Yelp Community Blog

Yelping on Capitol Hill

Things were quiet on Capitol Hill with the House and Senate on summer recess. Right up until the DC Elite Squad took over the Avenue Lounge at swanky wine bar Sonoma, that is! Generous pours of wine kept the night lively as elite yelpers new and not-so-new mingled and noshed on cheese, shrimp cocktail and other delectable treats. The illustrious Andrea W of Chicago Yelp was even on hand for the festivities!

Big thanks go out to elite yelper Chloe F who used her inside connections to hook us up at Sonoma and to Jenn H and Lucky Karmz L who played photographers for the evening and captured so many lovely images.

When the event at Sonoma concluded the Elite roared on, heading to an after-party organized by Kathleen M at Tunnicliff's.

If you missed out on the action, check out www.yelp.com/elite to find out how you too can join the Yelp Elite Squad and get in on the fun!

Your Yelp Elite Squadron Leader,

MiRIAM w.

 

Yelpers Explore the Milky Way with MAP!

Boston yelpers are buzzing from our adventures at the Milky Way last night! For Elites like Tyler B, Jessika D and Roni E this was their first experience of the magic of this JP institution. They got into the swing of things quickly, especially when Jack B busted out "Baby Got Back" and Jess and her booty bouncing partner, Laura M, showed us a side we'd never seen! Jenna C rocked the dancefloor with the caterpillar too!

Russ S and Sarah R conquered the mic with such ease you'd think they were regulars. And Miss W, well, they don't call her Aretha for nuthin'. Even Deepa C, Yi-Hwa H, Becki W, Tracey N and Chloe D who claimed to shatter glass with their crooning got on stage for a little Cyndi Lauper! Perhaps copious amounts of Smirnoff Source bolstered their confidence. Whoever the genius was that thought of putting grenadine in the bottle, our sugar highs salute you.

Was it Mike and Mark, bartenders extrordinaire? Or one of the other awesome MW staff members? Your team is fantastic, guys; un enorme bisous from Jeffrey H and resounding thank yous from our crew to yours!

A special muchas gracias to Morgan F and the whole MAP Boston squad for arming lucky yelpers with their rad planners and inspiring folks to collect neat info about one another! We learned that Susan J's first concert was Raffi, Melissa B's fave hidden gem is Buddy's Truck Stop in Somerville and Yoora C's most romantic spot is her futon. We've yet to see a review about that one, eh?

Take a peek at a photo chronicle of the evening by the legendary Shannon B...  Hope you can all join us for more debauchery and silliness next time!

With smiles & <3, Ligaya T

NYC's Yelp Elite Squad gets Blue...

...at the Blue Owl!  It was option one of Pick Your Poison last night, and the half of New York's Elite Squad who played it cool and chose Blue Owl, were treated to an evening of delicious cocktails and munchies at this legendary East Village speakeasy.

Our master mixologist behind the bar, Charles, and his lovely serving wench Amanda offered us The Straphanger, a beguiling concoction of Plymouth Gin, champagne, strawberries, and pimms.  Served cold and deliciously Yelpy red, they went down real easy - for some a little too easy, right Steve M? 

We also met the beautiful Abigail S, the feisty Marlo W, and my favorite "fabulous metro gaysian" Jase E, all out for their first and definitely not last Yelp event.  Also on the scene were the divine Ms. Heather H, back from a far-too-long Elite event Hiatus, Chelsea and Andrew J coming straight out of Astoria, and even a visitor from Yelp in LA-La-land, Rachael W - who looks like she felt right at home.

Much thanks to Ashley and the rest of the Blue Owl crew, and to the folks from Plymouth gin.

More pics for your viewing pleasure can be found here.

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

Starlite, Starbright....

The stars of the San Diego Elite Squad were definitely shining bright at the 3rd official San Diego Yelp Elite party at Starlite!

When we wished upon a star for our next Yelp Elite event... even our wildest dreams couldn't have come close to the reality of last Sunday night! Ice cold beverages, delicious nibblies and the best company anyone could ever ask for, made this Elite party one for the record books! And just when we thought the night couldn't get any better, Jae L donned his limited edition Elite baseball cap, a special appearance by "Mr. Handsy" really got the party going and who could forget the extra-special serenade for the birthday girl, which definitely got the neighborhood dogs howling!

We also couldn't have thrown such an amazing event without the help of Tim and the entire crew Starlite so an extra special thanks for hosting us at such a beautiful venue, feeding us some incredible noshes and plying us with alcohol! A special shout out to Rain Vodka for sponsoring the super refreshing, ice cold Starlite Mule's that packed quite a punch in the cold copper mugs and to Ballast Point Yellowtail Beer for giving all the beer drinkers in the group a great reason not to drink the Starlite Mule (it was a win-win either way!) Yum! And how could we forget Allison H, Refugio G and Denise L for playing photographer and getting some super hot shots of the shin-dig!  For evidence of the debauchery, click here:

Lastly, the party wouldn't have been the success it was without each and every one who was in attendance!  Thank each and every one of you, for making SD's Starlite, Starbright Elite Party a smashing success!!  We couldn't do it without you!

Cheers to you all! SYOY!

"Your Mistress of Mischief" aka "M.o.M."
Meg M.

P.S If you are kicking yourself for not being Elite yet, check out www.yelp.com/elite to get some tips on how you can be invited to the next Elite party! We'll be having more parties soon, so log on now and get to yelpin' and you too may be getting an invite soon!!    

Austin Yelpers Take on Green Drinks @ The Red House Lounge!

