My first Elite Event in Phoenix and couldn't have had a better experience, especially at such a…read morelovely venue and great quality tastings and service! The Sneak Peek was definitely informational and I loved how all the wines were from CA (represent!) I found a few whites that I fell in love with and I'm totally a red gal. The staff at TCG were amazing and truly talented for putting together a great pairings at the Generous Pour. White | Starter Pairing: -Liberated Riesling with Shrimp, Mango and a light glaze: the best pairing IMO, it was fruity, clean, fresh and the riseling complemented the bite perfectly. -Atalon Sav Blanc and Tomato Watermelon Salad on Arugula: the grassiness of the Sav complimented the minerality in the arugula and went well as it was crisp - Byron Chardonnay and Seared scallop on corn risotto: Great wine to cut through the richness of the marscapone in the risotto but warm enough to go with the buttery, sweetness of the scallop Red | Meat Pairing: -La Crema Pinot Noir and Waygu Beef Carpaccio: I was sold at Pinot and Waygu. Acidic wine and spiciness went well with the cumin flavors of the carpaccio that melted in your mouth. -Freemark Abbey Merlot and Dry Aged Sirloin: Good, deep, spicy Merlot that complimented the nuttiness of the sirloin topped with chimichurri sauce -Arrowood Bordeaux Blend and Filet Mignon: Such a smooth blend that went parallel with the tender Filet on top of Chipolini onions and Porcini mushrooms and garnished with fig essence and au jus. My favorite tasting! Spicy, savory, smooth and sweet. With an amazing tasting, incredible venue, swag bags, raffles, and meeting fellow Phoenix Yelpers it was truly an incredible event. Major round of applause for TCG and Lindsey for putting together an absolutely fantastic event!

Had a great time at this event. Met a few new people. We tried out 4 restaurants…read more Royal Coffee Bar California Pizza The Capital Grille Seasons 52 We were served drinks and appetizers. Enough for everyone. I had never tried California Pizza And I fell in love w the bbq pizza, delicious! Can't wait for next event! :)

Please plan for the heat. Very few umbrellas not enough chairs. No water offered. Food offerings…read morevery mediocre. lines waaay too long for very small wine samples.

Fantastic event! This review is long overdue. This year was my second year attending Check Please…read moreAZ at Cityscape. The sample portions are huge at every station. The lines can be long, but they go fast since everything is just grab and go. All the best restaurants get together that were featured on the show and completely spoil us! My favorite this year was Amy's Baking Company. She featured sweet and savory options, but her sweet treats were my favorite! If you are a foodie and lover of local cuisine I highly recommend experiencing this event.

What a great night. The setting could not have been better for enjoying a movie in the park…read more The selection of food trucks was fantastic, and they were efficient in serving everyone. I look forward to the next Street Food Cinema event. A bit of advice. Definitely being a low beach chair. The ground was not to comfortable.

What a fun night at Frances! We got to get down and dirty and built some moss-some moss terrariums…read morein their Terrarian crafting class, taught by the charming Ian! After nibbling on some cheesy corn dog bites from Short Leash Hot Dogs and pimento cheese spread with chips, we dove into the history of terrariums, learned about the different layers and components on how to make a successful and self-sustainable mini ecosystem, were taught about three-types of moss that could be found in good ol' Arkansas, and we got to grub all over Ian's adorable collection of figurines with our soil-stained fingers. It was like a dream~ All our fellow Yelpers were easy to talk to and no one even got attacked by the spray bottle! It was definitely an amazingly fun Monday night! The 20% off Frances merchandise also came in handy. What a cute shop! Thank you Yelp, Frances, the epic Rachel/Lindsey [I hope you feel better, Lindsey!], and Ian for hosting such an educational and fun crafting class! And thanks to Short Leash for catering such delicious noms~! Definitely an event to remember! "Table 3" lovin' and Bacon Rock pride!

