It ain't summer in California until you strut around in daisy dukes, eat some meat with your bare hands, and throw back a couple cold ones with your fellow Americans, eh? So when 100 East Bay Elites were rounded up for Yelp's Hicknic at Telegraph, the good times came "as easy as sliding off a greasy log backward," and this ruckus bunch-o-Yelpers "put the hee-haw in their hems with a blur of denim cut-offs and overalls," John Z reckons.
"It was a perfect balmy evening to host this event at a lovely venue like Telegraph," one of Uptown Oakland's newest eateries, already infamous for their gourmet sausages, abundance of local brews and endless graffit art covering the walls inside and out. More importantly, Egan B points out, it's "a great watering hole with some friendly bartenders and staff" which "lent itself nicely to some rednecky ways and means" during Monday's Hicknic, Max S adds.
Aside from the "hog-wild wonderful" beer brats "cradled in an amazing slaw and baguette," that John Z gladly devoured, Authentic Bagel Company added to the spread with "interesting combinations ranging from pepperoni bagel cheese melts to sausage bagelwiches with jalapeno coleslaw," some mighty fine provisions for Augusto T. Uh'course you gotta have something cold and hoppy to wash down all that goodness, and Lagunitas delivered with their legendary IPA, fresh from the tap and served in a souvenir mason jar.
While "the owner, John, and manager, Jason, of Telegraph were wandering around in overalls and no shirts," adding to Lisa R's Hicknic experience, Kevin The Saw Player was droppin' jaws with his saw & violin bow music. "I thought the guys in Sigur Ros with a guitar and violin bow were pretty impressive," Amy J muses, but "wait'll you hear someone playing some classics on a saw! That's not something you see everyday."
Yelpers weren't dressed up in hillbilly duds for nothin', and the outdoor photo 'booth' was where they strutted their stuff, snapping "hilarious hick photos" like Robin L's shot with the "American flag sunglasses, posing with the guy in the plastic bandito mustache."
Sure enough, we love an excuse to wear flannel, drink beer, and play some corn hole. But didja know that Yelp Elites are always up for supporting a good local cause, too? Yes ma'am, BUILD.org partnered up with Yelp at the Hicknic to share information about their high school mentorship & entrepreneur training programs and to accept donations and volunteer sign-ups from Yelpers. "And who could possibly be a more ideal bunch of mentors than Yelpers?" Egan B points out.
Have a look-see at all the event reviews, and Hicknic photos by Basil Glew-Galloway on our Facebook & Flickr pages.
Keep lookin' fine as frog hair and happy as a hog wallowing in mud, y'all…
Nique "Louise-Mae" F
East Bay Community Manager
