Elite Meet And Grill At Yagyu

This was my first Unilocal event ever and it was amazing! Also my first experience with Japanese BBQ and grilling my own food. The food was way more then I expected and delicious. Staff was extremely attentive. Best part was meeting fellow Unilocalers!
Thanks, Misti, for planning a great event. And thank you, Yagyu, for the awesome goodie bag! I will be back!

Let’s face it, when it comes to partying, Vegas knows what it’s all about, and this Elite event in particular really showed that I really need to get my butt moving to Vegas. ;]
At first I had no idea what to expect. Andy N., Kathleen W., and I decided to go since we were in town. It seemed like it would be a lot of fun, and after meeting Misti Y. randomly a few days before, I had a feeling it would definitely be a pretty awesome afternoon.
When we arrived, we were all assigned to a different table. Misti was sweet enough to keep the three of us together, and we ended up in Table 8. Oh yes, HOLLA from the PAR-​TAY table!
First of all, the staff was so sweet and accommodating. They really wanted to make sure we enjoyed ourselves and had a good time. We started with soup, followed by the meat (one plate for each person, INSANE!), and then dessert — your choice of vanilla ice cream or lychee sorbet. I went with the vanilla. (I can’t help it, turning down ice cream is blasphemy to me!) Everything tasted great, plus we had such a great atmosphere — between Andy & I showing these Vegas peeps the way KBarbs is done to talking about different places to check out both in Vegas & LA, I don’t think I could have asked for a better group of people to spend my afternoon with. :]
Overall, I have to give Misti props. It was a phenomenal event, and I really enjoyed getting to know people. LA has such HUGE events (that I love, mind you), but it does sometimes lack a personal touch to it that Misti definitely brought to the table. I can’t wait to experience another Vegas Elite event in the near future! *crosses fingers*

This is what royalty feels like. Spoiled! I would’ve just been happy with the 29 degree beer. You didn’t have to bring me a four course meal also. This is the only Elite event where I left full. Stuffed like a turkey. Throughout the whole event, I was thinking to myself, what did I do to deserve this?
Not only was the food incredible, I actually came out of the restaurant with a prize. A bag full of parting gifts. I’ve never been lucky with raffles but I can say I’ve been lucky with life for being a part of this Unilocal community.

Re-​donk-​u-​lous. That’s the one word I have to describe this event. I was warned to expect a light meal as we’d only be having practically samplers. At first it certainly seemed that way with the soup, the chicken, and the kimchi rice. Then came the meat. At first it was just 3 platters filled to the brim with pork belly and short ribs and I figured that was about right for 6 people, but then came the second set of 3 platters…
It was meat heaven! Luckily our fellow Unilocalers from L.A. had grilled plenty of Japanese BBQ before and did a great job with them. Every time I’d finish a piece another one was on my plate! Very rarely do I want to toss in the towel when it comes to food but I was pretty darn close on this day! And then to finish it off with the lychee ice cream was just perfect!
As for the rest: I enjoyed the sapporo, thought it was great that the chef and owner came to each table, loved the goodie bag, won the card game «would you rather», and had a great time with my buddy Mike H., my new Unilocal Buddy Sarah-​Marie (Boo Kings!), and the Unilocalers from L.A., Andy, Jaime, and Kathleen. Definitely my favorite Unilocal event so far! Yagyu went all out for us.

