The Crest Uncasked @ Whole Foods

Loved the bar within a grocery store concept. The store has a more open layout now. The beer samples were an excellent way to try new beers. Learned that Whole Foods offers refillable beer jugs. Enjoyed using the products in the swag bag and seeing a t-​shirt get screen printed.

Unfortunately, I don’t have awesome things to say about this event. Starting with the long line and the check-​ins. I received an e-​mail with the invitation which clearly stated the If we made it early to the event we would be receiving a bag of goodies.
Well, I did my job, I rsvp’ed on time and of course I showed up early because I wanted to get my bag. Well, the community manager refused to give me my bag because my phone was not able to check in. Not only that, she had plenty of bags left but told me she was saving them for «other people» (this was at the end of the event when the event was almost over). I felt completely discriminated because I do know that the events are free, however, I do invest time and money attending these events. For example, I invited my friend and I purchased four glasses of wine at $ 6 each plus $ 4 tip at the event. Also, I am very responsible with my reviews.
Please don’t promise stuff if you are not going to live up to your word. None ever mentioned the check –ins in the invitation. It gave me the impression that it was false advertisement.
Finally, please have more consideration with the people you choose to be your elite members. We DO invest time and money on Unilocal and don’t deserve to be treated like crap.
On to the event: The chicken enchiladas, the cheese and the salad were awesome.
Recommendation: Attending Unilocal events where you have to pay a little is a better idea than free events. The event at the Children Museum was awesome and it was only 10 bucks.

Let me start out by saying I love Whole Foods in general so when it came to this event I was very excited to change my plans so that I would be able to make it. I loved the goodie bag and think you can never go wrong with a free bag. The beer samples were great as well as the vendors describing them.
As the others have mentioned it was a bit crowded for a small area and it seemed as though the vendors didn’t expect the big of a turn out, they almost seemed overwhelmed when we were stopping by. Maybe they thought it was on a different date because if you saw the Whole foods summer flyer at the wine bar, it said the Unilocal event was Friday July 16… anyone else catch that?
Now for the foods which is what’s bringing down my rating. My quesadilla was a bit cold and had chicken bones in it so I could tell they used the rotisserie chicken for that. So me no like. The watermelon was flavorful and is the it dish of the summer but I wished it had feta in it. Both dishes were too spicy alone but went great with it was the cedar creek beer on tap!
The Karbach vendor was blended into the wine bar so I was pleasantly surprised when he offered us a sample.

Yeah! I love it when Unilocal finds its way to my part of town =) Being that this was just down the street from my work, I HAD to sign up. I got there around 7pm, and met up my sister. There was already a fair number of Unilocalers sampling and in line.
After a quick check in, there was a goodie bag to be had! After closer inspection at home, it was AMAAAAZIIINGGG! I always love Kind bars, shampoo, and soap samples =D
After checking in, we got in line to try beers from Brooklyn Brewery and Cedar Creek. Both breweries did well to choose light summery beers (because it was HOT outside). Really it came down to how much hops you enjoy in your beer. Both were pretty low to medium on the Pine-​Sol scale. I hadn’t tried Cedar Creek before, so it was also nice to discover a new Texas beer.
After beer samples, the nice ladies from Kind Bars were out with samples of their maple glazed pecan and sea salt, and dark chocolate chili almond. I may have gone back for another bite of the dark chocolate after everyone had been through once. The chili really wakes up your tastebuds afterwards.
My sister and I went on to grab a beer and a sample plate of Whole Foods finger foods. Based on the other reviews, it looks like we weren’t alone in thinking the watermelon salad was a bit spicy. The quesadillas were yummy, but a little heavy on the cheese. I also liked the cheese cubes, but I didn’t get the name of the cheese.
There were also screen printed shirts available… but since that line was moving slow, we decided to get our eat on first. Whoops, they ran out of shirts when we finally decided to get inline. It was still cool, because we got to see how screen printing works. Both my sister and I were like, «ohhhh…so that’s how they do it.»
Overall, the bar was great. I can see stopping by here post-​work for a beer or a pre-​shopping beer (yes that’s a thing). The bar has great wood accents, and which makes you (almost) forget you’re drinking in a supermarket. What really puts this bar up with your neighborhood bar is the selection of beers they have. This isn’t a Bud/​Coors/​Michelob bar. In the fine foods tradition, the Crest serves craft beers that are a bit more uncommon, ie. a place to explore food. I can’t wait to try out their beer flights and discover beers I really love.

