Elite Event @ Belcourt

Generally, I don’t like to trek down to the East Village, but I liked what I saw on their website and wanted to check it out. Accompanied by my darling husband, we sampled the tasty delights that were passed around and drank a sample of all the beers.
Although the company was awesome, we thought we’d head out a little early, but because the company *was* awesome, we ended up staying and then heading to the after party, which was awesome. I’d like to give Belcourt extra stars for desserts offered at its sister restaurant.
Yay.

Belcourt was a cool venue. The weather outside was great and it was a breeze to get in. I did start to get crowded though and the free drinks ran out quickly. The free fries that were floating around were good and shortly afterwards, we went over to Nomad for the after party. The sangria (choices of white and red!) were good and the desserts were AWESOME! We were with our Algerian friend who said that the desserts were very authentic.
Good times! Lots of new friends made :)

My review is long over due. Although the beer ran out early, the Moscow Mules were flowing throughout the evening. I must have had a million of them. For once I can say — thank god the glass was small, so my million was really like 5. Met some new Unilocalers and got to sample an array of food. The soup served on the oyster shell was pretty delish. As was the octopus with cilantro sauce. The space was chill and it seems like a good spot for brunch. I’m sorry I missed the after-​party, but nonetheless had a great time.
Kudos to the NYC Unilocal team for making these events happy. They’re always a great time!

I am soo sad that I didn’t get into this Event.
Saw the pics, Read everyone’s review. All i can say is «FUN» and «SEXY»
BUT… I noticed…
The pics and all i see is WILL C.‘s face MORE than ANYONE! (hahhaha). he is on 38 pictures out of 120 pictures.
Wing C. was close (14 pictures) hahhahahha.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO TAKE MORE PICTURES!
I hope I can get in next time… Miss my Unilocalers!
=)

This event officially popped my Elite Event cherry! Yes!
So Belcourt was cute and I loved that even though it was packed it was set up in such a way that i could still talk, mix, and mingle.
Thanks to Jenn L for initially adopting me and teaching me its best to stand by the kitchen so you get all the food :). Loved the octopus with cilantro, corn jalapeño soup, and the polenta beef cheek thing. The only thing i didnt get is the sangria cube bit but no complaints :). And loved that all the servers were super friendly, accommodating, and kept serving willingly as the night wore on!
Omg and did I mention thsoe fries yet? I have no clue what they were seasoned with but they were crispy, flavorful and warm! YUM
And just wanted to say a huge shout out to all the awesome people I met! Will C, Ginn, Jen C, Matteo R — the list goes on.
So glad I got the opportunity to meet great people and eat some great food in the process :)
And of course my review would be remiss without giving a huge thank you to Jane K and Peter D and the NYC Unilocal crew for organizing such an awesome event!

Hah. You guys are funny. I went down to the basement at the *exact* scheduled time and found… NO after party? (smirk, hands on hips)
Now, would someone mind unlocking the door? I’ve been trapped down here since Wednesday night and I’m down to my last sangria jello square. Seriously, I don’t have a square to spare. I’m cold.
— Sent from my iPhone
Hugs: Viva Espana Laura A, Jewel designer shoe lady, Yogi Cara, Judybeaner, daredevil Liz, photog Matteo, Hi Benson, Hi Rachel, Hi Peter & cute wifey, Cupcake Melissa, new Unilocalers, thanks Peter, Jane, & Crew…

Young and trendy. Young and sophisticated. Young and hungry. The East Village, Belcourt, and Unilocal were the perfect hosts for this Elite Event.
For a moment, I believed in the possibility of time travel back to the year 2000. I heard someone scream:
Free beer!
Jello shots!
French Fries!
And then I snapped back to reality where all of this was coincidentally appropriate and here I go mentioning again how Unilocal should really allow the use of italics. The food and libations were magnifique!
French blonde beer
Sangria jello shots
French Fries with truffle salt
Grilled octopus w/​a spicy mint and jalapeño cilantro sauce
Paté crostinis
Bön-​bons from Bond Street Chocolate
As if all of that was not enough, there was an official afterparty at Nomad. That is where it turned all five stars for me. Over the weekend I met a boy who said he did not believe in magic. No magic? What was he a muggle? He said if magic existed, everything would be too easy and you wouldn’t have to work for anything. If I had one word to describe Nomad it would be magical. Nomad made it too easy to relax, too easy to enjoy the company of new Unilocalers, and too easy to indulge in the backyard patios New Yorkers so highly covet. I felt like I was on vacation in Morocco. Wanderlust kicked in as we sipped on sweet tea, noshed on roasted almonds, chocolate malt balts, tea cakes and baklava. I can’t wait to go back for some proper fare. I work too hard and deserve to indulge in a little magic. Would someone please point that boy I met in the direction of Nomad? Or help him sign up for a Unilocal account? He needs to stop living in the dark.

