Elite Event: Yelpaway Camp @ Edible Canada

How have I *not* published my review yet? I’m a terrible Unilocal Elite. Clearly I’ve relived the fun in my head so many times I’d convinced myself I’d already left my review.
What a fantastic and amazingly well-​organized event. Hats off to Jody, Tonye, and team! Having worked at a children’s camp for several summers, I have a soft place in my heart for Camp. This was a perfect summer event, and I am still kicking myself for not wearing all my lifeguarding gear and staff tshirts. Everyone who dressed up (including our Unilocal Community Manager Sasquatch) looked awesome.
Before this event I was lukewarm on Caesars… but now I NEED this (Walters Caesars) mix! Sooo tasty. Make Your Own Ceasar Bars should be mandatory at every event.
The food (what I had) was delicious! The mac and cheese with dungeness crab in little mason jars was amazing. The chef tipped me off that the beautiful colour was from carrots, and I have always loved peas in my mac and cheese. The individually wrapped s’mores were delightful and delicious. My only quibble was that, as a pescatarian, it was a bit distressing to see the roasted pig laid up on the bar, head and all, while they carved away at it. The staff at Edible Canada were fan-freakin’-tastic. They were on their game all night long, never waivering, always bringing out more food. The appetizers with smoked salmon on endive leaves were to die for.
The scavenger hunt was great fun, but I felt a tad left out as a non-​smartphone owner. I loved the little letter-​writing station – it felt very Regional Assembley of Text. I wonder if getting more Granville Island vendors involved would be cool – Paper Ya could totally host the letter-​writing station.
And the swag table was swept clean. Hilarious Unilocal undies and tube socks. I will cherish my Unilocal shooter glass for post-​Camp treats, as I’m pretty sure we had a no-​drugs-​or-​booze policy during Camp.

W00t. Activities and roasted duck!
Welcome back Jody B! And thanks to the crew at Edible Canada. Another excuse to go to Granville Island.
I got here just in time for the Scavenger Hunt (thanks for the massive delay, Translink!). A lot of the tasks needed some creative thinking.
The duck was perfectly cooked, and the plum (but apparently not actually plum) sauce was taaaasty. Having duck with those peanut-​looking nuts were definitely a new, and positive, experience. I’m not a fan of typically hyper-​sweet Naniamo Bars, but these were just about right. I can’t remember the last time I had a S’more! I suspect they would be quite good when not lava-​hot.
I was intrigued by the Mac n Cheese. My companion was confused by a texture she described as «string cheese» (which turned out to be shredded crab meat). The suckling pig sandwiches looked darn good (I’m told by my companion they were indeed delicious).
PS I’m super excited about these Unilocal socks! These are some high-​quality swag. I almost can’t wait for winter so I can wear them.

Crazy fun to dress up and head to camp a-​la-​campiness in the city. Thanks out to fellow Eliters for adding me into the many mini inner circles as this lass was alas solo for the evening.
Discovered so much with the scavenger hunt like finding a Giant Tool is a good thing. The tell-​tale hearts were marble hearts– never found em :(also that Sasquatch really are SO hard to find.
Edibles themed edibles– what a treat from individually wrapped smores, pork&slaw, mini sausage w kraut buns to Mac N Cheese a la cutie cutoff mason jar. The salmon & endive and duck with delish froo-​froo berry sauce found @fancy camps only.
The flag bearers of Elite events Parallel 49– yay!
Now to introduce my new best bud Zack of Walters Ceasars. What can I say but «these dreams are made of these– who am I to disagree». Über yummers and way good for you what with all the veg (beet, asparagus, celery) and protein (candied salmon & bacon). It was practically a meal with a not so smidge of vodka– kinda perfect… In fact let’s revisit my earlier statement about Walters, add in Jody (I did not pet her hat way too forward), Mademoiselle Tonye strong arm and shatterer of glassware at Z 49 parallel pour-​a-​thon so… What can I say but «these dreams are made of these– who am I to disagree».
Thanks.

