The ladies and gents of the Twin Cities Elite Squad gathered to bid a fond farewell to summer at Ye Olde Yelp Picnic, an old-timey indoor picnic with an all-local lineup of gourmet Minnesota purveyors!
Christina and Ben at Besade Studio put a roof over the group's coiffed heads in their restored 1890s warehouse studio. The exposed beams and brick of this award-winning event and photography space in North Minneapolis was a beautiful backdrop for the turn-of-the-century fashions roaming around at the party. Handlebar mustaches, bow-ties, white gloves, top hats, parasols and lace for days made this one of the most dapper gatherings we've seen yet.
It was BYO-Blanket, so yelpers chilled together on the floor like real picnic-goers between tasting MN-made artisan treats. Yelpers noshed on the most sophisticated little savory and sweet PoshTarts—or "happy pockets," as Ben D now calls them. And Christopher N is craving more of the garden-fresh raspberry pepper jam from Lucille's Kitchen Garden, declaring, "I will be stopping by Kowalski's to pick up a jar in the morning!" Though… he may have stashed some in his 'stache for later too.
Mariel L picked up a few recipes for Seven Sundays' "simple and delicious muesli parfait and the perfectly chewy-inside/crispy-outside muesli cookies." She's already planning a trip to Midtown Farmers Market to say hi to Seven Sundays and her other new friends at Black Paws Bakery: " The most wondrous, fresh-baked breads paired with delectable gourmet butters. I will definitely hunt these guys down for the pesto bread. Pesto! In a bread! Genius! Pair it with the rosemary-thyme butter, and it's heaven."
The brand new craft carbonators at Joia Soda served a few delicious cocktails made from their local soda, brewed in creative combos like lime, hibiscus and clove or grapefruit, chamomile and cardamom. Matt G noted, "The sodas explored flavors often considered too complex for that type of drink. Once again, Yelp helps me broaden my palate."
And what's a Yelp event without photos, eh? Snapz Photo Booth and their hilarious props inspired Cindy S in more than a few ways: "You can always expect to see me in the photo booth more than once. I got some awesome shots and now I have been considering going out and buying myself a turkey hat for the hell of it."
A party is a party, but this one just had something special for Melissa L, who summed up this event's palpable local pride perfectly in her review: "I loved being able to sample the diversity of local goods and it really made me appreciate living in a city where others also value that." You can't see us, but our heads are nodding and hearts are smiling right now. Well-put.
A special congratulations to Jessie S, who won a gorgeous picnic spread courtesy of Vicki from Grass Roots Gourmet at the Midtown Global Market… much to the chagrin of Ben D and quite a few other yelpers who had their eye on this most delicious prize full of Midwestern cheeses, apples and lots of other goodies. And a special thank you to everyone who was so generous in their charity donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters—we raised more than any other event so far!
Thanks again and again and again to all the generous sponsors who made this event possible, and to everyone who attended this bash! If you want to see more, take a look at the photos from the event by Alanna Olson and the reviews for the party. If you want to know more about joining the Elite fun, check it out!
Lots of Minnesota love,
Annie D.
Yelp Twin Cities Community Manager
