Eat LBC Launch Party

HI-​LITES
— elegant, intimate venue
— great staff
— about 10 food vendors, wine, Stella beer & cidre
— actually really liked the cucumber herbed water
— 90-​minute parking validation
— lazy sunday walk on the marina afterward
— hey, the food was actually pretty good!
LO-​LITES
— validation for the full event would have been nice
— some vendors ran out of popular items pretty early
— lack of seating
— lack of non-​alcoholic beverages
the atrium was picturesque. i’d say next time move the wine bar inside so more can sit en plain air, offer some Sprite or juice, n Bob’s yer uncle! or i could just wear a tray slung around my neck, cigarette-​girl style. wow, sometimes my genius astounds me.
the thing was, people claimed the very limited seating and parked there for the duration, so people were left standing with no available surfaces, or eating at the hotel computers.
takes a lot to coordinate an event like that, so kudos to the good folks who made it happen. nice meeting and talking with friendly locals, as well. one rowdy thrasher, brah.
GLADSTONE’S LOBSTER MAC ‘N CHEESE and HYATT THE PIKE seafood dishes (see @Joyce A’ s bomb food roundup) so bomb. and of course the Unilocal crew was there with Unilocal SWAG.
event SWAG bag included a Jet Blue card deck, Celebrity Cruises champagne flute and a travel bubblepack to stow away yer champaign bottle (doubles as a coozy if you’re stowing away right along with it!), and various totes. but my most-​prized SWAG was the STELLA STEMWARE (yeah ma, they said i could have em). i was thinkimg of giving em to a friend but SSHHH, mum’s the word.

This event was pretty awesome. I wont tickets so I didn’t have to buy a ticket, but I would have if need be. The drinks were flowing, there was SO many different foods to try, and the photo booth was the icing on the cake.

This event was SO MUCH FUN! $ 35 (well, $ 28 thanks to the Groupon Deal!) was worth the food, drinks, and great environment — the Hyatt was extremely nice.
My favorite was definitely the Lobster Mac & Cheese from Gladstone’s. So delicious! You could actually taste the lobster! Hondura’s kitchen was also another favorite providing a full plate of packed goodness: Empanadas, fried plantains, house made tortillas w/​beans & cheese (?), etcetc. The rest of the food? Amazing as well, but these two definitely stood out!
The Stella Artois cidre and beer helped washed all the food down and thank you to Celebrity X Cruises for the wine! I would possibly suggest more seating? Or at least standing tables so people can place drinks on! We made the mistake of getting our beer to early and had trouble juggling the plates and chalice.
The photo booth was a great addition to the party. I would DEFINITELY come again, especially since I need to explore more food options in my own home town.

Great job and partnership of several businesses with Hyatt Pike hotel.
Always glad to see Unilocal folks: hi there Sukhraj (Suki) & Nica (I hope I got that name correctly)!
Price per person: $ 35, for several options of food AND beer!
Super bonus today: Stella Artois on tap, with their signature chalice glass for you to keep! Stella Cidre was also being served, I can’t help but expect sweetness when I see the word Cidre (spelled this way really, that’s no typo). Cidre has a tangy bite to it and quite refreshing — both perfect on this summer temps (90+) late winter SoCal day.
Hyatt Pike Chef Jerry and company had the best presentation and most variety of food:
1. Shrimp roll in Hawaiian bread –was my fave,
2. collard greens dish served on a crisp shell (Not a tortilla)
3. shaved red and black radishes served two ways — one with little black and green fish roe and a lemony dressing, another served with herbed goat cheese on the side — both refreshing
4. Korean beef Skewer with Kimchi (which I did not get to try).
Other participants and their offerings:
These were stellar:
Honduras Kitchen — baleadas (house made tortillas with beans and cheese filling,) empanada served with pickled onions, fried plantains — 5 stars ‚
Auld Dubliner served a shrimp cocktail in MArie Rose sauce (think light aioli) — 5 stars
Kihon Sushi (fantastic octopus — tako) carpaccio, smoked, with yuzu dressing and paprika — 5 stars,
Callaloo Caribbean Kitchen — jerk chicken wings — 4.5 stars (only because it was a tad too spicy, yeah I know I know it’s jerk chicken),
L’Opera served the dessert course: a vanilla cream zabaione base filling a chocolate cup and topped with fruit (that was a full serving by the way), — 5 stars
and the rest:
Gladstone’s (lobster Mac & Cheese), La Strada — penne chicken alfredo,
Buono’s Pizzeria — pizza and lasagne, they also gave out gift coupons in these cute tiny pizza boxes for free house wine when you dine in.
Parking validation gave you two free hours. Come out for LBC restaurant week!
There was also a tie-​in for charity today — from the press release: Partial proceeds from the $ 35 ticket price will benefit the local non-​profit partner Food Finders, a community-​based food rescue organization.

I enjoyed the variety of the food offered and the quality. I felt like the portions were enough to get a taste of the entrees and yet leave room for more. The downside was the venue felt cramped and without nearly enough seating or places to set a plate or cup. It was mainly in the lobby and patio of the hotel. It was difficult to enjoy the food while juggling multiple plates and my cup of water. I would suggest if you don’t drink alcohol bring your own drink. I was disappointed that the only option for us that wasn’t alcohol was the container of free water offered in the hotel lobby. We won the tickets on the radio but if I would’ve paid to get in I would be disappointed.

Had an absolute blast! It was such a great event. The food was top notch. Big shout out to Stella for providing beer and cider. The Hyatt venue was real nice. My only suggestion would be to provide some temporary trash cans for the paper plates.
I hope this event becomes a tradition. It was a big plus to keep the number of people down. And like any great party… don’t forget the picture booth!