I guess I arrived 30 minutes too late. By the time I got there around 6:30PM, all the drink special was gone. I didn’t see much food other than french fries. Saw some cool beer to sample though. We got 1 glass of it and turned out that was the very last glass too!
I have never been to a Unilocal party that ran out of anything that fast!!! Venue is cute with outdoor seating. Their homemade dressing was delicious too. But due to the lack of drinks or food, I was a little disappointed at the venue.

Day before the event:
… «Hey, my plus one can’t make it. Who wants dibs on it?» …
Wing (who almost missed the event!): How the h*ll did you get in? I thought you missed the RSVP.
Me: I did miss it, but I’m King. *smiley face*
Wing: Ha, U got to tell me your secret for this one day.
Me: Ha, I can do that right now: Sleep with Peter D. (remind me to post my 5* review!)
Wing: Is it taken or still up for grabs… Hmmm this one is Jane’s event… that means u slept with her too?
Me: Ha, no, but sleep with her too, it all helps *lol* (offers Wing +1)
What a devil’s threeway that would be! Though Jane already had her review of Peter D. revoked, my Elite-​partner-​in-​crime Jenn of Team Jizz n I did discover Jane is a Cali transplant! More reason to love our CMs!
Day of the event:
I wander into the small Elite crowd outside the gates of Belcourt. Greet Peter D. *wink, wink*, meet Damien, flirt with Kevin (sans parents and uh… sister), ninja Judy sneaks up on us, Janeen messes with me, etc, etc. Inside, I tried the chicken liver pâté (fav), fries, fried shrimp, pulled pork w/​polenta, soup in shell, and sangria jello. Wish I got more of the blonde ale. The Moscow Mules got stronger and stronger… Cassandra knows what I’m talking about (
)! This is where all that photo evidence came from (the tamer ones are in the album). If we crossed paths during the night, we prob snapped some lovely shots together. There was a lot of Elite and +1 love going around. Hey Jon n Caity/Kaity…was it ‘c’ or ‘k’…this is what I get when I don’t get plastered by Unilocal name tags… only plastered by… uh, nm. Greetings to my Minnie Mouse Carly M., congrats on becoming Elite, gourmet jello shots soon! Melissa my indestructible muse, Lizz Wizz, and G.I. Ginn, I have more pics for you.
Later that night:
I think «sis» Jenn L. had to pry me away from my new Elites who I was trying to fetch a certain rose! Also, my name tag was found again (it was blown away by the wind) onto the upper regions of an Elite Lara ‘s thigh, that’s a pretty sweet keepsake if I don’t say so myself. I get Peter D.‘s stamp of approval (
) upon leaving and over and yonder we eventually made it to Nomad. At resto #2, Wing was back in action with his SLR– no more!, tea was flowing abundantly, super sweet desserts spread along the table, more raunchiness…
And as sis puts it, the rest of the night was BEAUTIFUL.
Thank you Peter, Jane, Mike & Unilocal Team for setting up this event, the free gift bags were awesome: gonna go out to get some salad for the dressing, the bond chocolate truffle was awesome! Thanks everyone xoxox!

The train ride was a disaster took me over an hour to get to Belcourt. When I finally arrive there’s confusion at the bar and no more Moscow Mules. I was saddened by this. But then Jane came in and was like «oh no you didn’t just tell my Elites that they had to pay for their drinks when you know the specials go up until 8pm, sucka!» Or something like that. Then I was all like «yeah, let me get some of that gingerness goodness.» And I said that a few times.
And this event came with it’s own afterparty.
Then I went somewhere else where my friend was a pool shark and she made 2 balls in with one shot!
Jane, thanks for putting together another great event and for putting right what once went wrong. Or something to that effect. Good times, good times!

