I asked a coworker to come join me last minute to come have some pho on this dark, damp day, and he…read morewas very curious to see what a Yelp Elite Event was all about. Although try as hard as he might, he didn't get the Elite treatment since he's not even close to my level; I said this could be you one day! Walked right up to the counter and placed our orders with minimal issues in deciding what to go for. I opted to claim my chicken spring roll, a smoked beef brisket pho, and a Vietnamese cold coffee to stay. These three items where under $30 all together, and was grateful to get to be a part of this YEE experience! Shoutout to the Brooklyn Yelp Team! The chicken spring roll was bouncy, and the chicken inside looked like a chicken wing; very visually satisfying. The peanut dipping sauce was very flavorful and deep in umami. A great addition to the meal; highly recommend! I couldn't get over how packed my beef brisket pho was! I've been to some places that have way more broth than the noodles ratio, and this place made it 1:1. It was such a comforting bowl to have on such a damp fall day; really happy with the depth of the broth. How could vegan beef broth be so good?!?! What else blew me away was my coworker's vegan chicken in his pho. It tasted EXACTLY like chicken! Great texture and plenty of meat in every noodley bite! The Vietnamese cold coffee was also a very pleasant first time surprise! I've never had it before, and loved how refreshing, light, and sweet it was! It really would be lovely to have on a super hot and humid day, that's for sure. Great depth of flavor in the coffee itself with Lucy's adorable packaging. Come for the vibes; come for the pho; come for the love of Lucy's!

I am 100% coming back to Lucy's- I am obsessed! The inside is very cozy and cute (great date night…read morevibes), but we took ours to-go so this is their takeout review. The food was packaged securely in their own reusable bags and fully maintained their quality! The shrimp spring roll was big and delicious, and the pho was some of the most comforting I've had in a while. You get a really big portion that is very much worth what you pay, not to mention the smoked brisket is so TENDER, you'll fall in love. I also saved my Vietnamese Coffee (comes bottled as shown) for the next morning and it was SO TASTY. Not overly sweet but still very addicting. Revived my morning. Between the tea or the coffee- go for the coffee. 10/10 experience, I'm excited now to try all the variations on their menu!

I'm soo happy I finally got to experience Tiny's Cantina over the weekend for brunch. The weather…read moremight have been brisk outside but the staff brought the warm and coziness to the restaurant vibe inside. I came here around noon and the place haven't been filled up yet but that was truly toward my benefit as my waiter, Jeff was extra attentive (yay me!). He offered me both brunch and regular menu and was very friendly and eager to assist me if I needed it. After making all my choices, he complimented and said I made good choices and whether if that was true or not, it made me felt happy. Lol. All of the food portion were huge. I ordered their wings as my appetizer, shrimp/bacon taco for entrée and tres leche for dessert. With that they also offered me some fresh fried taco with homemade salsa that was really delicious and made me wanting more even though I had to pace myself. Presentation wise, it was all instagramable. They restaurant is very conscious about presentation so that was a huge plus. As for taste, it was all good. I especially enjoy my shrimp/bacon taco as it was huge and those trio-side sauce (hot sauce, green sauce and pumpkin sauce) was just outright slamming. As for portion it was larger then life, especially for one person. Honestly I think it could feed two people as I ended up taking half of it home. Overall, I enjoyed myself, felt really relaxed, enjoyed their playlist and especially my waiter, Jeff that help tied my experience with Tiny Cantina in nicely. Thank you again to our CM, Morlene, Jeff, my waiter and Tiny Cantina for this special treat!!

This place was super cute. I had the burrito bowl. It was good. Probably something on the healthier…read moreside considering the grilled chicken and fresh ingredients. The only gripe I had was seasoning. It lacked flavor which is huge in Latin food. Mexican food is probably one of my favorite types of cuisines because of the fresh ingredients, because of all the time, energy and culture attached to the food so it was slightly underwhelming. A bit bland. But the service was great. Our server was so nice. We got the highly instagramable pizza. It was lovely and very filling but couldn't done with a feels radishes. If you love radishes, get the pizza. The drinks were refreshing and tasty. Definitely recommend checking it out. My Yelp fren had the diablo shrimp which was spicy. It looked really good and seemed super flavorful.

