Elite Event: Tango Trip @ Regional Tasting Lounge

OH EM GEE! Were those pisco sours to die for! I had a blast at this event, even though I arrived late and totally missed the tango lessons. I loved the end where we all had a dance off and a cat walk-​off. I always wanted to be a part of America’s Next Top Model… :-D
The flowers were gorgeous but they wouldn’t stay in my hair… or my dress. So I lost mine (ahem ahem… my flower I meant… I mean… the orchid Crystal gave me! Get your mind out of the gutter!)… and a bunch of others that I found and tried to adorn.
Usually I’m not the biggest fan of the wine selection at the Elite Events, but this time Desert Hills hit the right notes. The gewurtz was awesome.
The tango performance was super cool. I’ve never actually seen real tango or milango before (only in movies.). And of course, the food was amazing.

Five stars for the tango dancers! I guess I never really appreciated the level of difficulty in that dance until I tried it at the event. And then the performance was fabulous! Leave it to Unilocal organizers to go all out and get such a pro demonstration. I felt so classy.
The was alright, speaking from the one item I tried due to complete lack of vegetarian options. However they were accommodating enough to whip me up a little something. And from other people’s reactions, the other food was very tasty.
The pisco sours were very interesting, and I did like them. I commented on the extreme yet interesting sour-​ness, and all of a sudden the bar tender had whipped up a fruity-​er version. It was dee-​lishous!
Thanks Crystal, for another great event!

Thanks to an Elite member invite, I was fortunate to attend this event!
It was well organized, and the tango demonstration was very entertaining to watch. I was also very appreciative of the server who went out of her way to ensure I was able to sample some of the vegetarian fair (the food was great… and so it was quickly scooped up before it reached our table).
As an added bonus… I won the Garden Party centre piece… was is currently brightening up my living room!
Well done!

Wow! All I can say is that was amazing. From the decadent appetizers, to the lush Desert Hills Gewürztraminer, the skilled tango dancers, and the beautiful flowers adorning shirt and hair, this party was perfect down to the finest detail.
RTL did an amazing job hosting this event. The risotto was creamy and richly flavoured, the chorizo-​tomato-​bread salad was crisp and light, and the crab cake were potentially some of the best I’ve ever had. The service was professional yet friendly, resulting in an relaxed and warm atmosphere. I will most definitely be back to indulge in more of their exquisite menu.
This was my first Unilocal event (I honestly hadn’t heard of Unilocal until I was invited) and I would like to thank everyone involved in organizing it. I met lots of interesting people, and may be a newly converted Unilocaler.

This was one of my favourite Elite parties so far. Everyone was looking sharp, the drinks were perfection (I don’t know what they put in those Pisco Sours, but bam, pow, man), and the tango performance was dynamite.
I didn’t get much of the food, but loved the beef skewers and foie gras (even if I do feel guilty). My plus-​one raved about the crab cakes and the Gamay, and she loved meeting all the friendly, cool Unilocalers in the room. And how cool was it that the friendly folks at RTL kept the party going past the official end time with those amazing banana desserts, a eighties dance-​off and of course, more drinks!
I was slightly hungover the next morning, but even if my morning at work was a little fuzzy, it was totally worth it. Gracias, Crystal!

Crystal you sure know how to throw great parties!!! I got a flower that matched my dress right away! Then headed to the bar to enjoy the Pisco Sours I miss so much from Peru! The food was all so delicious! My favourite were the beef skewers, foie gras, prawns, oysters with bacon, mushroom risotto, and tomato/​chorizo Oh wait, was that whole menu?! Kudos to the RTL chefs!
It’s always great to run into familiar faces and their +1s of new people!!! This was definitely a fun night of laughing, eating, drinking, and dancing! Thanks Crystal for organizing!

ah life is good when you get to spend a nice with fellow Unilocalers drinking, eating, dancing…
This party was hopping! It was so lovely to be greeted with a flower (and by Crystal) as I entered room.
What stands out to me. the service. Wow, next time we have to provide these people armour! I admittedly jumped up in the air to snatch one of those delicious beef skewers though. And for those of you who stayed late long enough to try dessert… mmmMMMM. But truly thanks to the servers and Alain who was a super nice.
How about that wine. that was some really drinkable wine. I’m definitely going to have to keep my eyes open for Desert Hills at the liquor store.
Crystal: I heart you! You are fantastico! BRAVO! ENCORE!