Thank you Yagyu, Misti, Bobbi, Ben-​tern, owner/​head chef, staff and everyone involved with making this a really fun event! So this was more of a meat and grill (or meet and greet) with other Unilocalers.
As soon as we signed in we were told the tables had fans on them with our names and that’s where we’d be sitting. The fan would probably be to fan ourselves since it was going to be a little hot inside with all the grilling and full restaurant. But it wasn’t as hot, I think they turned the air down because I was comfy inside!
So on my table I sat with the military wives club and before we got appetizers we were able to play a card game which was also an award at the raffle in the end. For some reason an alternate answer was always a cosmetic idea.
The fooood, we were told not to expect much. YEA IF WE WERE SUMO WRESTLERS! The owner/​head chef did us good and at the end I was way more satisfied than the bite samplers I thought we were going to be cooking up. I’m definitely coming back, and using my coupon which expires in two or three weeks.
The beer was ice cold and the way I liked it. I would have had more but first impressions are last! The meats we had for grillin’ were pork belly (bacon?), kalbi, and rosu. They were all yummy. The kimchee fried rice was good too but I think I’ll stick with steam rice the next time I come back. I’m coming backkkk!
And after the Unilocal raffle we were given a goodies bag courtesy of Yagyu! And this is the first ever cool plastic cup thingy’s I’ll own, never did buy them at Starbucks. We had coupons to this location and Sushi-​Mon! Great event! Thanks again!

OMG ! The Elite meet and grill and Yagu totally exceeded my expectations! I didn’t expect so much food so I was bummed when I ate before the event. I was just expecting samples not a full on feast but I’m not complaining ! The meat was nice and tender and the hot sauce was yummy. It wasn’t even hot but the flavor rocked I smothered it over everything… it was that good! I tried some of my husband’s cold beer. I’m not a fan of beer but I am a fan of cold beverages especially when it’s hot. The beer came out in these frosty mugs and you can see ice forming in the beer. It’s enough to make me salivate on a sizzling day! I would definitely choose Yagyu Yakiniku over Honey Pig now that I’ve tried both places. I think the food is more flavorful here and I like that all the tables our booths. It just feels cozier that way.
A big thank you to Misti, the owner of Yagyu Yakiniku and the chef ! Everything was totally crave worthy and my husband really enjoyed the food. That is saying a lot because he is picky.
I also loved the fact that we all received gift bags I felt like it was my birthday! Just in case you couldn’t make it and you wanted to know what was in the bag let me tell you. The gift bag was a nature friendly Yagyu shopping bag, it had coupons for 20% of Sushi Mon, 20% of Yagyu, luggage tags, pens, Yagyu button, and a plastic insulated drinking cup! Very generous! We will definitely be back!

Las Vegas… y’all roll DEEP!
As we like to say in Japan, domo arigatou gozaimashita! Having been abroad in Sendai this past year, I couldn’t have asked for a better Unilocal event to welcome me back home, and of all places, Vegas!
California rolled in with myself, Jaymie Lynn S. and Kathleen W.- our Vegas trip would not have been complete if it weren’t for the chance to meet some fun Unilocalers.
The event had everything working for it. Yagyu was a great venue to host this Yaki-​nikku meat lovers extravaganza, and I have to say that the service and quality of the food was definitely up there with the legendary service back in Nippon. The difference? I didn’t feel the pressures of a time limit like I usually would, lol.
The meat was splendid. Our CM Misti Y. had informed us that this was a tasting, but baby it was a full on course! I had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful Vegas Unilocalers– Mike H., Leonardo B, and Sarah-​Marie V. You all were awesome and were the best meat-​eating buddies us California folks could have asked for.
Putting our Korean BBQ skills to the test, we skillfully cooked up some mean kalbi and pork. Six plates of meat? No problem. After all, the damage is usually a lot worst from All-​You-​Can-​Eat extravaganzas. Additionally, the delicious kimchee fried rice, kaarage, and lychee sorbet topped it off and gave us all some pretty large, full bellies.
Finally– Table 8 represented by having a 50% win ratio for those fabulous prizes! Thank you Misti for the «I HEART Unilocal T-​Shirt.» I will actively sport that while grazing the streets of Sendai in search for more Yaki-​nikku places such as this.
Thank you everyone! This was truly a wonderful event, and I am so thrilled to have been given the chance to attend. Thank you to my fellow Unilocalers for grilling and sipping with me. Thank you Yagyu for your amazing service and delicious food. And thank you Misti Y. and all those that made this event possible.
Oishi-​katta yo!