This was a small get together with Morlene and Yelp. Surprisingly, I was the first one at the…read morecoffee shop called Le Petit Monstre. I thought the whole coffee event was canceled until I saw Morlene came in. I got a soy milk latte and a vegan sausage croissant. Everything was vegan. The latte was very good with the soy milk. The vegan sausage was pretty interesting. Something I never tried before. I got to know Morlene a lot better in this event where we were alone. I got to know her personal background of where she grew up and her family. It was a relaxing event to unwind and get to know each other. About an hour later, another Yelp Elite Ginny came into the cafe to join us so it was just the three of us. Didn't expect the event to be a small group. I actually liked how small it was because I got to hang out with Morlene alone. Around 11:30am, I had to leave to catch a doctor's appointment. Just want to thank Morlene for this get together and buying me a coffee and croissant. What a nice treat!

The menu is small but big at the same time. I was stuck on which sauce to get so when we came in,…read morethe chef explained the entire menu to us. For the burger, I ordered the fatty patty with the spicy 60/40 patty, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, and all the peppers with the nacy sauce. As the side, I had wanted messy tots but they didn't have that so I went with the spicy thotty tots with the spicy impossible and was not disappointed. I got the cheese sauce on the side as I didn't want it getting soggy on the way home. The portion was pretty big for the sides. I took a bite of each there to try it fresh and took the rest home and this fed me and my partner for dinner as I made a burrito with the spicy thotty tots side with some added some lettuce. Between the 60/40 patty and the spicy impossible patties, I enjoyed the spicy impossible more as I have always like the impossible burgers more than beyond. My friend ordered the spicy impossible burger with the sauce with honey and that came out amazing because the honey helped char the patty the perfection. Everything was tasty from the burgers to the sides and me and my friend love spicy so the seasoning to all the menu items were great in our opinion (wasn't that spicy to us but a good savory). The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the cheese sauce for the spicy thotty tots as it was very runny. I will be back to grab some takeout when I'm in the area.

Stopped by here after working in the area. I went with the Fatty Patty (double Patty with cheese),…read morealong with 60/40 burger patty, which was Impossible and Beyond mix with Bacn Bites. For my side, I chose the Yucca Fries. The burger was tasty looking and hearty, with almost all the veggies, including lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, mushroom, pickles, and bell peppers. I enjoyed the blend of Impossible and Beyond. The Bacn Bites were distinctly discernible in a delicious way. It was also tender and well seasoned. The veggies were fresh, crunchy, and flavorful. Cheese was nice and melty. Yucca Fries came with Deuce sauce. I also asked for Fatboys sauce to try. Yuca Fries were perfectly crunchy, dusted with a variety of spices. It was yummy, but it had a bit of a kick. Service was friendly and welcoming. Much appreciation to Fatboy's Vegan Burgers for opening up your place and being so generous. Also, thank you to Morlene and Yelp team for this lovely perk to try their burger and a side.

Cute little corner spot that catches your eye right away - it's esthetically pleasing and somewhat…read moregives that privacy vibe - you won't miss it cause it has a portrait painted on the bldg of Old Dirty bastard - inside its cozy and very romantic. Dimly lit with candles on all the tables. This place used to be a bodega and the owner Elliot totally transformed it into this beautiful wine bar that also serves cocktails and also has a plant based menu. For our elite event - we had the opportunity to drink 3 delicious wines - first was a Grillo aka The Franklin - nice white wine - almost like a funky Pinot Grigio. Second - a rose - cute - and lastly - Gruner - which was my favorite they staff paired all our wines with hummus and some veggies - some cheese jam and bread with a side of grapes and a wonderful fresh caesar salad. Everything was great! Things to note - they have happy hour from 5-7 Wednesday - Sunday. Fridays and Saturdays they will be bringing in a DJ - would definitely return to see what kind of vibes that will be giving. They do offer private events and private wine tasting events. Stop on in if you're ever in the neighborhood Elliot the owner is pleasant and very informative. Had a great time. Thank you to the staff and Morlene and Erin for putting this together.