First Unilocal Elite Event!
It was so great, despite my bum of a plus one showing up halfway through the event. More food and booze for the rest of us! Opa!
Upon arriving I made my way over to the bustling crowd at the cute marble slab topped cash bar and inquired about the complimentary Unilocaler beverage… the very friendly bartender described the Moscow Mule to me as a vodka cocktail with fresh ginger and lime. without ever mentioning to me the name… so later when someone was like, «Oh have you tried the Moscow Mule yet?» I said, «No, oooh yay thanks!» when they handed me one and yes it took me about 5 whole mins sipping whilst chatting with Unilocalers for me to realize that it was the same drink I was holding in my other hand… bahah. [Head in Hands… no wait they are full of drinks…]
The first thing I was able to snack on when I arrived were the excellent thick cut steak fries seasoned and accompanied by Belcourts homemade ketchup, yeee doggies, isn’t that especiale!
Next was the pork cheek on polenta which was decadent and delicious in tiny bite sized bliss, same goes for the chicken liver pâté on brioche. The octopus with salsa verde (read:cilantro-y goodness) on top was one of my faves. I had to have one of these every time it came near me, …what the octopus was so tender!
The shrimp fritters were a little on the tougher side but nice and filling so I tried these a second go ’round and appreciated the nice texture and breading that the fritter had.
The french beers ran out early on to my dismay, when I was still on my first drink and the waves of snacks were kicking into full gear :(and I was really looking forward to the Jenlain Blonde!
It was great to meet new Unilocalers Amanda S. and Thomas A. and get a little tipsy on sangria jello shots (’rounds 3 and 4…) while enjoying the outdoor space and Im so glad I got a chance to celebrate new Unilocal Elite-​dom with long lost North Carolina buddy Rachel C! * Congrats on the new job! *
All and all a great time was had. free flowers were swiped. and invaluable lessons were learned about tipping the bartender throughout the night. this really set us up for success in the 10 min home stretch before 8 pm when many more free Unilocal drinks were miraculously appearing!
Woo Hoo…

The fries were French. The mules were Russian. I had too many of both.
Liz C, Lisa A, Janeen B, Britton B, Mabel S, and Max S were especially hawt.
Melissa Z was radiant, battle scars and all.
Michael F gave me good business advice. And good life advice.
I think it was the baklava at the after-​party that finally did me in. I don’t remember a whole lot else.

So I got there at 6:45 and the booze ran out at 7. Whatever, the fries were good and the sangria jello cubes were amazing. I think my favorite person at these events is the camera dude. Anyway, some random guy in a suit (who didn’t even work at Nomad) took us to Nomad at 7:30 and we feasted on a few platters of pastries, grapes and other niblets before everyone else arrived. Mint tea and red/​white sangria too. Great job Nomad.
Another wonderful event. Peter D, always a pleasure. Jane K, good luck on your move to the East Village, but you should’ve come to Queens instead. Xoxo.

I haven’t been able to make a Unilocal event in a while so I was super happy to get a chance to attend this one. I had been in the Belcourt for a quick drink once years ago, but barely remembered it until I saw it again yesterday.
One thing which was really surprising were the sheer amount of seats!!! I’m so used to Unilocal events where it’s more of a standing type of affair. This was refreshingly different and I was able to sit down with friends (including fellow Unilocaler Elaine M.) and chat as awesome samples came our way. The fried shrimp was awesome, especially with the wonderfully ginger tasting mixed drink my girlfriend had passed to me. French fries flowed freely and I was amazed at how quickly they were replaced as soon as the bowls emptied out.
Other highlights were patee on toast, pork on polenta and octopus with an *amazing* cilantro sauce on it. I mean, it was literally just a dab of sauce on a tiny piece of octopus and the flavors exploded in your mouth — awesomeness.
I always love getting to chat with fellow Unilocalers in person. I finally got to meet the lovely Laura A. and saw Chris K. super briefly. It was also cool catching up with Jane K. (good luck on the move!). I was also introduced to some new friends via Elaine M. It was just a very friendly atmosphere all around.
The after party at Nomad was cool. I managed to snag one of the last baklavas around and maaaaan I love these things. A tiny morsel that was full of flavor. The sangria shots were okay but the setting was really different than Belcourt. You really did feel like you were in another world courtesy of the color palette, outside seating, sculpted wood panels and paintings on the wall.
I had a fantastic time at the Belcourt/​Nomad event. Thanks to Unilocal for the invite!