Just moved to vegas ~2 weeks ago and get to attend my first ever Unilocal Elite Event! =D. Yakiniku servings were not only generously portioned but delicious treat as well! I think my table was the only one that requested hot sauce, I’m glad we did, because it made everything more ono!
Thank you Yagyu for the great food and the fun times!

It is good to be a Unilocal Elite. This was my first Unilocal Elite event and it was fantastic! The ladies at my table were fun and intriguing while all of the food was utterly delicious. I expected a tasting menu so I ate some of my daughter’s grilled cheese before I came, but the servings were very large and filling. I loved each dish but the meat was the star. They served premium meats in perfect little slices so there was no chewy cartilage in sight nor the need to bust out meat shears.
In addition to the feast, we were given goodie bags and coupons for our next visit. Everything was so generous and the event was excellent. Thanks to the hard-​working Unilocalers that put this event together and the team at Yagyu for having us!

This was my first elite event in Vegas and it was a hit! Yagyu’s owner and chef were so generous and gracious. The food was just over the top. We had individual plates of fried chicken, then pork belly and ribeye, and finally lychee ice cream. Somewhere in there was 29 degree beer (delicious!) and kim chee fried rice as well. My only regret was having a heavy brunch of chicken and waffles just before this event. Yes, I’m a fattie.
Excellent work, Misti!

This was my first Elite Event and it did NOT disappoint!
I was actually quite late getting there, but the staff was kind enough to bring me out the dishes I had missed, soup and the chicken dish, both delicious. In fact, everything was delicious!
I was planning on grabbing a little ramen after the event, because I was told it would be a tasting. When my platter of meat came out I was so happy that I was actually hungry!
The staff was very generous, and I’m really glad they decided to have us; I had no idea this place existed. I’ll definitely be back.

What a treat this event was! I honestly had never heard of Yagyu before and probably would never have come here if not for this event. And now I will back — again and again — and will be bringing others with me. Such a fantastic meal and experience!
Personally, I am a huge fan of fondue, hot rocks, etc. — anything that involves self-​cooking at your own table. I find it to be an enjoyable and fun social and dining experience — so this event /​Yagyu was right up my alley.
So much food goodness! We each were treated to a tasting menu — starting with soup and finishing with sorbet. Each course was delicious, but the highlight was definitely the meat — and getting to grill it.
All of the staff were very friendly and nice. And the super ice cold beer was the perfect pairing for the hot grilled meat. My coupon is on my fridge and I’m already bragging to friends about how awesome Yagyu is and plotting my return with a group of them.
And bonus points for being at a table with awesome Unilocalers Nikki H., Lucy E., and Heather.

Yakiniku, meaning «grilled meat», is a Japanese term which, in its broadest sense, refers to grilled meat dishes.
I learned so much today and had the opportunity to try some new things!
Wow what a treat I have to say! I was in pure bliss with all that was offered to us Elite bunch of Unilocalers!
Where do I start? Yagyu is awesome! The service, the food, the atmosphere is terrific!
I enjoyed this intimate get together, as it gave me a chance to really get to know a few fellow Unilocalettes up close and personal!
I am truly thankful for this opportunity as I learned so much while exploring and enjoying a whole new world in cuisine!
The Iced cold Sapporo beer! MMMMMMM Tasty Tasty! So refreshing!
The appetizers, wakame soup and chicken kara-​age w/​kimchi, the generous portion of meats, pork belly, kalbi and rosu, the kimchi rice, then dessert! Too good to be true!
We were treated like Kings and Queens! The Yagyu staff was truly happy, welcoming and went out of their way to provide the very best experience for us.
I tried Kimchi for the first time in my life! It was good stuff! I really enjoyed it as part of the appetizer!
This event was definitely thinking outside of the box! Very clever and inviting, intimate, warm and cozy! Literally! lol I loved it!
Yagyu has a new customer! ME :)
Word of mouth is great, I seriously must have told a minimum of 15 people today about Yagyu!
To: Misti, Bobby, Ben and the entire crew at Yagyu Yakiniku THANK YOU SO MUCH!
It was also fun having the chance to tell of our awesome experience on video! I added my clip of love for Yagyu!

