I'm feeling quite overwhelmed right about now, as I've just attended my first Yelp Event. It was so…read moremuch more than I anticipated, and i have very high levels of anticipations. JS We were greeted by Amazing Andrew, as he shall henceforth be known by me, the organizer of such things. I had no idea what to expect, this being my first such event. Amazing Andrew directed us to sit, make ourselves comfortable, and mingle. Well I'm not shy at all, so Blake and I go sit at a table with a couple of others. Jessyka, and Matt, and we sat and chatted, getting to know each other for a while. So nice to meet you guys, and make new friends. It was very cozy, and warm. I dislike cold restaurants, i like to feel warm when i take my jacket off. The server came around and took drink orders - we had decaf. He asked if I'd like any flavoured creamer - nice touch, i like it. We were brought appetizers, consisting of deep fried breaded mushrooms, battered onion rings, deep fried pickles, with ranch dip. As Jessyka was gluten free, there was more for us. And they were delightful. Now, i do not like a pale gold finish on my deep fried items. I like a dark golden, really crispy finish, and I wasn't disappointed. No limp exterior to these nuggets of deliciousness. I tried to stick to only one of each but seriously, it's not possible. Our server asked us if we'd like to try the Cabbage Soup - now i must admit to a certain sneering facial expression, because i was imagining cabbage soup to be limp cabbage, floating in a clear broth, but thought ok, let's give it a go. This unctuous creamy delight is in my top 2 items we sampled tonight. Not clear broth, but creamy goodness, such as in the base of a good chowder, thick, with cabbage and corn, small pieces of maybe chicken or pork? Not sure on the meat, but i do know it was fantastic. I ate the whole bowl myself. Then the serious chow down of huevos rancheros, chicken fried steak, black beans, hash browns, gravy. That EGG! That YOLK. Perfection. Just cutting into it, made me shiver all over with happiness. 10/10 for the yolk alone. Do not ever ruin an egg, whether my egg be under (with slime) or over (hard yolk) cooked, because it will lose you a star maybe even 2 stars from any review I do. And then another plate of goodies. Perfectly cooked brisket, tender, savory, flavourful, juicy - the nicest brisket I've ever had, hands down. And a superb Benedict, with Canadian bacon, another of those perfect eggs, and the hollandaise. They made a masterful hollandaise, i really take my hat off to the chef. May the good lord have mercy on my arteries right now. Seriously, so good, i can just feel those arteriosclerosis plaques just building up. There was more hash browns too, i guess they saw my note about extra potatoes please. And then a Harley Cake, which was a pancake, coated in a syrup and some pecans. I'm not really a sweets person, but i ate it nonetheless. Because it was divine, like everything else. I had an awesome tasting tonight, thank you so much Harley's for the experience, and thanks to Amazing Andrew and his superb organizational skills. You both rock!

Another very successful OYE! This one was done a little…read moredifferent but we had such a blast! Andrew is always an excellent host and Tiffany from Denver was a delight! We had a chance to order anything we wanted off the menu and the food was fantastic!! I loved the sit down style it made us really get to know our dining neighbors, which was a blast! We all ordered different things and everyone shared bites which was so great! As for the food it really was super seriously awesome! Thanks YELP and Cafe AK.

Oh my gosh what a fun event!…read more Cindy and Clark were so much fun to learn from! I would say my favorite part was the trivia game. What a fun twist to a Yelp event! Cindy gave us her version of how they brew beer and Clark was there as a lifeline when she had questions - it was a lot of fun, engaging and interactive. You can easily see the passion they both have for Cynosure! I've never been a dark beer fan myself, but the Yelp event at Cynosure changed that! I thoroughly enjoyed all of the beers I had the opportunity to try. And to my surprise I liked all of them! The Salmon Hook was an added bonus. I've never had fish and chips that was salmon && boy have I been missing out! The salmon was perfectly cooked and tasted delicious. This was such a fun night with some new faces and some familiar ones. Thank you Andrew for a fun evening as usual!

What a fun event! I love this place. The owners are such amazing hosts and just all around kind…read morepeople. They love to share their knowledge and passion! Tonight was a treat we got to try some great beers! Noë, Dark Larger and more. I had to get a prickly pear after because it's a very well done sour. thank you again for the knowledgeable and the time. It's so cool to get this behind the scenes tour. We will be back again. Hope you have a great trip to the beer event tomorrow!

Over at the Anchorage downtown partnership the pay as well the work is good but the management is…read morevery poor I could say the management there definitely needs to be improved.