It was my first time at a Unilocal event and I enjoyed it very much.
The tango performance was awesome as well as the location.
For someone who does not drink or eat sea food, I had a hard time enjoying the refreshments…

My slightly hungover condition this morning was absolutely worth the fun I had at last night’s Unilocal Elite event! My first!
We talked, we laughed, we danced, we strutted our runway best, and we ate and drank the most amazing stuff ever. SO GOOD! I blame the Pisco Sours on the hilarious dancing and strutting competetions. Also, I have found my new favourite drink to serve people at parties. Suck it Mojitos, it’s Pisco Sour time!
As someone who doesn’t eat meat often, especially beef, this is what I had to say about the beef skewers: «Now this is how I want my yearly allowance of beef to taste!» So juicy, so flavourful, and so amazingly tender. If i’m only going to eat beef once or twice a year, it better be damn good. I practically pounced on Alain when I saw him carrying a tray of risotto out. I had missed it several times already and had feared I wouldn’t get to try it, but managed to snag a bowl just as Crystal was calling out the door prizes. Wow! Best. Risotto. Ever.
It was a super fun night, and I had a blast meeting people and trying the food, wine and drinks. Huge props to Crystal, Unilocal,r. TL, wine guy Ian, Alain, the lovely dancers Gabriel and Monica, Larry for the photos (yay!), and all the other staff. What an awesome event!
Oh! And the flowers were beautiful! Love love love them.

Crystal does it again! I seriously don’t know how she can pull off these amazing events and look so good doing it!
I don’t know what it was but the vibe was alive last night.
The drinks were flowing (and a little too good if you know what I mean) and the food was great. A waitress even spotted me out among the crowd and gave me a special veggies quinoa salad gee, thanks!
The place was bubbling with interesting conversation and everyone is so freaking nice and interesting… I just love this group of people.
R.T.L was a great place to host this event. It wasn’t too small, just perfect for intimate and group conversation. The lighting was wonderful and I loved the big opened window.
The flowers by garden party were amazing, I’m definitely going to check them out in the future for my flower needs.
Rachel, your outfits are always so fierce, but EVERYONE was looking fierce for that matter. I love coming to these events and dressing up, its like a costume party and grown up prom rolled into one.
My guests had a blast and were crushing hard on Unilocal when we left so keep your eyes out for them on the review scene.
Can’t wait for the next one!

My first Elite party! And man, what a party it was. I’m not much of a dancer, but I still loved seeing everyone on the makeshift dance floor trying out the sexy moves.
The food was tasty, the drinks were plentiful (man, I wish I got my hands on more of those pisco sours!), and it was nice to meet new people. The Unilocal community is definitely friendly!
Kudos to Crystal for such an excellent event. She is definitely the master party planner.

Wow, I think I finally recovered from the spectacularness (and those Pisco Sours) of my 3^rd round of Unilocal Events. So pardon me if I’m all over the map in this review.
Entrance: Darn big rose for the guys, pretty flower thing for the gals. If you were in a romantic mood, this was the place to be.
Booze: Started with an amazing white wine from Backyard Vineyards followed by the star of the night, those Pisco Sours! Normally with me being a beer man, I’m not exactly a fan of ‘girly’ sugar drinks, but this magical South American formula of brandy, lime, egg whites, and bitters was pure addiction. I don’t know how many I had, but each one seemed to get stronger! Big props to the super cool bartenders who provided top notch service even with the onslaught of thirsty Unilocalers.
Tango: As I have troubles enough with learning Salsa, I was a pure observer of the tango lessons. Those that tried did pretty good!
Food: Star of the night was the crab cakes. One bite and ding, we had a winner. 2^nd place — unbelievably tender beef skewers. To cap it off, the banana crème thing was spectacular. Not to mention the servers were a blast!
And as always, met a bunch of super cool fellow elite’s and +1’s, even met someone who lives right across from me! You can’t ask for a better group of people than Unilocal’ers, I’m sure you will all agree!
Big props to Crystal H as always, Vancouver’s greatest event planner. And to all the sponsors and of course
lounge for hosting.
Oh I almost forgot, r. tl had quite the weird (but cool) washrooms or should I say ‘Water Closets’. I’m not sure what the two chairs facing the toilet are used for, but cool indeed!

Another awesome event from Crystal. I cringe everytime I enter Yaletown (I refuse to acknowledge my yuppie-​dom), but RTL was the awesome venue to host the event. Bartenders were awesome at quickly churning out the Pisco Sours and R&B beers for the thirsty boozehounds and kept the party going well after the ‘9PM’ closing time. Hats off for their speed and good humour.
The food was superb — if you were aggressive and threw elbows whenever the servers were coming around with a full tray. Even though most Unilocalers were dressed to the nines, tasty food amongst this crowd is a full-​contact sport (surprised no one lost a finger). The cognac foie gras toast, juicy beef skewers and the banana crème desserts were awesome. But my reflexes and aggressiveness waned as the booze kept flowing — seems I missed out on a few other treats. But that’s an easy trade.
Yet another awesome party — Crystal’s party planning skills are surefire.