There's nothing like waking up before dawn to attend what I refer to as dance party yoga. It's…read moresuper early so our fearless leader, Kate Swarm, and her bestie yogi, Gordon, are kind with the relaxed flow to slowly get our muscles moving before shifting into dance mode. This month's theme was 80s so the entire party gave us the experience of transporting back in time. The dance session opened with Kate giving us an inspirational speech to start off our day that kicked off into the DJ spinning none other than Prince on Kaliope, the largest transportable sound system ever with lights, lasers, and unbelievable sound. There was a photo booth in the corner, along with colorful and glittery face painting. Some people danced, while others roller skated. Hula hooping and giant smiley balloons where dispersed everywhere. It's hard to explain. I wouldn't do it justice. You just have to go!

"Be Melting Snow"…read more Another huge thanks to Yelp for bringing this amazing event to my attention!! This is exactly where I needed to be this morning. It was my first time back at Walter Yoga in over a year after injury, this was worth the wait! It was such a fun time!! The worlds largest VW bus, Walter. Indoor snowball fight!!! Hula hoops and limbo and balloons and confetti and smiles all around. I highly recommend Kate Swarm, Walter Yoga, and having fun before work always!! There was even coffee, hot chocolate, really yummy healthy blueberry cashew bars, and probably more that I didn't even pay attention to, the lights were just stunning. So many beautiful colors and unpredictable and like nothing else I've ever experienced. The yoga was a great way to wake up, nothing too strenuous but a good warmup for dancing after! See you there next time!

Desert Landscaping School was a really exciting offer for me. I enjoy gardening but I took it a bit…read morelater with my busy schedule. I really did learn a lot from the courses. Some of it is common sense. I feel like now I am a much more knowledgable homeowner and have begun implementing some of these practices at home. I plan on testing my soil, maybe getting a rain barrel, and working on some sprinkler maintenance. I would definitely consider taking some additional courses as well. I did enroll in the free courses but have not taken them yet.

I had an opportunity, thanks to being a yelp elite, to signup and take an online desert landscape…read moreclass from the Botanical Gardens. I was excited because I am not a native Arizonian so learning more, I hoped would help me be better prepared to take care of my yard. I struggle with finding the right amount of time and length to water my plants. I opted to take the Introduction to Sustainable Desert Landscapes class and was just able to finish the course. In all it took about 1 hour to complete the class. It was good in that is was very basic for those that don't know much about landscapes and the desert. I would have liked to get more information about how long to water what kinds of plants. Instead a large focus was on finding out what kind of soil you have first then you would have to do more research on your own to figure out the rest. It would have been great if a resource like that had been included. I am excited to try out the soil type and quality test with my girls.

Usually I love LGO and their cakes but the cake I ordered was extremely disappointing. The…read moredecoration was extremely sloppy and rushed-looking. It looked like my 5 year old niece wrote it. For the price and their reputation, I expected more. Taste was great but the presentation was a big letdown.

I can't think of a better place to go into a sugary food coma than at LGO's bake shop! Much thanks…read moreto Lindsey for hosting this amazing event that included smooth, refreshing gelato, various baked goods such as croissants and English muffins, and delicious sweets such as cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and small cake bites. Everything was freshly made from scratch. Even the marshmallow fluff in the fluffernutter cake was made on site! My favorites were the cake bites with the blood orange gelatin topping, the buttery, flaky croissants, and quite possibly the best English muffins I've ever had! These large, soft, pillowy savory treats were made fresh on the griddle by one of the talented chefs here. Drinks included pink bubbly champagne, water, and something in a heated container (Coffee? Tea?). The goody bags after the event were equally amazing, as they included one of LGO's lovely English muffins, 3 different cookies, a sample of granola from Grateful Spoon Gelato, and a voucher for the LGO bake shop! Although parking at LGO is always a bit of a difficult process, it was relatively painless using the valets around the corner, who were very friendly and efficient. I'm definitely a fan of LGO's bake shop after this event! I can't wait to use those vouchers! Thanks again Lindsey!

Kids at Heart Gala was at the Children's Museum of Phoenix last Saturday night and Yelp was the…read moresponsor of the after party, which kicked off at 9:30 and ended, well I can't tell you when it ended I lost my shoe at midnight and had to ride the pumpkin away,,,,but when I left the after party was rocking! There were tons of highlights of this party, from performers on the floor dancing with the people, to the snow cone martinis, lip print readings, photo booths, face painting Yelp red couches and so much more! I had the pleasure of meeting the owner Never Enough Sugar and trying a cupcake or 2 and made my way over to Jacked Ice, liquor infused shaved iced. I am not an ice cream type of person, but they made me a cake batter martini and I was hooked! Shaved ice, cherry, white chocolate & cake vodka, it was soo soo good! There were plenty of food & drink offerings galore. Music was playing bodies were moving, everyone was having a great time! I did feel like Cinderella at the ball! Such a fun night!