This review is for the Summer Solstice Festival held by the Anchorage Downtown Partnership. I came…read moredown on Saturday to take in the events that were being held on 4th Ave. between C and L St. The place was jam-packed with people who brought their families as well as tourists from other states and countries. To avoid issues with parking, my friend and I decided to park away from the crowds over by the Delaney Park Strip on 10th Ave. There were numerous spaces available and it provides a free, safe area for your car next to a quiet residential area just a couple of blocks away. They had a number of contests and activities lined down the street which includes the Solstice Skate Jam (professional skateboarders and local competitors showcasing their skills on the ramps), the Beard and Moustache Contest (guys doing their best impression of Ernest Hemingway to characters from the Game of Thrones TV show), the Kids Zones (activities for kids that include a giant man-made sandbox in the middle of the street, a gigantic kayak pool, a petting zoo, and rides), and the Antique Auto Mushers (auto enthusiasts showing off their classic cars from 1900 Fords to 1950's T-Birds to 1960's Mustangs). In addition to the contests, they also had several beer gardens with live music playing throughout the day by local musicians taking the stage by the Hard Rock Café, Darwin's Theory Pub, and the Gaslight Lounge. However, the main reason why I came here is an annual event that has been going on for years since Anchorage first held this at the Park Strip many years ago: the Taste of Anchorage! This is an annual event when a large number of eateries and local restaurants join together to make one big line-up of tents serving some awesome dishes by local chefs and State Fair-style food from the food trucks throughout town. This event was held between Noon to 6PM over the weekend. We decided to take a conservative approach by sampling foods from as many different vendors that we could without becoming prematurely stuffed. The first item we tried were the Reindeer Hot Dogs from Smokehouse BBQ. I had mine piled with onions, sauerkraut, and mustard and my friend had hers topped off with onion, mustard and ketchup. The dogs were plump and juicy, fresh off the large BBQ grill. We easily finished these off and washed them down with a bottled water. The next stand we hit was a vendor that served Stuffed Bananas! A very unique dish and I was curious to see how they made this. Apparently they use a pastry tube to squeeze the ingredients into the banana. Very creative! I ordered one stuffed with Nutella and Cheesecake. This was very delicious. It was like holding a dessert like a banana split or Southern-style banana cream pudding in your hands but inside the banana itself. Other toppings they offered were Peanut Butter, Heath Bar, Chocolate, and fruit fillings like Blueberry. They also offered these in a frozen banana version with the same choices available. My friend ordered a fudge cupcake from AK Cake Studios next door. She said they were rich with thick chocolate icing and this was gone after a couple of minutes. (Can't blame her. I wanted a bite but I was too late.) Other food trucks and tents that were there include the Boom Ba Laddy, a regular at the Spenard Food Truck Carnival on Thursdays with offerings like the Georgie Dog (all beef hot dog with jalapenos, cheese sauce, and buffalo sauce topped with shredded cheese) and the Boomba Works Fries (fries with cheese sauce, bacon, green peppers, jalapenos, broccoli, and steak topped with sour cream....Wow!) and Kastle Kreations, a food truck that specializes in cupcakes with flavors like the Turtle (chocolate pecan filled with caramel, topped with vanilla buttercream, dipped in chocolate ganache, and garnished with a pecan), the Oatmeal Cream Pie (oatmeal spice cake filled with marshmallow, topped with cream cheese frosting sprinkled with cinnamon and oats, then garnished with a gummy worm), and the Peanut Butter Pie (chocolate on top of an Oreo crust filled with peanut butter marshmallow cream topped with buttercream, garnished with crushed Butterfingers, and drizzled with chocolate ganache and peanut butter sauce). This is just a very tiny fraction of what I can describe to you when I was down there. The Taste of Anchorage is my favorite annual food event and this was one of the ideas I submitted earlier this year to Andrew H., our Community Ambassador for a UYE event. Speaking to so many people on Yelp, it seems like the common thing that brings everyone together on here is a passion for food. This is undoubtedly one of the best events if not THE best event in town to organize a meet and greet for fellow Yelpers. Games, rides, activities for the kids if you have children, a beer garden, live music, and yes, FOOD, lots of it! This place has it all for just such a thing.

This was such a fun event! It was cool to do something different. Thank you to Andrew, Yelp & the…read moreteam at Ship creek brewery for making it happen. I loved that it was a private event & we had the entire place to ourselves. I've been wanting to check this brewery & their pizza out so it was awesome to finally have an excuse to do so. Making our own pizzas was a fun experience & I loved chatting with the chef, head brewer & owner. I liked the vibe of the event as it was very laid back & it was awesome getting to chat more with other yelpers. Definitely some creative brews & tasty pizzas. Can't wait to try more from this place in the future!

