GET + TOGETHER and Celebrations PYE

Maila, thank you so much for planning such a great birthday event for Clees and Joe. It was really nice and it was certainly a busy night. Everyone was mingling, getting drinks, taking pics… I like that it was a smaller party, though it seemed like there was a whole lot of us, because we seemed to have swallowed up the surrounding tables and we had the entire patio to ourselves.
Besides the fact that the food took forever to come out (even the appetizers) and everyone wasn’t happy with their selections due to many reasons, the owner did try his best to make it right and for that, I greatly appreciated him. I just ordered a drink and an empanada appetizer. It was nice to see everyone, including some new faces! Thanks again, Mai and happy birthday Clees and Joe!

Maila is such a sweetheart. She respected my request to have a smaller, more intimate get together for my birthday. She also set it up at Gaucho’s, an Argentinian place in DTLBC on Pine that I have not been to. How thoughtful!
Besides Maila, in attendance were:
Annee, Amy (holla), Amber & Andrew (he saved the day cos some peeps shorted their checks [shame on some of you!])
Ben, Brandon, Brian
Cocolyn and her man & Charisse
Grace, Greg
Huy, Howie
Kenzie (thx for the cakes beautiful!), Kevin
Mary Ann (Looking good!), Mel (thx for coming from so far!)
Nguyen (thx for the sangria)
Olin (thx for the thoughtful gift!)
Raymond
Tiffany (thx for the macchiato & card [hehehehehe])
Huy and I split the parrillada ($ 61.95 | Traditional Argentinian BBQ). The plate looked awesome. Unfortunately, the meat was overcooked.
The ambiance is very nice, and we sat al aire libre (open air, on the patio), on a warm fall evening. The owner Enrique and his team were cool. However, the kitchen took forever, most peeps dishes were overcooked, and the sides were lukewarm at best (review of Gauchos coming up later).
Despite the miscues of the food, this was a supah event put on by the master party coordinator Maila. Mahalo nui loa (Thank you very much), for arranging this event and for being a true friend.
Speaking of true friends, we missed our friend Clees who had a serious health issue, but is OK now. I know Mai, Cocolyn, Mel, Olin, and Huy visited Clees while he was in the hospital (if I missed anyone, sorry). So if you think Unilocal is just about food, think again. I’ve met some of the coolest peeps via Unilocal

Thank you once again to Maila. She is the best at bringing people together — this time for Joe P’s birthday. About 25 of us shared a meal and celebrated Joe’s bday at Gaucho Grill in Long Beach.
Although the food came out slowly, there’s never a dull moment with my fellow Unilocalers. I sat next to Charisse, Greg, and Raymond, so I got a chance to get to know them better. They are hilarious! The entire two tables were bustling with laughter and food. Good times with good people.
I ordered the corderito (lamb). Three medallions of lamb came with a tasty sauce. The lamb was tender and flavorful. The rice and zucchini were good as well.
It was great seeing everyone; hope to do it again soon!