank steak marinated in fresh cilantro, xvoo, garlic, shallots and mint grilled over high heat and served with Chimichurri Verde — I admit, I had a few of these puppies.
* And for dessert, we enjoyed chocolate dipped churros
REFRESHING BEVERAGES
I loved bartender Billie’s Kiwi drinks. And the whole team prepared us «Adult Milkshakes and rum drinks from Kraken Rum: THIS is the way you are supposed to enjoy a milkshake!
KUDOS
My hats off to CM Blue A., and the whole CM team from across the country who have made us feel welcome in Ft. Lauderdale and kicked it off with such a great 1^st Main Event.
THE LOWDOWN
A great way to meet the wonderful people of Florida & Ft. Lauderdale, and Unilocalers from across the country. I can’t wait for the rest of the weekend to unfold!