Welcome to the Elite Squad, South Bay Newbies!

Generally speaking, being the new kid on the block is not one's goal. Not only are you unsure of yourself, but being on the bottom of the totem pole can be the pits. But not in South Bay! Newbie Elites who had their badge for 6 months or less were treated to a welcome shindig at Asian Box in Mountain View. Gotta show these baby VIP's some of the perks of being on the Squad…

Asian Box is a restaurant that bridges the gap between fast casual and your favorite neighborhood joint. A place where you can stop by anytime with friends or family for an incredible meal at an incredible price. All responsibly raised, farmed, and made. Created by FK Restaurants & Hospitality CEO Frank Klein, who is a veteran of the national restaurant scene. Frank loves Vietnamese food because he feels that freshly prepared it is the most flavorful cuisine with greatly diverse flavors. As CEO Frank insists, The Box is always using fresh and sustainably raised and grown products.

Executive Chef Grace Nguyen was raised in a traditional Vietnamese family where she began cooking with her grandmother at an early age. She brings authentic recipes and techniques coupled with a keen eye and palate for quality ingredients. Gracie worked with some of the finest chefs in the country and her recent work with Charles Phan at his world famous Slanted Door and Bush Street OTD restaurants in San Francisco brought her home to her cooking roots.

A very intimate crew of Elites-only were welcomed into the restaurant and escorted to their very own dining table. Here, they ordered their own customm Vietnanmese box from the menu to pair with Asian Box's house made teas and coffee or glass of wine. "Kudos to Asian Box for the hella muscles food," cheered Marty H. He "had the shrimp with brown rice and tamarind sauce" and doesn't "even remember scarving it down. I just remember not having any left at the end. According to cheferoo, everything is gluten free and made-to-order." It's true, they are 100% gluten free!

Culinary Director Chad Newtown joined the party towards the end of the evening to explain his role with the restaurant, including their healthy, eco-friendly philosophy and to share that they're opening up a third location in San Francisco later this year. "It was really cool of the founder of Asian Box to introduce himself and give us some history about the restaurant," said Kevin N.

Newbie Philip W "Got Yelp Elite [status] 2 weeks ago and this event was proof that all that work was worth it! Amazing food, great people, and a really chill atmosphere. Asian Box's design is pretty cool, from the multitude of combos of food to the 100% landfill-diversion." He's "actually taking some friends to the Palo Alto branch tomorrow- that impressed!" Lois K and the crew loved the food and being treated so special, "But of course what really makes any event is the people. All the yelpers at the event were really friendly and easy to talk to, which made for a wonderful evening of lively conversation, yummy eats, and newfound Yelper friends!" 

Read the 5-star reviews on the event page and see all the photos from Waitman Gobble on our Flickr album.  

Don't you wish you were a South Bay Elite right now???

Community Manager Abby S (with newbie Roland P)