First of all I’m glad that Misti Y. informed us to come early for parking because it was lucky that I got a parking space close to Yagyu.
When we arrived inside Yagyu we were given our name tags and a ticket for a raffle. The restaurant was very clean, and they had fans with our names on them designated with people we knew and Unilocalers we didn’t know in the booths. There were four people at our table and there were 4 – 6 people in the other groups. At the tables they had the game, «Would you rather;» to break the ice and have some fun.
Immediately after sitting our waitress or waitresses came to get our drink order. They were so attentive to us and made sure we had refills at all times.
The first dish to come out was the soup it was a seaweed with tofu it was different but very tasty. The next dish was the bbq chicken and kimchi. I liked the bbq chicken but didn’t care for the kimchi. I had never had tried kimchi but didn’t care for it. A little while after the staff turned our grills on the tables on to prepare for our kalbi (beef) and bacon (pork belly strips) and the waitress was so nice and brought sesame chicken for me because I don’t eat beef and pork. They also served fried rice and or steamed rice. I tried the fried rice but it had too much onions in it so I opted for the steamed rice.
After we were done grilling and eating Misti got our attention and began the raffle. They had great prizes two would you rather card games, t-​shirts, gift certificates and tickets for a beer festival and a wine festival. I won a I love Unilocal t-​shirt I was stoked!
Lastly, there was a big surprise!!! Yagyu made custom bags just for all of us Elites! We got two coupons; one for a sushi restaurant and one for Yagyu. We also got a yagyu cup (the fancy ones like Starbucks that you can reuse) with the restaurant logo and a couple pens and luggage tags.
A huge THANK YOU to Misti and Yagyu and others that arranged the event. You truly went above and beyond for us. We had a blast and had yummy food and cool gifts! Thanks for making us feel special! I will definately be making a trip back!

The generosity and enthusiasm of Yagyu was a thrill to see. Not only did they treat us to a fantastic meal. They were also genuinely excited to be hosting us Elite Unilocalers – at a time when they are normally closed, no less.
The event was well-​organized. Tables were assigned with our names written on Unilocal fans at each booth. The service was top notch. They were constantly coming around to make sure we had enough drinks and to clear any empty plates.
The food was terrific. I fully enjoyed the Wakame Soup, Chicken Karaage, Kimchi Fried Rice, and the Pork Belly/​Kalbi/​Rosu we each grilled. I honestly thought the plate of meat would be for the whole table, but that was quickly corrected when the server stated that it was an individual order. Wow. So much great food.
I didn’t win anything, but it was a hoot to hear how excited one of the out-​of-​town Elites got when his raffle ticket was called. Congrats also to Holly C for winning the gift certificate. It’s quite fitting, considering that she can never seem to get her husband to choose Yagyu over Ichiza.
As always, full power super saiyan thanks to Misti, Bobby, and Bentern for a championship level event. A big thank you to Yagyu for hosting us and making sure we all left with a little something. I love the baggage tags!
SYOY

Yet again, another fun-​filled event… to see many familiar Unilocalers as well as meeting new ones, have great conversation, have our belly filled with great quality meat and refreshing dessert, have raffle drawings for wonderful prize, receive Yagyu swags…
This event was so wonderful! I was super excited to see the fan with my name on it. Then shortly, our waitress came around to take our drink orders. She was very attentive and friendly. When the meat plate came out, we were short of one plate, and she didn’t forget about us. She brought out a plate of chicken, which actually works to our favor since El Nino and I don’t eat much beef (although we did grill those nice pieces of rosu to the point that they are super crispy, which totally rocked). We were all pretty full at that point. When they came around to offer us icecream or lychee sorbet, I was again surprise. I also won the raffle for the beer fest… what a bummer, because I really hoped to win THE Unilocal t-shirt…o well, guess it was just not my time to strut in that coolest shirt ever…
The third surprise is the receiving of the Yagyu swags, in a cool Yagyu bag. Those items will definitely be put to great use.
Thank you Misti, Bobby, Ben-​tern, and of course, thank you Linda (owner) and Yagyu fantastic team for providing us with such a wonderful lunch and swags!