What’s there to love?
First, definitely loved the bag of goodies, the small samples of products that I would have not typically bought, but having the chance to try out such products really gave me a better insight of items I will purchase in the near future!
Second, its good to have the chance to reconnect with some fellow Unilocalers that are just so cool like David N. and Michelene!
Third, the sample of beers and wines was splendid!
It was a bit difficult to get through the crowd to get a sample of the food; however, the tortillas with the chili watermelon complemented the wine very well! In addition, looked forward to get a shirt, but they ran out too quickly:(

This was my first Unilocal Elite event, and I must thank King T. for letting me be his guest!
Upon checking in to the event, I received an adorable «Okey Dokey Artichokey» Whole Foods reusable tote bag filled with AWESOME goodies (KIND bars are my favorite)!! How resourceful =]
There were three breweries that provided select beer samples to celebrate the opening of The Crest. My favorite of the three was Cedar Creek Brewery (CCB)! The two guys representing CCB were so sweet and funny. I sampled The Lawn Ranger (a cream ale, so light and refreshing) and Elliott’s Phoned Home (a pale ale, the hops provided a surprisingly fruity finish!).
My other favorite moment from this event was the T-​Shirt Maker. I wish I got his name because despite standing behind a hot dryer the entire time with no time to drink water (he was so busy cranking out those t-​shirts!), he was very friendly — just adding to the positive environment of the event.
What a great event to introduce us to new breweries and what will be available at The Crest. Thanks for putting this together!

OK, WOOHOO! I have FINALLY attended my FIRST Elite event and had a really nice time. I was «Elited» shortly before the even at the Children’s Museum and was unable to attend so I was excited when I received the email about this even and was able to go.
Chris is a big Texas beer connoisseur so I knew he would enjoy the beer samples; I am not a beer or wine drinker at all, lol. We were actually the first people that showed up (we were 10min early) and scoped things out. Chris had several beer samples, and I caved in and had a sample of some rather tasty Moscato as well. The food was yummy and tasty. I did not get a sample of the watermelon salad with my quesadilla and cheese bites, but that’s ok because I don’t like cilantro. I had some samples of some rather interesting Kind bars which were pretty darn amazing.
The swag bag was/​is definitely super cool; I love my Unilocal sunglasses, lol (I guess THAT makes it pretty official.) Plus I was like the first person to get an awesome tshirt! Farrah is SUPER sweet and a gracious host, and I also finally go to meet David who is also SUPER sweet, gracious and funny.
I can’t wait to attend another event and meet more cool people!

This event was advertised the day before, but that was cool to me because that is what a Pop-​up event is… the event was well organized. I tried some great beer and the swag was awesome… great whole food bags and great screen print tshirt. It was worth my time driving over… nice job!

There is nothing better than multitasking. Getting a few lite bites, sampling some brews, chatting up some new Unilocal friends AND doing some exploring of new Whole Food finds, all make for a super fun Tuesday night. Oh, wait… WHAT’S THIS? A goodie bag full of stuff I love and need? OMG, this is too good to be true. But then again, being a Unilocal Elite is also a dream come true.
Thank you Farrah, David and y’alls Unilocal minions
for organizing such a warm, happy-​hour-​esque event, celebrating The Crest.
As I stood in line, I chatted with a Unilocaler friend i’ve seen at events. It is always great to actually TALK to people in person again. I love technology, but communicating via texts/​chats/​emails/​messaging really has robbed me of what I crave: human interaction. And these Unilocal events remind me how fun this Houston community really is.
At Farrah’s suggestion, I brought my old «Two Rows» growler and filled it with the Espresso Brew, ($ 10) which upon tasting reminded me of a cross between a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout and a rich, italian espresso. Oh yum.
The WF staff provided me with a lovely snack plate of chicken/​cheese quesadilla and watermelon/​cilantro/​onion salad. Having restarted WeightWatchers this week, I was super pleased not to blow my PointsPlus that night. My figure thanks you.
I walked over to sample the Lawnmower brew and ET phone home brews (super catchy name and friendly guys). And I just might pick some up for the next pool party. Each were light, refreshing and hydrating with low-​ish ABVs.
Then I talked to my buds at Brooklyn Brewery and had a sample of their Sorachi Ace. A nice dry and hoppy ale.
I spent the rest of the evening chatting with my new Unilocaler friends who I was excited to friend and share reviews with. It’s always fun to connect with people in your community who share your views on eating, drinking and having fun. To quote a great movie: «Champ here! I’m all about havin’ fun. You know, get a couple cocktails in me, start a fire in someone’s kitchen. Maybe go to SeaWorld, take my pants off. Anyway, I kinda known for my catch phrase WHAMMY! As in Gene Tenace at the plate… iiittt WHAMMY! WHAMMY!»