What a nice, intimate little space and just the right amount of Unilocalers to enjoy it.
I thought the food was absolutely DeLiSh !! and the super bonus for me is that it was all pretty much gluten free! I’ll be craving those dishes up from my memory.
It was nice to see some familiar faces and many new ones too. That sweet little tasty mixed drink they were serving up at the bar was super fun and yummy. (darnit. I forgot the name!)
I hope my +1’s get on board now and start the reviews flowing, I know they enjoyed the event.
Nice to see y’all and hope to see you soon :-)
Thanks again Miss C, you mistress of Unilocalidom!

Big — huge — massive — props to r. TL, Crystal, Unilocal,sponsors and everyone else involved that made last night’s event a smashing success! I had a blast and have now successfully converted my +1’s into Unilocalers :) We really are taking over the world!
Beautiful flowers handed out as soon as we walked in — I wish mine would’ve stayed tucked behind my ear, I knew I should’ve brought a bobby pin! Headed straight to the bar where the awesome staff whipped us up Pisco Sours — they remind me of foamy margaritas!
Food was great, I really appreciated the foie gras cognac-​poached toasts and the highly coveted crab cakes were crispy & delicious. Word on the street is that r. TL has a $ 291 prix fixe so I definitely need to come back to try that out.
Missed out on the tango lessons, but was thoroughly charmed by the tango demonstration.
Highlight of the night for me was winning the door prize! Super score! So exciting! Love all the goodies in the basket, from much-​needed eye creams, suntan spray to fun falsies for your lashes & nails. just an awesome bonus to the entire night!
Thanks again to everyone, counting down the days til the next event!

As I tried to write this at the after party, I had to pause for a moment, gather my thoughts on what ended up to be an amazing event.
The staff were perfection, the food stupendously tasty. I didn’t get to have everything, but the fois gras was buttery smooth and the prawns were spot on. If you stayed long enough there was desert as well! Yummy.
The place was filled with beautiful people in every corner, the Dancing was like Fred and Ginger on a cloud of dreams. Then there was the Michael Jackson rendition and at the end the «walk-​off» Catwalk style. I really like this place, before during and of course after! I will come to try the new menu. It now gives me an excuse to check out Yaletown again!
Hats off to RTL and to Unilocal and the prize sponsors. And to Crystal for another smashing event!

Well i am no longer a virgin. and i have to say i will go back for seconds or thirds or maybe a long term relationship.
After spending over 5 months in many countries in South America, anything themed after these wonderful countries. i will partake in. Pisco Sours which were almost as authentic as the ones hand made by my friend in Miraflores, Lima, Peru. All that was missing was the cracked real eggs for the egg whites. but i can’t complain. It was the closest it has come in Canada to the real deal. Crab Cakes with ginger and aoili. hello!, and the mushroom risotto with truffle oil! Just put truffle oil on anything and i will eat it.
It was super nice to meet so many cool people into similar things. including the awesome Crystal. you rock!
Oh and the tango lessons. es muy authentico, muy gusta toda!
And Mike the bartender. es muy rico!

A sweet/​spicy evening of tango and pisco!
My first time to RTL, I will be back for sure. And a great Unilocal event, thanks for the invite. It was great fun to try the tango lesson, just not *quite* enough space to do so, as it was too popular. Lots of fun though!
The South American themed canapes delicious! The free flowing wine tasteful! The foie gras decadent! I’ll be back for the next Unilocal event in a heartbeat. ;)

It was a rainy Wednesday evening… and all I wanted to do was curl up in a blanket apres work.
Man, am I glad I came out to RTL for the Unilocal Elite Event!
Besides the fabulous company, the staff at RTL was super friendly and prompt with service. And the tango lessons? Well, although I didn’t want to show off my oh-​so-​very uncoordinated moves, I was impressed by the skills of my fellow Unilocalers. It would’ve been nice if the place a was little bit bigger to accommodate the dance lessons, but then again, it’s not your everyday occurrence!

This was a good event, even though I sat in my seat the whole time (I had such good company and conversation at my table! ;)
The tango lesson and dances were pretty cool, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself and partake.
The canapes were delicious. Especially the satay, holy crap was that a hot item! It was like eagles flying over their prey to get at the satay!
And the wine? YUM!