First of all, just want to thank the gracious owner, chef and attentive staff at Yagyu for a fantastic afternoon of food and drinks. And also the always hard working team of Las Vegas Unilocal (Misti, Ben-​tern and Bobby) for coordinating yet another great Unilocal Elite event for locals, as well as, visiting Unilocalers from Los Angeles.
The food was great as usual. And the portions of the grilled meats were much larger than the promised sampler size. I enjoyed the seaweed and egg soup, something that is simple but always comforting to have with an Asian meal. The chicken karaage (Japanese fried chicken) was good.
Event like this is always a great opportunity to catch up with fellow Unilocalers, and make new Unilocal friends. And for Elites that are not familiar with Japanese BBQ, they now know exactly what this fun, interactive and delicious cuisine is all about. And if you enjoy ice cold beer served in frosty cold mugs, today was especially a treat!
Oh, thank you Yagyu for the gift bags and the goodies (luggage tags, Yagyu logo cup and canvas bag) and I will definitely be back in the next two weeks to use the 20% off coupon that they also gave us.
5 sexy stars!

I was not almost late to this event.
I was nowhere near being late to this event. For the first time, I think. I almost felt like circling the car around the parking lot a few times for old times sake, but space was limited, so I declined.
I got to meet a nice mix of the regular and new Unilocalers, and enjoy a fantastic meal. Seriously, whoever decided that putting a grill in the middle of a table clearly knows how to appeal to my inner Southerner. And how could I question any of the meat when I got to cook it all myself? I felt very caveman today (well that, and yesterday’s adventure in another review).
What’s funny is that the invite gave the impression that this was going to be a lighter meal. Not in the slightest. The food was plentiful and delicious. The beer was remarkably frozen and delicious. I entered a food coma shortly after.
The staff was also incredibly friendly, and I enjoyed meeting the chef.
I’ll have to come back here sans the gracious invite of an event. The place has a definite food appeal that beckons me like a siren’s song to want to try more eateries in the area.
Thank you again, Misti! I can see why this is a preferred haunt!

Another great Elite event. It was great to meet new Elite Unilocalers and catch up with everyone. The food and service was amazing. Yagyu was really welcoming and I appreciated the gift bag from the restaurant. I’ll never misplace my bags at the airport with the Yagyu bag tags. :)
I’m excited to see the video. And I’ll definitely be back because as the grand prize raffle winner I got a $ 60 gift certificate to the restaurant. Yay!

There was so much meat provided at this event. I forgot what a vegetable was. 6 platters, generously served with kalbi and pork belly strips, were placed on our table. Some people may be overwhelmed by seeing such a huge presentation of red meat. My man-​instincts simply saw it as a challenge.
It was great to see that we, at Table 8, were all voracious carnivores. This was not a journey that I wanted to go on alone. We all managed to clean out our plates with no problem at all. The literally ice-​cold Sapporo and Kirin were made sure to endlessly flow and freeze in our mugs. Plus, the lychee sorbet was quite the refresher after the mad grilling session.
It was a bit intimidating to go to such an event to complete strangers. Luckily, I was designated a table with Sarah-​Marie V., someone who I’ve run into at past events, along with my potential Elite pal, Leonardo B., to keep conversation flowing. We even had some Unilocalers coming all the way from LA to join our table. It was great meeting them, while also learning about some great eats in the LA area. I couldn’t have chosen a better table of company.
All in all, a great time. The raffle and gift bag giveaway was a great way to close the event, leaving everyone happy with our exclusive Yagyu freebies.
Now excuse me while I go munch on some broccoli to reorient myself with the vegetable.