No regrets signing up for this wonderful Yelp Elite Event. This was my second time attending an…read moreevent here (the first time was two summers ago). The Franklin is a black owned restaurant located in Bedstuy which is not far from Crown Heights. Although I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, I enjoyed the pita bread, fresh olives, cheese, hummus, and vegetables. The Rose wine was my absolutely favorite out of the three wines that we got to try. The restaurant is cozy and clean. The owner really sold me on how great the Happy Hour is here so I'll definitely return. There's conveniently a liquor store located next door to The Franklin. This event was wonderful from beginning to end. Thanks so much for putting together yet another great experience.

Absolutely recommend this place! The ambiance right away pays homage to the Filipino culture. The…read moretropical design, the shack bar, and the big screen playing Filipino movies were all done respectfully. The drinks were also so good. We ordered an ube horchata and mango float Food wise, we ordered the bbq skewers, the mushroom sisig, the lumpia (egg rolls) and the beef tapa. Everything was artfully prepared, and nothing tasted too salty or overwhelming, which I liked. The staff and manager were so lovely and accommodating. The manager even took time to chat with us after and tell us about how he came to Kalye. Only thing, the food is a bit pricy ($24 for the sisig, for example). Nonetheless, it's a night out! If you're hesitant, don't be! Give it a try.

Huge thanks to Yelp NYC and Hailey for this wonderful Yelp Elite Experience. I've been to Kalye's…read moreother location on Broome Street, but this was my first intro to their Rivington location. I must say I was really impressed by the space, décor and ambience. The check-in and pickup was so smooth. It was a hard choice, but I ended up with the Beef Tapa and Fried Lumpia for the comp meal. And after perusing the menu, I also ordered the Sliders and Pork Skewers. The food smelled so good that I ended up scarfing down one of the Lumpia on my walk to the subway. The Lumpia was easily my favorite out of the items I took home. They come 6 pieces per order and were massive, easily double the size of normal Lumpia. The Beef Tapa came with rice, fried egg and slices of tomatoes and cucumbers. The meat was flavorful, and this was a hearty dish. The items I paid for were also quite good. The sliders came two per order in the bright purple Ube buns. So very tasty. The Pork Skewers were great and paired well with the vinegar dipping sauce. I honestly think that I prefer this location over their Broome St location. The food just tasted better. I noticed that previous reviews for this Experience mentioned that they were given Yelp bags with their order. Unfortunately, I didn't get one. I went on the last day of the Experience so I think they must have run out. Nevertheless, I'm so grateful to have gotten this delicious meal. Thank you so much Kalye for your generosity.

I was invited to the "Food in Focus" event due to the fact that one of my reviews was being…read morefeatured in the gallery space. This was definitely a unique event in and of itself since the last time it occurred was apparently over two years ago and that it featured actual content from reviewers for restaurants all throughout the lower east side! The event itself was unique in a lot of ways! Hosted within a small gallery space in the LES, it featured both pictures and snippets from reviews related to restaurants in the neighborhood. After hearing presentations from some members of the corporate team it was clear that the event was organized to promote restaurants in the area, as well as Yelp's reservation platform. What was really awesome is that Yelp also donated $250 for every restaurant that had a representative show up to City Harvest, which is New York City's largest food rescue organization, feeding the more than 1.2 million New Yorkers who are struggling to put meals on their tables. They also had a great spread for us to enjoy! Chicken skewers, a diverse cheese platter, and marinated beef made for some savory snacks. They also had a selections of beverages for people to enjoy while browsing throughout the space. Overall a really unique and interesting event! I'll be excited to see if they try this out for different neighborhoods, but until then thanks Ruggy and staff for another memorable Yelp event!

YELP is a scam. Sales Associate Hadi Hamoudeh is a liar. Charged me as much as $40 per click!!! Did…read morenot get one lead almost $800 in fees over less than an 8 week period. He charged me $160 for an account upgrade that I did not authorize and did not get. I received a ton of calls when he was trying to sell me this service but now that I have a complaint you won't answer the phone and won't call me back. Stay away from this company. If you want to learn about them check the complaints at the BBB.

Still the #1 Yelp Elite Event I've ever attended in my life. This event was phenomenal! Lots of…read morefood and drinks were provided throughout the night. I enjoyed the Coco Loso drink and Margaritas thoroughly. More than anything, the beef skewers and chicken Tostones were flavorful. This event was so great to the point where I decided to come back here on my own to experience this wonderful establishment again.