It was my first Unilocal Elite event and yes… I was the newb! It was a great event at Whole Foods. Excited to hear that they have the Crest tap bar at this location. Great sample of beers and yummy bites. I was a bit reluctant to attending these events, but I am so glad I did. I realized how much I’ve been missing out! How can you go wrong with good food, good people, and a little bit of beer?
Kudos to Farrah, David, and the rest of the Unilocal team for coordinating and hosting this event! Can’t wait for the next one.

I knew it was best to review this event while my impressions were as fresh as the delicious watermelon salad to which we were treated and the supa-​fly Unilocalers I got to hang out with last night. Last night reminded me of what I had been missing over the past few months. I had a wonderful time.
My first impression was that The Crest seemed like a nice place to grab a glass of wine while reading a novel. The folks at Whole Foods corporate are probably thinking «That is NOT what we intended.» Ah, well. It was a remarkably cozy little nook made of bleached wood. Yet the seating was spacious and the bar did not feel at all awkward inside the store. The Crest would be great for casual, relaxed meals or for a quick break after… grocery shopping. Seriously though, if a trip to the grocery store sends you to the bar, I wish I lived in your world.
My friends and I were fortunate to receive three of the last swag bags! I loved the various soaps, hair products and Kind Bars included. It was a perfect bag for a summer event, as appetites tend to diminish a bit and bath products seem all the more delightful in heat like this. I am all for useful swag and this bag did not disappoint.
I was intrigued by the idea of a bar inside a Whole Foods, as I imagined that a Whole Foods bar would have very good wine and reliably good food at the least. The wine selection was indeed solid and the assorted light bites were delicious. The spinach quesadillas were yummy and the watermelon salad was delightful. There was also lots and lots of food, which was great. My friend snagged the recipe for the salad. So yes, we ARE going to try this at home.
There were samples of summer ales from Brooklyn Brewing and Cedar Creek. The slightly older (but not at all old) Cedar Creek representative was just lovely. He was so genuinely sweet. We also sampled two especially sophisticated varieties of Kind Bars. I loved both the maple sea salt and thought I was imagining things but no… that was indeed a Dark Chocolate Chili Kind Bar!
I left with a bit of a buzz and lots of warm fuzzies. I wish I had been able to chat with more folks but it was an absolute pleasure to hang out with some of my Unilocal favorites and to meet some people whose reviews I had followed for a while. I’m already looking forward to the next event. Thank you, Farrah and David!

I love cute yummy events and that’s exactly what this event was about. Upon arrival there was a bit of a line but Farrah and David were amazing at keeping everything organized and making sure that the first 100 Unilocalers received their awesome goodie bag and this was not the typical goodie bag. This was a great bag filled with all types of awesomeness from bars to bubble bath to cool shades.
I enjoyed tasting the different kinds of beer that were available from the Brooklyn Brewery, Cedar Creek, and the Karbach Brewery. It’s always a joy to see KIND snacks at a Unilocal event because those little bars are super delicious and super healthy.
I believe I’m addicted to the spinach wrap quesadillas and the watermelon salad offered by Whole Foods. I had no idea I even liked spinach wraps or watermelon salad but I know now that I do. The salad was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. The quesadilla was just sooo tasty. It got a little crowded around the area but we were able to find seating with no problem. This is definitely a cool little bar to have in a cool healthy spot. I will definitely return.

Another fun event, thanks to Unilocal and the Unilocal squad, and Whole Foods and the beers. This was pretty casual and laid-​back, compared to other Unilocal events, but there was a lot going on in that corner of Whole Foods.
And of course I love my goodie bag! I’m excited to try out these interesting shampoo’s. It was also pretty cool that they had a guy out there cranking out printed tees with The Crest on it.
The Whole Foods quesadillas were surprisingly yummers! I’m not usu. a quesadilla fan (not a fan of queso in general), but this was packed with chicken and the fresh spinach tortilla gave it an added flavor.
It was fun chatting with the different beer reps and seeing what different flavors are out there.

I hate to rate a Unilocal elite event badly but I was a bit disappointed. First of all, I think I was in the check in line for half the time I was there and had a hard time finding the event to actually check in. The quesadilla was pretty good but the watermelon salad left a bad taste in my mouth. Given how small the venue was for the amount of people and limited seating I felt that most of my time was spent standing in line vs. enjoying myself. Only cool thing I enjoyed was watching the press guy make me a t-​shirt. Even the swag bag was kind of sad with soap and shampoo while I was hoping for some cool food samples. We left early because it was just too crowded and not much going on.