Soooo I actually didn’t make the cut for Belcourt… boohoo.
Special thanks to Miss Jane K, she was able to squeeze me onto the list due to a few dropouts.
Armed with excitement… (it’s been a while since I’ve been able to make it to a Unilocal Elite event), I made my way to Belcourt with my +1.
Special thanks to Jane K and Peter D — it was a very organized event.
Loved the afterparty at Nomad. The garden in the back was pretty neat.
Peter D — I’d love to meet the special +1 one day!
Got to meet some Unilocalers that I haven’t met yet:
1) Amy S
2) Lizz K
3) Will C
4) Ashley S
5) Jenn C
6) CiCi L
7) Melissa Z
8) Heather H
9) Jason Y
Good to see:
1) Sandy C
2) Wing L
3) Jenn L
4) Judy K
5) Rachel A
6) Laura A
*Hopefully I didn’t miss anybody. Between the moscow mules and the sangria jello shots, I’m surprised I remember so many names!
Special thanks to the host, Mike C, for making sure that we’re all taken care of.

After being wait-​listed for 3 consecutive times, I gave up on my attempt to attend the Elite Events long time ago. Urgh, I guess I wasn’t cool or popular enough! Whatever!
However, thanks to my favorite Unilocaler Laura A. who kindly invited me so that we can meet in person, I finally got to attend Elite Event as her +1 guest! Muchisimas gracias, eres super maja!!! Me hizo mucha ilusion conocerte!!! She has invited me several times to Unilocaler dinner in the past but it took us 1 year to finally meet! Laura is just as cool as I had imagined her to be, and I felt as if I’ve known her for a while. She reads almost all my reviews and I’m not surprised if more than half of all my UFC points are from her! Te agradezco mucho por tu apoyo en mi pagina! Laura’s high Unilocal celebrity status helped me get an Afterparty pass at Nomad too! She’s a V.I.P!!! :-)
Besides Laura, it was cool to meet Signore Bed-​Stuy Matteo R. Sei simpaticissimo, poi e esattamente come mi immaginavo! He’s also one of the very few Unilocalers who actually reads my reviews regularly and sends me compliments. Grazie per il tuo commento e per il tuo supporto! E sopratutto, FORZA JUVEEEEEE!!!
I also met other cool Unilocalers like Chris K., Judy K., Jane K., Rachel the Sweettooth, etc. I’ve enjoyed reading their reviews from time to time, so it was nice to meet them in person too. Very friendly folks!
I was telling Matteo and Laura that I’d love to meet Mr. Michelin Madness Jim U. and Mr. Dessert Atif I. They are both gifted writers with a good sense of humor and trustworthy judgment. Maybe Jane & Peter can have an Elite event at one of Michelin star restaurants with a great dessert buffet for them? Just a suggestion…:-P
Belcourt was a cool place too, but both Laura and I agreed that Nomad was better! We loved the beautiful and charming ethnic décor, the ambiance was 5 stars! And we all loved the mint tea and all the Turkish delights! With the added bonus of extra Unilocaler discount, I’ll definitely come back!!!
Thanks for the great night Peter & Jane! I enjoyed all the free food, free drinks, great ambiance, free gifts, and meeting awesome Unilocalers! Unilocal rocks!!!
P. S. — Laura, can I be your permanent +1?

Beautiful night with
Beautiful people.
Beautiful unfamiliar faces.
Beautiful familiar faces.
Beautiful new faces.
Beautiful beer with the best name — Jenn-​L (ain Ambree).
Beautiful mules — Moscow Mules to be exact.
Beautiful tastes of food — especially the octopus (or is it octopi?)
Beautiful afterparty at Nomad with beautiful dessert.
Beautiful mint tea and sangria at the afterparty.
Beautiful night to be the last ones to leave (yet again).
Beautiful CMs who totally recognize me.* Thanks for organizing the event, Jane, Peter, and team! Thanks for the event, Mike C.
Ugly hangover.**
— — — — —
*Peter remembers my name now!
** Okay okay. I didn’t really have a hangover. I went home and woke up 2 hours early for work completely fine — with the exception that I had woken up 2 hours early for work. /​grump

