Ahhh, to be young again: No commitments, no cares, no car payments… just an unabashed desire to have fun! Tucson Elites celebrated all things cool and carefree at Yelp Cures Board-um @ The Abbey, Brian Metzger's comfy and cozy neighborhood spot at the corner of Sunrise & Kolb.
Brian and Executive Chef Virginia Wooters prepared a magnificent menu expertly executed by Kate and her kitchen team, which featured favorites from The Abbey including a scallop chowder with tender bay scallops, buttery potatoes, carrots and croutons and the “BEC” a juicy burger served on an English muffin with shallot jam, bacon and a fried egg. Representin’ Brian’s brother restaurant, Jax Kitchen was a pretzel-crusted calamari with arugula tossed in a honey dijon vinaigrette and crispy salmon atop a rich, creamy mushroom risotto. And because the intent was to cure "board-um" folks feasted on one of The Abbey's signature starters, The Board: A fresh and fun collection of meats, cheeses, pickled veggies, nuts, crostini and olives… always different, ever changing!
Elites craving something chill found thirst quenching relief in the BOOMberry and the Fizz, a blueberry infused vodka drink teeming with tartness, and a fizzy raspberry vodka drink that’s crisp and refreshing. Rhonda K from New Belgium was on hand with samples of DIG, in addition to some fancy glasses for the early arrivers and some planting seeds for those looking for a growth opportunity.
Nothing cures boredom better than board games, which is why peeps played for prizes in a boredom busting game zone while listening to terrific instrumental tunes from Corey and Eric of Rescue Lights and MyTown Music. Their soundtrack was satisfyingly sweet as Elites embarked on an all out play fest with classics like Operation, Candyland and Sorry, and everyone went crazy for the duo’s jazzy Black and Yellow!
The pièce de résistance may have been dessert; warm chocolate chip peanut butter cookies with chunks of maple bacon inside! There were some extremely creative “cure” costumes, including members from The Cure, doctors, mad scientists, Mary Jane and a Hershey Kiss who took home the prize for best dressed. Laura D proved she’s knowledgeable about board games, taking home a gift certificate to The Abbey for answering the most questions in our rapid fire trivia game.
Special thanks to Billy Kovacs who joined us for his 9th event to take beautiful outdoor photos (ask him about his yoga story), Corey and Eric, Rhonda K our favorite beer bud, Gabi M (who drove in from Scottsdale), Ginny and Kate for our awesome eats, Taylor (manager at Jax) who helped prep the drink line up, Carrie and Lauren for keeping folks hydrated, Chelsea, Degan and Nate for making sure everyone had enough to eat, B-Mo, The Abbey manager who decked out our sweet outdoor spot and cool place to chill, and of course Brian Metzger. Vivian K puts it best when she yelped, “Brian works so hard to make these two restaurants special. Where other restaurants would be satisfied with a four-star rating, it's not good enough for Brian. 'Tell me how I can make it better,' he said. Well, he gets Five stars in my book!"
Read the reviews. See some pics. Learn more about MyTown Music here & here. Learn more about Resuce Lights here & here. Grab a six-pack of New Belgium's DIG. Find Billy K on Yelp. Read up on The Abbey and Jax!
Corey D
Tucson Community Manager &
Never going to be bored in 2012!