So far this has to be one of my favorite Yelp event so far. Thank you Morlene, Julie & Jared for…read moreall the hard work. And special thanks to Blend for inviting us to celebrate Latinx heritage month. It was quite difficult for me to get here but after I reached this place I got excited. I was the first one & didn't realize there was a sign on the door stating to use the other entrance lol..! I am so thankful for a kind soul like her. If there was another Yelper didn't see me & asked me I would be waiting there until I have realized something was wrong, silly ME..! So we finally went inside & I was in love with the decor. Felt like staying there for ever & make some Tiktok.. haha! The checking in process was fast & on point. The restaurant is pretty big & nicely organized. So it didn't felt like too crowded while being there. DJ was playing great music, the staff were good & very helpful. Altho I can't eat any meat products there but they had enough options for me to actually eat some food. And I so appreciate the effort. I tried the sushi, corn , shrimp. I was also able to get a mock tail to try & it was good. I wish I could stay longer but I have a long commute to go back to the island & also have work early in the morning. But I was able to have extra fun taking some fun pictures ! Thank you Julie & the staff for taking them. I wanna thank Yelp, Blend for this amazing event. The food was excellent, had a great time. Btw, I did make two new friends, so that was a plus.

Upon arriving at the Secret Garden, I felt like it was an actual secret place because I walked past…read moreit and then turned around once I realized it was the locale I was looking for. There were prices for different items displayed in more than one spot, and not on just one menu. I decided to just order off the top of my head since I couldn't figure it out. In addition to the Hood Healer and Lentil soup I received, as a Yelp Elite, I ordered some tea. The place reminded me of the type of spot that is local, and ancestral, and kind of like -- just ask and see what is available. It gives a small town feel, in a sense. There are books for sale, which was delightful and the books seemed to be titles of varying genres, all fairly priced. The service was excellent, quick and efficient. And very helpful and very friendly. Now that I think of it, the spot could have been a cafe in Diagon Alley (IYKYK). But on the good side of things. I couldn't see inside of the small window from where I ordered my food, but I'm pretty sure there was some sort of magic going on back there based on how tasty the lentil soup was, in addition to the Hood Healer, which after taking one sip, I said, "mmm" out loud. Both the soup and drink were excellent and perfectly seasoned. I could feel the effort that was put into both items and it felt like it was made on the spot from all natural ingredients. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Delicious is the one word that I would choose to describe how the taste of the vegan lentil soup,…read morethe hood healer drink and the matcha latte that I purchased. All three menu items were absolutely amazing. The hood healer drink really impressed me. As I sipped my drink, I was intrigued and delighted at the same time by how good it was. Thank you Secret Garden for sharing your business with us and inviting us into your space. Thank you to Yelp and Morlene for this community experience at Secret Garden.

What a fun and unique event! I've been thinking about getting another tattoo and this event…read moreinspired me to do more artist research and put more thought into what I want next. MiyKey, Chui, Aiden, and Christos created a welcoming environment sharing the consultation process, how they stencil, and we even got a live demo. They were all friendly, informative, and shared fascinating stories. It was interesting to hear about each of journeys into the industry and their unique artistic process. We also learned about the epic history of the shop while enjoying some Dirty Water Hard Seltzer and Egg Tarts. All around neat experience. Thanks, Katey!

Got off the waitlist the same day as the event and I'm so glad I was able to make it to the event…read morelast minute because it was so unique! I went to redeem my 7th Street Burger before the event and it was the perfect beginning of the fun night! I was the first person to arrive and was told to wait outside. The event started about 10 minutes late. We were treated with Portuguese egg tarts + dirty water upon arrival. It was a sweet treat and I had never had an egg tart before so it was a nice introduction into trying an egg tart. Upon arrival of the tattooers, we started the event with learning about the history of the tattoo shop and the people involved in making the shop what it is today. It was definitely interesting to learn about. All the tattoo artists were super passionate about what they do and it really showed. They were all so nice too. I enjoyed talking to them and mingling with fellow Yelpers. Thank you Yelp and Katey, for this fun event!!