A moscow mule on me, sure why not Peter. I got your back :P
The moscow mule was awesome, the perfect blend. I don’t really like ginger but I liked it in this drink.
Unbe​liev​able​.an after party was already planned before the first party began. Me likey! Peter and Jane are SO organized!
I got my wrist band and my cool recyclable shopping bag.
I had a few bites here and there and everything was great. A coupon for a return visit, of course I’ll be back for cheese & oysters!
Saw a bunch of cool peeps and finally met the beautiful Brianna. She’s just as hot *sizzle* in person. Mabel I loved your dress too, but I didn’t want to be seen groping you. People might get ideas.
Stayed for a little more than an hour and then went out for some food and showed up to the after party at Nomad. My guest and I fell in love with Nomad and the décor. Did you see the bathroom?! The outdoor area was very intimate and secluded. The Moroccan tea was a tad too sweet but it was good. Loved the almonds and mint malt balls.
We will be back, GNO I think so! I took a menu to go.
The after party was a sweet treat, thanks so much Peter & Jane. You guys are the best! Oh and everyone else is cool too.

This event went like this for me.
A week ago: The event went up for RSVP? Cool. What? It’s full already. *Cries and goes around all depressed for the week*
A day before the event: A message from my buddy Will C. «Hey, my plus one can’t make it. Who wants dibs on it?»
Me: Waves hands wildly. «Me, me, mee, MEEEEEEEEE!!!»
The day of the event: Damn. Crap. I had an eye exam set for 4:30 because I wasn’t originally part of the event. Why!!! Sigh. Because of that I didn’t get to the event till 10 minutes after 7PM. A bit more than an hour after the event started.
Walking in. «Hi Jane K. Hi Peter D.» Walk to the back. Hug my friends on Unilocal.Ate a few fries. Hug a few more friends. Ate one of each finger food throughout the night. Is that sangria jello shots? They are soooo yummy. It’s like fun food for the kid in you while also needing to be of drinking age before you are allowed to eat it. Dastardly sneaky invention. *Takes a few more.*
Look. There is the newbie Elite friend, Amy S. Cool… I didn’t know she was going to be there too. Happy happy joy joy joy.
I see Will C. My savior of the day. * Makes sure no one is looking. Hugs him too. (I’ll deny that it happened)*
«They ran out of the drinks within the first hour but they just happened to get more the second I walked in? What luck.» Gets a few drinks. Gets slightly buzzed, and hell, I’ll just hug all my friends all over again. There can never be too many hugs. Ooops… You don’t know me? I’ll hug you anyway.
Gets a gift bag… and what??? The event is over already? But… but… I just got here.
Luckily there was an after party at Nomad across the street which is apparently owned by the same people as for Belcourt. Nice… So now that makes it officially a three hour Unilocal event. Ohhh… there are sweets at this place (I don’t have a sweet tooth but hell with that for now). and free cups to take home… and red and white sangrias for the Unilocalers. Woot woot.
So in the end it was a hell of a night despite me missing a whole hour of it. Thank you Belcourt and Nomad for hosting us. See you all at Unilocal So Long Summer BBQ on Sunday. More hugs to come on that day. I promise.
***************************************************
BTW. In case anyone missed one of our host for the event (and thread starter on Unilocal talk), Mike C, here is a photo of him at the event if anyone ever want to stop by Belcourt or Nomad and say hi to him.

Best Unilocal event in Manhattan I’ve attended EVAH! Who knew that Manhattan Unilocalers could party this hard? There was the party at Belcourt, the afterparty at Nomad, AND the after-​afterparty at Blue & Gold!
Thank you to the AWESOME people at Belcourt, particularly the bartenders and their deadly Moscow Mules, and the girls who kept the food flowing from the kitchen nonstop!
Some of the most amazing food I’ve ever had on Unilocal:
The octopus with cilantro sauce was delicious, just like the crostini with polenta and braised pork, or the ones with chicken liver pâté. The sangria jello shots brought tears to my eyes… genius!
The Turkish delights and the mini-​baklava at Nomad were wonderful!
Shout outs to my new Unilocal friends Mabel, Rachel, Lizz, and Ashley.
I finally met Jewel in person, I had the opportunity to briefly chat with Liz, and Yo Sub just loves the sound of the word «afterparty».
Yeah, Manhattan Unilocal events are alright, after all…
Thank you Jane & Peter!