Maybe the doctor didn't exactly order it, but we sure did.  Austin Elite Yelpers congregated on the patio at the Red House Lounge for some "Limey Bastards" (our Naming Your Drink thread winner), some Friday Happy Hour goodness and each other.  From Camron's Winner-Take-All "COOL" glasses to the neon cocktails Everglo was providing, we kicked back the best way we know how, in the company of each other.  Special shout outs to some yelpers who made it out to their first-ever Elite get together, including Matt and Isabelle, Robin and Camron, who took his victory laps in his new specs.  No word on when the Useful or Funny glasses might come together.

LA Yelp's Off Like A Prom Dress 1 Year Yelpiversary Party!!

Wow. Just, simply, wow.

Who would have thought that in one short year, LA Yelp would be pulling off a full blown PROM with vodka drinkin, booty shakin and good time havin yelpers dressed to nines in the heart of Hollywood on a Saturday night! Who would have dreamed we would have amassed enough local ce'yelp'rities to have our very own community-voted Class Best Ceremony? Who would have thought we'd be giving away a brand new scooter along with a huge array of fantabulous prizes!?!? Who would have? YOU DID!! And thanks to each and every one of you, LA's Off Like A Prom Dress 1 Year Yelpiversary Party was a smashing success!!

So who won Class Best??? So happy you asked! Our awesome winners were..

Cidne W :: LA Yelp's Prom Queen

Masa M :: LA Yelp's Prom King

Ericka Sparkles L :: LA Yelp's Biggest Class Clown

Jenny J :: LA's Funniest Female Yelper

Winfield H :: LA's Funniest Male Yelper

Buttercheeks Maral A :: LA's Flirtiest Female Yelper

Edgar C :: LA's Flirtiest Male Yelper

Mike L :: LA's Most Prolific Reviewer

Greg Y :: LA Yelp's Best Avatar/Photo

Joan S :: LA Yelp's Most Dedicated Yelper

Caroline Y :: LA Yelp's Hottest Female Yelper

Fran D :: LA's Hottest Male Yelper

Holly T :: LA Yelp's Most Likely To Succeed

Frank L & Lali P :: LA Yelp's Cutest Couple

Frank K :: The First Annual David "The Hoff" Hasselhoff Award For Most Likely To Show Up Already Drunk To An Elite Event

But no CLASS BEST ceremony would have been complete without fabulous prizes courtesy of Lucy's 51, Yamashiro, The Griddle Cafe, Asia Los Feliz, Bluebird Cafe, Blue Goose Lounge, The Dan Band, Rocco Deluca & The Burden, Interscope Records, Warner Bros Records, Sony Music, Pulse Fitness Studio and LearnAboutWine!

We also couldn't have thrown such an amazing event without the help of Bob and Nick at Alchemy Vodka, who kept us all tipsytastic with their Chocolate, Ginger and Wild Cherry Vodkas. Yum! ANother big shout out goes to Dan and Leon at FLYSCOOTERS who oh so generously donated the grand prize scooter of the night! To Ian N who helped us put together the hilarious prom footage that ran all night and to Jake S and Richard T who captured all of the promtastic memories. To Westwood Flower Garden for the beeeyoootiful prom photo bouquets and finally to Kerry, Hollie and whole crew at the Key Club, who helped us throw our best event yet!! We couldn't have done it without ya!

But the biggest shout out of the night goes out to everyone who came out and boogied and supported our 1 year celebration of the little website that could! Cheers to you LA YELPERS and we'll SYOY!

Ciao for niao,

Stephy S

PS: If you are crying over your keyboard right now because you didn't make it out to this party and are totally green with envy, don't worry, we'll be having more parties soon, so log on now and get to yelpin and you too may be getting an invite soon!!      

Elites and The Chocolate Factory

Friday night the Seattle Yelp Elite Squad (along with a few VIP guests) danced the night away at the Theo Chocolate Factory Warehouse.

Sipping some Red Truck petite sirah and sauvignon blanc proved to be enough for Katie S so she could get back out on the dance floor to shake it, but others waited patiently for their Square One Organic Vodka martinis - with flavors like Pomegranate Lemon, Chocolate Grapefruit, and Lemon Lavender who can really blame them?

The Wedge Catering Company provided a fantastic assortment of gourmet cheeses - in fact it was so good we had to bring Kevin N all the way up from Austin just to guard it all. When Kevin wasn't looking I was able to snag one of their savory and sweet Pear Pecan & Sage Mini Quiches - I did this multiple times!

Yes, yes, I know, let's cut to the good stuff - The Chocolate! Yelpers were seen donning hair nets* and taken on private tours of the factory before the event and everyone was able to sample the organic chocolate throughout the evening. Lindi M learned that "The 91 percent cacao dark chocolate is supposedly better for you than broccoli." Sure, I'll buy that!

See it all for yourself here!

SYOY! Michelle B

*Hair nets are what are considered West Coast Cocktail Attire.

The Yelp API is here

The Yelp team is excited to announce the launch of the Yelp API.

For those of you wondering what an API is, it stands for Application Programming Interface and the Yelp API will allow users to present Yelp data on their own websites or other web based applications.

The Yelp API enables subscribers to:

• retrieve trusted business review and rating information for a particular geographic region or location.
• display trusted review and rating information for a particular business.
• determine accurate neighborhood name information for a particular location.
• display pictures of highly rated local businesses and of the top reviewers for that business.
• determine a particular business' review and rating information based on the business phone number

Signing up for the API is fast and easy, all it requires is an existing Yelp account and acceptance of the API Terms Of Use and Branding Requirements.

Full details regarding the API are available from our new "Yelp For Developers" site.

Enjoy