By far the absolute BESTEST Unilocal event I’ve ever been to.
Hello? Scavenger Hunt? Yes please!
A big shout out to Edible Canada, Parallel 49 and Walters Caesar Mix. Everything was delectable and an amazing time was had by all.
Jody B, you’ve outdone yourself. Can’t wait for the next event!!!

Jody you are a Rock Star! Every party that you have hosted has been amazing but you really have outdone yourself now!
I arrived a bit late to Edible Canada as work held me up. I had just enough time to get a beer in me from Parallel 49 (thanks Jeff!) when the festivities started. I don’t know if it was Edible Canada or our fearless leader that set up the photo scavenger hunt that we ended up running but it was amazingly fun. There were groups of 5 or 6 people running around all of Granville Island trying to do all kinds of crazy things. We hugged standers, did a pyramid, took photos in watersides and shook hands with bearded men. My group #7 was the best group of the bunch (I am biased). We may have come in fifth but we rocked! This was a ton of fun running around Granville Island meeting new people and finding things we did not know existed on the island. Once done we all headed back to Edible Canada for more amazing food and drinks.
The amazing staff at Edible served some amazing food including hotdogs, duck, lobster macaroni and cheese, homemade smores and home made chips. Everything that I tried tasted amazing and looked better. I also had a few more Gypsy Tears Ruby Ales from Parallel 49 (thanks again Jeff). There was a very popular ceaser mix although I did not try it as I do not enjoy ceasers.
I am so happy that I made the list for this event as it was a great end to what had actually been a bad day. I met some amazing new Unilocalers and got to interact with the Edible Canada staff in a much more laid back setting. This is a great place to go for a meal or go for an event. They really know how to make sure you feel welcome.
Bring the Unilocal App to Blackberry 10. Stop disrespecting non American Unilocalers.

I think «Mind Blowing» is the general theme here.
I have never been to a Unilocal event where I’ve sang a Christmas carol to strangers in a food court, did the Macarena on camera whilst taxis honked at me, ran an accidental half marathon on Granville Island, played leap frog in a park while wearing a name tag, been the bottom row of a Unilocaler pyramid, received a text from a friend that someone may have jacked my Instagram account, and tried to convince a scavenger hunt leader that a painting of a little girl was a photo of a mermaid.
And that’s not even the part about the event at Edible Canada!
A delicious Make-​Your-​Own Walters Caesar bar, Parallel 49 beer, duck, fresh chips, nanai’faux’ bars, fancy smores, fancy hot dogs, fancier crab mac and cheese, and fanciest of all, a BIG OL’ PIG!
If you took THREE amazing events and combined it into one, this would be it.
There was the location. There was swag, There was live music. There was Tonye. There was Jody — but seriously, we totally knew it was you in the Sasquatch outfit. I have the blurry picture to prove it.

If I could give this 10 stars I totally would! Why:
— our amazing CM in a sassy sasquatch outfit.
— partying it up at Edible Canada on Granville Island! Amazing!
— Walter Caesar’s make your own caesar drink! Hello bacon!
— the amazing food and service from the staff at Edible Canada! OMG that mac and cheese was to die for! Everything they served was so so good, and there was so much food! They know how to throw a pparty I totally loved that the staff wore name tags and chatted up with us too, super friendly!
— a photo scavenger hunt around the Island with my amazing Team #6! It was a fantastic way to meet new people so I totally loved it (hello Christina P, Iris, Erin and Rohan!)
— old school type writers to send notes home from camp. I sent one to the husband: dear husband, do the dishes. He was not impressed.
— Parallel 49^th beer: delicious delicious gypsy tears. A great way to start the evening!
Jody completely outdid herself at this party. Not only did she throw it together after just getting back from China, but she did an amazing job! Super kudos to Tanye as well, the two go hand in hand. I was completely floored with how fab it was, and I’m already planning my visit back to Edible Canada for a complete dinner experience! Thank you to all the organizers for their efforts to make this event so awesome — it’s totally in the tops of Unilocal events!

