Yelp Community Blog

LA's Yelp Elite take it all the way to 11 at Seven in West Hollywood

Seventinis, booty shakin yelpers AND a hot new club in West Hollywood!? Ask yourself...does it get any better on a Thursday night! We think not as LA Yelp's proud and mighty elite squad partied it up like there was no tomorrow at Seven Hollywood.

The usual suspects were there including El Jorge T and Frank K, Mike L and Maral A, Diana N, Judy W and Kampy S, along with Sunny D and Ericka L and of course, the one and only Edgar C. Also in the mix were Ti B and Manali K, David C and Fran D with a whole posse of party goers and as always, The Hoff made it out to party it up LA Yelp style!

Big thanks to the owners of Seven Hollywood and especially Noah for helping us throw this fun little shindig and thank you Jake Sones for capturing all of the photographic blackmail. For more party coverage, check out pics from Carrie R, Robyn D, Beth T, Joan S, Roger R!

Until the next time, thanks again to all of you elites who made it out. It was a blast and we can't wait to see you all at the next one. If you aren't elite yet, check out some of the tips here and find out how you, too, may just be able to get in on the yelp partaaay action and rock it like a true yelpstar!

Ciao for niao,
Stephy S

Who are you Calling a Lush?

On Wednesday, June 27 Chicago Yelp Elite Lushes gathered for a “sophisticated” night of wine tasting and appetizers at Lush Wine and Spirits. The Lush team greeted us with sparkling wine at the door and made sure our glasses were full with a taste of some pretty special wine throughout the night.   

And there was plenty of delicious food to keep us lushes happy! Dinner by Design Maxwell Street, now open for 2 weeks, served tasty appetizers and addicting brownies. Due to an unfortunate car accident we were without cheese for the first half hour of the party, but then the dedicated owner of White Linen Catering showed up with cheese platters on his  way to the hospital because he didn’t want to leave us cheeseless. We appreciate Gary's dedication and hope he feels better soon!

 There were many old time yelpers sipping wine including Yujin Y, Bella E, and adorable yelpy couple Dave S and Lara W (aaawwww). Although Chris H and Karen H are no strangers to the world of Yelp they made it to their first Yelp event! And we also showed LA transplant Liz K that the Chicago Yelp Community knows how to have some fun!

Most yelpers left with a buzz & a bottle (or perhaps 2) of wine, but Mindy S, Jennifer B, and Audrey T were especially lucky when they won gift certificates to Lush and Dinner by Design in the raffle.

A special thanks to the staff at Lush for introducing us to some fine wines, Dinner by Design for making sure we were well fed, and White Linen Catering for making sure we had cheese under difficult circumstances.

To view pictures of some pretty HOT lushes, taken by Yelp photographer Dan G, click here.

The yelp fun is just beginning this Summer for the Yelp Elite Squad so keep checking the calendar for more events.

 Until then, SYOY!

 
Andrea W & Elizabeth N

 

Austin Yelpers Rock Local Dives...And A Local Bus!

Some things you really have to see to believe:  chupacabras, Austin's famous "Leslie" -- and the inside of the Rockin' Ride.  That certainly was the case recently as a packed bus of Yelpers tilted cold ones, sang and goofed to their collective hearts' content.  After some frosty refreshment at the Jackalope, we hit the Rockin' Ride disco bus.  And boy, it was something else.

We flung open the velvet curtain and revealed a world inside where the beer coolers were full (while they lasted), the songs plentiful (if hilarious) and the comeraderie amazing.  The whole thing was one gi-normous photo op, and no one looked better in that sort of fancy spread than a heaving party bus full of hopped-up yelpers.

After a quick stop at the Deep Eddy Cabaret (where it's cash only and the regulars thought we were, well, mostly nuts), we poured back onto the moving party and headed uptown to the Poodle Dog Lounge.   Precious few poodles and some great shutterbugging later, it was over to Lala's Little Nugget, where the beverages were flowing like the mane down Nancy Sinatra's neck. 

Not to be outdone, from there we were headed back south to the Horseshoe Lounge, where yelper Tom S's wig went over like gangbusters and there was time for a quick game of shuffleboard.  In all, it was a pretty amazing little dive bar expose', and Austin yelpers were the stars of the show, from Logan Y. to Allison P. to Lisa A., from Colby B. to Susie G. to Phyllis K. and many, many more, we represented. And the only thing more festive than the dive bars, and maybe even the Rockin' Ride itself, was one another. Can't wait to get in trouble with this group all over again!  Pictures, of course, live here.

NY Yelpers get sweaty at Sullivan Room

It may have been a chilly night in NYC last night, but New York's Yelpers were certainly burning up the dancefloor at Sullivan Room!  It was our first open community event and we saw over 300 yelpers and their friends descend the staircase into our lair of Yelpiness.  We got buzzed on the caffeinated offerings of V2 Vodka and grooved to the sounds of DJ Van Scott.  And groove we certainly did, judging from the dance-party led by Elite ladies Maritess Z and Victoria H, as well as from the nookie happening on the back couch...the involved parties, shall, of course, remain nameless...for now.