This event was fun, a bit crowded at the start but it cleared out pretty quick. We were able to sample some great beers that had bite, some wonderful chicken and spinach quesadillas and amazing granola bars provided by #KINDsnacks.
We received awesome swag bags that contained even more greatness. If you missed the event just know the swag bags and the items inside were awesome!
Cool little bar in a healthy grocery store.

Who doesn’t love an event with free schwag?
I arrive pretty much late to… everything. Mostly because I’m nawfside and our elite events have been in the Memorial City area lately (no complaints, just far). Walking in me and the +1 were immediately greeted by Farrah, who looked absolutely gorgeous last night btw, and handed our gift bags provided by WF. There was some nifty stuff in that bag, but not to seem greedy or like I came just for the bag, I waited to sift through it until I got back to my car. I was deserted by my +1 in the t-​shirt line, unaware of what I was waiting for and after about 10 minutes of waiting they ran out of shirts. Oh well.
The food was surprisingly delish for a small bites event. The watermelon salad was super spicy and the quesadillas were bangin’.
The beer… good god the beer. I might be Karbachs’ número uno fan. I opt for it most of the time when I’m out because they produce amazing seasonals and why not support my fav. Texas brew? The cask hopidillo was really good. I was also interested to find out the the rep that was there was one of the original founders. We high fived, yea I’m pretty cool that that.
This event was really crowded and you could tell by the soccer mom passer-​bys that we produce a «WTF is that?» kind of effect. By 8:30 the event had died down and all that remained were the people that I really come to these events to see. I have a handful of fav Houston Unilocalers that I seek out at these events but enjoy getting to know new ones along the way.
Thanks Whole Foods and the Unilocal team for putting this cool event together!

This event was only posted the day before so I RSVP’d solo to keep from rushing to find an available +1. I was also super excited because it was finally an event right by my house! I had just been in this WF for groceries the week before and The Crest was still under construction. I’m pretty impressed with how quickly they got it all together.
I arrived around 7:20 and got in what appeared to be one long line. Came to find out later that it was actually 4 lines that all bled together — the beer line into the food line into the tshirt line into the check in line… There were some beer and KIND bar tastings on the side which helped diffuse the masses a bit. After waiting in whichever line I thought I was in I got lucky and managed to get the very last tshirt of the night (so I was apparently in the tshirt line)! As people got a hold of some food and drink the line crowd died down and everyone dispersed to tables and such. Unilocalers are a nice bunch and folks routinely ate and got up so others could sit for a spell.
The food was tasty, the beer was frothy, and the company was fun-​filled. Got to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones :) Glad to have the opportunity to check out a new spot by my house too. Thanks to Farrah and David and everyone else that made for yet another great Unilocal event!

Free beer tasting… gooood.
Free goody bag… gooooood.
Free food… goooood.
(Anyone get the Friends reference?)
Thank you to Farrah and David for another wonderful event! I kinda gotta say, the perks of being Unilocal Elite are not lost on this girl.
Who knew Whole Foods could be turned into a little bar equipped with DJ. The chicken quesadillas were delicious. I might be back to Whole Foods sooner than later, because I want more. The cilantro, onion and watermelon salad was good but a little too much spice for my fruit. You should stop by for happy hour at their bar. They have the cutest wine flight in bold and modest reds and whites. Only $ 6!
I sampled a few beers from Brooklyn Brewery and Cedar Creek brewery, which were refreshing, especially for someone still getting used to this Houston summer.
And who doesn’t loveee a goody bag! I was really excited to dig through and am probably most excited by my new Unilocal sunglasses. Priya S. and I are trying to find a perfect time to sport our new shades! KIND was generous enough to add to my granola bar collection. I’m excited to try the Maple Walnut Cluster bar.
Thanks Unilocal

First time to a Unilocal Elite event. Yes, I know I’ve been a Unilocaler for a long time and elite for 3 years now. Wow, time does fly when you are exploring new places and writing reviews.
I was very impressed with all the nice awesome things planned for us Unilocal elitist. I am not going to lie… The grab bag was awesome! Lots of great stuff that I will actually use! Thanks to Whole Foods for the hook up on food! Always delicious! Brooklyn Brewery, Cedar Creek brewery and Karbach Brewery were super nice and friendly letting me have a sample or two or three!!! The music was great, the food was delish and the crowd was hopin’ People boppin’! Unilocal socials are a lot of fun and I can’t wait to attend another fun night!
Thanks Farrah and David! They are so pleasant to talk to! I can’t wait to see the photos of awesomeness!
Unilocal rocks! So should you! Start Unilocaling and become a elite! Yay!