Yelp's Kids at Heart After-Party was the best of all Yelp worlds... dessert and drink samples, a…read morephoto booth, dancing, and hanging out with new and old friends. It is fun enough to get all dressed up and don a masquerade mask, and when you sprinkle in some Yelp personality you have yourself a good night! The After-Party kicked off with a performance from some costumed dancers, who inevitably brought unsuspecting spectators onto the floor to join in. Dessert vendors lined the outskirts of the room and the alcohol servings got more and more creative. Jacked Ice was quite a hit, and talk about being a kid at heart- snow cone meets martini! Upstairs, the lip-print reading booth caught a lot of curiosity but the long wait drove away all but the most curious. Our wait was rewarded with a palm-reading-style session describing our personalities, based on lip prints. Very unique, to say the least. This was such a fun end to a classy night!

I'm forever a fan of Meet the Maker events. Due to my "newbie-ness" of living in AZ, I'd only heard…read moreof Wren House a few times, ever. But beer is beer, and I'm always down to drink new/local beers, support a small business, and get the 411 on themselves so I can return [and drink more beer]. Luke was a great storyteller and guide thru Wren House's background and beers. What made this even better was the intimate setting and there were only 15 of us #YelpLifers. We started with a few beer tastings, paired with Postino bites. Now I'm not terribly intelligent in this area of beer-drinking, but I felt much more enlightened as Luke explained the ingredients and process and the reason for pairing it with the matching bite [two big thumbs up for Kolsch & preztel + cheese!]. Since I'm a history and business buff, anytime someone talks relatable about their business as Luke did in addition to showing us their operations, I'm hooked. It gives a business some personality. I'm uber excited about their dreams and expansion goals, as they match perfectly with what the guys are currently doing.

What a great little Meet The Maker Event. Luke was our host and he was so full of knowledge, I…read moredefinitely got schooled that night. Luke not only guided us through the pairings of bees and small bites, but he answered tons of questions, and told us lots of stories about him, Wren House and his fellow workers. And then to top it all off, he took us back to where all the magic happens; Their brew house and showed us the whole process of how all the beers there are made from the begging to the end. I really enjoyed all of the beers. But, I think my favorite was the Wren House Jomax Wich I believe was an Oatmeal, Coffee, Stout. And I don't usually love Stouts that much. But this one was amazing. I really enjoyed the vibe of this place and how small it was. Really loved the fact that there is till a chimney in the middle of this old house turned brewery. I really hope I can come back soon with some friends. Oh and bring the pup's! Because they don't serve food, the allow well behaved doggies. Thank you to Hailey, Luke, Wren house, and Postino for such a great evening!

Loved this event! Being able to help out the community is such a great feeling and it's very…read morerewarding! Working down the assembly line was great! I got to close the boxes down at the end of the conveyer, while my sister helped tear down boxes! FUN. Everyone was so nice and pumped up to get this work done, and we shockingly prepared a little more then 1000 boxes of food! Seeing a bunch of other people volunteering also made it such a memorable experience! Two hours flew by and I only hope to be able to do it again sometime soon! Thank you Hailey for organizing this event and for all the little goodies you had out for us! I'm ready for the next one!

Glad I had the opportunity to attend this Yelp Helps event. It was warm in the warehouse but plenty…read moreof water and fans were provided. With so many friendly faces and background music, the time flew by so fast and barely felt like volunteering at all! September is Hunger Action Month, where food banks across the country ask the community to help make an impact to alleviating hunger. There are many ways to give back, from volunteering, donating, or being an advocate for the cause. For more information about how you can get involved, visit St. Mary's website: www.firstfoodbank.org Thank you CM, Hailey B., for getting Team Yelper together and thank you to all the hard working people at St. Mary's Food Bank that do the very important work that provides to so many families in the community.