We saw some new and old faces last night.  The return of Ben W to the Yelp bosom was greeted with much rejoicing, as were those of Audrey J and Rob M, who we hadn't seen in since China 1.  Of the newbies, we met Justin C, Kurt S, Ted W and a whole mess of others.  Not to mention it was the party debut of New York's newest Yelployee, Russ W!  All in all, certainly a fiesta to remember.

Much love to Sergei and the folks from Sullivan Room for being such amazing hosts!

Pictures, as ever, can be found here.

Until next time, kids!
Your fearless leader,
~Sam P.

Yelpers with a Cause!

And y’all thought yelpers just ate and drank all day! Most of us do, but Saturday was an exception as we participated in the Chicago Cares Annual Serve-a-thon. Kathleen O, Stella Y, Mesum N, and many other fabulous yelpers loaded the yellow school bus at 8 am (yes, we woke up before 8 am on a Saturday) which took us to Burnside Scholastic Academy on the South Side. 

And there sure was lots of work in store for us when we arrived at school! Our favorite Yelp couple, Edward H and Vicky Y, as well as many other yelpettes climbed those ladders right away to start painting those dreary walls. Some of us yelpers (ahem Ian S) got more paint on the floor than on the walls, but 6 hours later we left a cheerful yellow walled Burnside for some fun in Grant Park.

Wondering how you can paint with Ingrid G and Alex F next time? Be sure to check out details for the Yelp Elite Squad! 

Until a few weeks from now (when we leave those paint brushes at home in exchange for some wine & cheese) we’ll SYOY! For more pictures, click here.

Andrea W & Elizabeth N

Sushi for Breakfast in Bed?

Well, for many reasons, a place that delivers sushi at 9am might be a little hard to find--being that uni nigiri just doesn't sound that easy to stomach along with my morning coffee.

But should you want to find a place to deliver some pigs in a blanket or get an omikase sashimi platter to go, we might be able to help you out.

In addition to narrowing by neighborhood, distance, and category, you can now also narrow by places that deliver, offer take-out, are good for groups, or are good for kids.  We're only offering this in a few cities, but will roll out to the rest in the near future. 

As always, let us know what you think at feedback@yelp.com. 

Arigatou gozaimasu!

LA Yelp Gets Tikitastic at the Damon's Elite Party!

Mass amounts of potent Chi Chi's and a whole lotta tikitastic fun was had this past Thursday as the fine crew of the LA Yelp Elite Squad took over...and we mean TOOK OVER...Damon's Steak House in Glendale!

My oh my oh my, were those poor senior Glendalians ever shocked when a couple hundred of their loud and ever so friendly new BFF's took over the place on a school night! In the house were YES female faves like Jenn L, Ericka L and Aimee S, Corazon R, Amy S, Diana N, Judy W and Linda N, Ti B and Dawson S, Elizabeth D, Diana C, Christa C and Heather R, along with Natalie G and Shannon F, Jessica L, plus Joan "mama yelp" S pictured here with San DIego's rockin CM, Meg M!

Also in the tiki hut were some of our favorite yelpin' males including  Aaron R (with cutie Caroline Y), Stephen M and crew, Amador A, the Vincent T/Holly T/Mike T family, Fran D and El Jorge T, Ryan B and Pavel D, Kevin K (with Melody S), Beer M and George M, Rick P, Antonio A (seen here with um, uh, wow Aimee S), along with JayChan H and Myko L, plus a surprise appearance from SF's own Ed to the M and the triumphant return of funny man Jehan M! And of course The Hoff made it out to get his drink on!

As an added bonus to the already fun shindig, it was everyone's favorite pup, Frank L's bday which made for a grand ole sing-a-long as we wished him well on his 23rd year!

But none of this would have been possible without the help of Damon's owner Patrick Campbell and Idol Vodka, who left many a yelper holding their throbbing heads in hungover glee the next day! Thanks Patrick!!

Now if you haven't had a chance to check out Damon's Steak House for yourself, definitely do so soon, as this place makes for one hell of a kitschy good time! The staff is super friendly, the bartenders rock and they offer a great Brunch as well! Yum! Just go easy on the Chi Chi's as those suckers'll sneak up on ya!

Til the next Yelpartaaay, have fun and get out there and share those great local business tips and if you want in on the Elite fun, click here for more info!

Cheers,
Stephy S

Yelpers Are A Bunch of Harlots!

Despite not being open to the public except through private parties, Harlot had already been stirring things up on Yelp before our Yelp Elite event there last night. Our crowd was invited in for an exclusive sneak peak at the sexy space, and to help launch their new happy hour series, going down Wednesday to Friday.

Owners Mar tel & Nabiel were on hand, and they couldn't have been happier. No surprise there, when you have yelpers like Melanie N, Jay H and Aaron L populating your bar. And with sushi from Sushi Groove South and local favorite Distillery 209 gin, the night was definitely something to yelp about!

With Yelp HQ just a few blocks away, we wouldn't be surprised if we found Tom H, Audrey T and the rest of the yelp staff "working remotely" from there more often...