Phenomenal YELP Elite Experience!…read more I've been following Ship Creek Brewing on IG since before they opened. A "shut down to the public," was the perfect way to experience this rad brewery, for the first time. Ship Creek's space is bright and was, as to be expected, for a brewery. I loved their Ship Creek Mural and of course their amazing pizza oven! All staff were super friendly and welcoming. Chef Tommy (I believe) had a great sense of humor. I loved how he and the brewer worked in sync. The brewer always kept brews waiting for the Chef who was helping all Elites and their + 1's make pies. As Andrew mentioned in person, it was hard to make a bad pie. All the ingredients were fresh. Ship Creeks brews are not to be missed. We quite enjoyed their Requiem, Hobbiton Haze, and Smash Azacca. As always, it was great to be in good company of the Yelp Elites. Even Sean and Carrie's beautiful newborn babe was present. This event was truly the Pre-Thanksgiving we all wanted. Thank you Andrew, thank you Yelp. Thank you Ship Creek Brewing.

What wasn't to LOVE about this YELP event?? First, I adored…read morethat it was at lunch time, what a fun escape from the workday. Second, I've been a big fan of Bombay but I hadn't been in person for a long time and what a pleasant surprise that was! Andrew as ALWAYS was a fantastic host AND we had a guest surprise from Seattle that was a blast as well. I always have a hard time deciding what to get and the buffet made that SO easy. The service from the staff was also fantastic. Fun food, great company, and another great YELP event!

I am so proud and grateful to be part of the Yelp community in Anchorage . Todays' Elite event was…read morewonderful . I had never been to Bombay Deluxe but I can't wait to go back . The food was delicious . I had the lunch buffet that is served 7 days a week. I couldn't pick a favorite item because they were all GREAT ! We had our own special dining area and the camaraderie at our table was infectious . I want to send a special thanks to Andrew our Yelp Ambassador for putting this very cool and delightful event together . Ps Kathryn , it was so nice to meet you !

I was invited for the Annual Christmas/sweater party and I was so glad I went. Had drinks and…read morewonderful conversations with all the people who attended. Food and drinks are on point! Hope I get invited to this event next year to spend some time with all the people I have met. @YelpAlaska@SpenardRH#YelpAlaska

Another amazing event always happy to come and always happy to see everyone…read more The service was great, and the food was as amazing as it always is. Was definitely happy to get the chicken sandwich for the third or fourth year in a row now. I told my wife the next time we come I can't get the chicken sandwich. I think that's what I've had the last six or seven times we have been here definitely worth it. Hope everyone has a happy holidays and a happy new year !

Super fun event! Having been a first timer to a Geeks who Drink event I would recommend you check…read moreout their FB page as they give out one free answer! And any other type of random knowledge.... A really fun after work event to hangout and see some friends while playing trivia. Food service was surprisingly really quick for such a busy night.

This was my first time at a Geeks Who Drink event and it was pretty fun. I would definitely got to…read moreanother one. It was fun seeing the different Halloween costumes. I wish I had time to go home and put on a costume but alas I didn't have time between leaving work and going to the event. Food wasn't very good but service was great. Thanks to Andrew for buying the first round of drinks for everyone. Two recommendations: Have people form teams beforehand so it doesn't end up uneven. There were more people at our table than anticipated so I ended up on a team of three while there were two other teams of six (maybe more). Also have a sign or something directing to the OYE as this was my first time here and I wandered around the place before realizing the event was in a separate room.

Super fun event despite some of my disloyal subjects not being able to make it. This was one of…read morethe more interesting Yelp events since we were on the move. We started downtown at the bike shop on 4th Ave, dodged some pedestrians and construction and headed down to Brown Bag to snag a pic-a-nic basket. Usually Brown Bag is so mobbed, but it was super quiet tonight so I got to explore while we waited for Andrew to mug Yogi and BooBoo. I didn't realize there was a game room. With legit old skool Donkey Kong and Skee Ball. Skee Ball people. SKEE BALL. I wish i had had quarters. I will go back for that alone. (And yes, the Thanksgiving Day sammy was amazing, as usual.) From Brown Bag we buzzed down to Elderberry and tapped into the Coastal Trail. Then we cruised through West Chester Lagoon and headed for Lyn Ary. Once we were there, we had a super duper ultra secret picnic on the beach whilst enjoying the view, company and conversation about all mystical and Yelpical. Check out my pics of the Yelp swag... those of you that missed it, well nanny nanny boo boo! Slightly disappointed we DIDN'T get rained on so we could sport our spiffy new Yelp ponchos. Maybe next time... Fat bikes anyone? Thank you Andrew and Yelp, as usual, for a memorable evening.