Q: Swiggity swag, what’s in the bag?
A: Dang son, a whole bunch. Farrah, David, and the mothership out in San Francisco want to keep us [exaggerated voice of pretty much any character from Jenji Kohan’s adaptation of Orange is the New Black] paiiiiiiid. If you missed the event I will not itemize the list to make you feel bad but it was a lot of nice, useful stuff in the swag bag.
I have not spent much time in the Westchase area so when I received the notification about this elite event I jumped at the chance to put on my Starfleet uniform and boldly go. This Whole Foods (WF) supplied the munchies for our elite event at Pinot’s Palette last month so they were already on my good side before I even walked in. The press release (ref:
) gave me an idea what kind of uncle’s cough syrup I could expect when I arrived promptly at Beer O’Clock (7pm local time) so I was ready to begin tasting. I actually parked at 6:57 and passed David in the parking lot, and he told me that the line had already started building. So I should have parked at 6:54 or thereabouts.
Considering that things outside of Midtown/​Montrose I dub as «far» I would dub this as super-​far. In all fairness we are spoiled with the WF on W. Alabama (which I hate) and the better one on Waugh that I love. It is always interesting seeing the WFs in other cities around the country, from the flagship in Austin to smaller locales visited like Irvine, CA (business) and Boca Raton, FL (pleasure.) So this was a field trip in and of itself to Westchase to see how people outside the loop live their life, what they have access to. After coming through this WF I have to say that people that live around here have it good. A few blocks away there is a brand new Kolache Factory, not disgustingly unkempt like our treasured Upper Kirby one. Also a brand new LA Fitness. This neighborhood is on the way up especially with the WF too. The Crest is at the front of WF so as you trudge in you already know how bad of a mood you are in, so you know whether you want something in the 5−6% ABV range or something a bit stronger like 10+%. This is Texas so bigger is always better, swing for the fences in a double digit ABV to have a really, really good time shopping. Just like Dave Attell’s stand-​up bit on why you might not want to pack for the airport when you are high, you should likely not shop-​while-​drinking unless you deem extra packages of cookies and sweets as «the complete opposite of a problem» like I do bc hashtag yolo.
There were three stations for beer and one for KIND snack bars. From left to right there was the Brooklyn Brewery table with the Saison and the 25^th anniversary selection. Next was the Cedar Creek Brewery with the Lawn Ranger Cream Ale and the Elliott’s Phoned Home Pale Ale. The final station was Karbach Hopadillo. My brother and I are huge fans of Brooklyn Brewery and he has even been on the tour of the Brewery. I knew what we were getting. The Cedar Creek guy (the younger looking one) was super friendly and nice introducing his brand. The Cream Ale was interesting, but the Pale Ale was perfect. The Karbach guy was by far the most laid back and cool about the mob of people swarming so he simply offered the beer and let it speak for itself (it spoke well.)
The swag bag was A+ as previously mentioned. There was also a screenprinter on site for t-​shirts. Even though I was one of the first people in line for that they still ran out of medium crewneck and I was forced to take a v-​neck, so I can re-​live my time in England where even when I was younger/​angstier I still refused to wear a v-​neck then. Free t-​shirts are my lifeblood so I can’t complain too long, but just expect me to be wearing a v-​neck in the gym at 3am every so often now.
The only thing I will complain about is how loud the DJ was playing. I am a crotchety old man to begin with. But that was just noise stomping around inside my brain. I was not the only one. I had conversations with two strangers who clearly were having trouble listening and comprehending normal conversations over the music. This led to bizarre conversations. These conversations went beyond the pale of the requisite level of absurdity I require in conversations as a result of the Ahzirr Traajijazeri. Crotchety old man wants you to turn it down a few notches so he can think.
Always a high point to see Farrah, David, and also got to see Michelene again and catch up on the goings-​on over the summer so far. And I did my old Unilocalie duties in meeting new people, I met Andrew L. (no relation) who I had seen at Pinot’s and the Corkscrew elite events earlier this summer.
Farrah and David did an incredible job throwing this together (a pop-​up event) like they always do. The beer company people showed up and were ready to chat up their brand. And Whole Foods was really cool to let a mass of people swarm the Crest corner of the store.