A whole mess of Twin Cities Elites came out to party… though not a single one dared to show his or her face at Yelp's Magnificent Masquerade! From Batman to KISS to face-framers that would make David Bowie proud, the spirited Elites masked up and headed to FACES Mears Park for an evening of locally sourced bites, organic Oregon wines and more.
As nearly 200 guests gathered in the atrium, chef-owner David Fhima gave yelpers a warm welcome and explained the multitude of dishes circulating the party. We also found out that FACES has many (wait for it)… faces. This swanky Lowertown spot is a full-service bistro, wine bar, event space, bakery and bottle shop. They use local and organic ingredients to craft cuisine that spans from American comfort food to globally-inspired specialties.
Green olive-harissa toasts, veggie croquettes, puff pastry with asparagus and blue cheese, stuffed endives and raw tuna with red chili were just a few of the savory bites roaming the event. Jasmine B recalls, "There was a seemingly endless flow of food to try—all unique, local, organic, and super tasty. The bite with the goat cheese, honey, and blackberry was my fave, the chicken satay with fabulous peanut sauce was a close second." As if we hadn't had enough, toward the end of the evening, the staff surprised everyone by bringing out fresh mini pastries like eclairs, cream puffs and Neapolitans!
Jim of Wine Merchants poured three biodynamic Oregon wines from of Dominio IV for the yelpers, including a crisp Viognier, Pinot Noir and a bold blend called Technicolor Bat (an aromatic blend of Tempranillo and Syrah). Meghann F says, "We love Oregon wine… and it was really nice Oregon wine—the Tempranillo blend was my fave."
To help Elites get to and from this St. Paul soiree, Uber offered $20 ride credits to yelpers that evening. Uber launches officially this week, so yelpers got a sneak peek into this luxury car service and mobile app that has blown up already in cities like San Francisco and New York. If you'd like to try this for yourself, sign up using code YELPANNIE and score a few free Uber credits of your own.
If you're wondering who was flitting around this fiesta snapping party pictures galore, it was the incomprable Wing Ta from Canary Grey Photography. You can check out the rest of Wing's shots on Flickr and read what yelpers had to say about the party on the special Yelp listing. If you were at the event, feel free to leave your thanks to our hosts there, but please wait to review any of the sponsors on their own Yelp pages until you've had a more genuine customer experience. If you're interested in becoming an Elite Squad member and scoring an invite to the fun next time, find out more and apply here!
Thanks again to everyone who attended and to FACES, Dominio, Uber, Canary Grey and Intern Lauren for scheming to create this wonderful evening! And congrats to yelpers Libby B and Susan L, the winners of our masked photo challenge who both took home gift cards to FACES!
Until next time,
Annie D
Yelp Twin Cities Community Manager
@YelpMSP on Twitter