Jody and Tonye, you killed it!
Highlights
1. Caesar Bar featuring Walter’s Caesar Mix. Jody, you’re right, we can’t go back to Clamato. The Caesar Mix tasted very «real». I am not a Caesar fan but you got me at «no MSG and preservatives». Bacon was coated with some sort of (addictive) sugar syrup? I see people lining up just to pinch a couple of bacon strips. There were pickled beets, gherkins, pickled asparagus, and even candied Salmon as your garnish. How cool is that? So many to choose from. Decisions. Decisions.
2. Staff at Edible. Holy smokes! Serve was attentive and speedy. While we were lining up to get in, one of the staff came out and offered us house-​made Ketchup chips. That’s very kind of him.
3. Food at Edible. I have never dined at Edible but glad I had a sneak preview. Food was amazing! Sliced duck breasts with hazelnuts, Pacific salmon on endives, WHOLE roasted piggy (later served as pork sliders), crab meat Mac & Cheese, mini bratwurst with sauerkraut in mini hot dog buns, s’mores, and Nanaimo bar. The food was delicious. Tipping my hat to all the kitchen staff who helped prepare this wonderful «camp» meal.
4. Scavenger hunt. I got to pair up with strangers to form Team #3. I truly enjoyed how we started as shy strangers but quickly bonded to complete the assigned tasks. Team work! In case you wonder, we came in second!
5. Adam our musical guest. Adam sang with so much passion. I heard from Tonye he writes a lot of his songs. What a talent!
Jody, Tonye, Caitlin (sp?), all the (front of the house and kitchen) staff at Edible Canada, Walter’s Caesar Mix, Adam, Parallel 49 Brewing, you guys rock! Thank you so so much for making this Unilocal event an unforgettable one.

Holy moly. Jody B., you really outdid yourself last night. What an incredible event, at an amazing location with terrific food (how many more adjectives can I use in this sentence?) and unreal staff.
Started off with some delish bevvies from Walters Caesars and Parallel 49. Was a HUGE fan of the Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale, had only had Seedspitter until last night and I know how what else to buy! Walters Caesars… wow. Mind blown. These were some seriouslyyyyyyy good caesars. I can definitely say that I will not be returning to Motts ever again. This stuff rocks you must try it (Meinhardts, Choices, Whole Foods, etc. sell it). The garnish assortment for the caesars was insane. Pickles, pickled beets, candied salmon, veal jus, pickle juice, celery, pickled beans, pickled asparagus… but the best — candied bacon… what!!!
We then ventured off on an insanely fun Scavenger Hunt that featured tasks from hugging a stranger, to singing a Christmas Carol to strangers, to even jumping into False Creek (GO TEAM #1). Not only was this a ton of fun, but also a workout as I cannot remember the last time I ran like that! I am happy to announce that my evening was made even better when we found out our team won the hunt, and that I am now in possession of a lovely Edible Canada gift card that I cannot WAIT to use, as well as a Parallel 49 Salty Scot that is currently chilling in my refrigerator, waiting to be drank as soon as my working day ends.
And then the food. Oh the food. Duck fat fried ketchup chips. Like, can the person responsible for those please come live with me and I will pay them to cook those for me? So good! Crab Mac & Cheese, hot dogs, pulled pork sliders (pork pulled from the huge pig that was lovely presented, I LOVED it!), duck breast with cinnamon, s’mores, the list could go on. And there was absolutely NO shortage of food.
All in all, an unbelievable night hosted by Jody B., Tonye A., the wonderful staff at Edible Canada, Walters Caesars and Parallel 49. Thank you!

Best camp I’ve ever been to: fun and games, care-​package-​worthy food, booze you didn’t have to sneak into the woods for, and even a special appearance by the Sasquatch ( Unilocalquatch?). The weather cooperated too.
Edible Canada was the perfect campground for this event, rolling out tray after tray of hot dogs, s’mores, Nanaimo bars, mac and cheese, roasted duck, and other things I’m forgetting right now. I also loved the fresh potato chips on the tables, mmm ketchup. I’ve been to a lot of Unilocal events, lucky me, but this has to be the first where a venue has rolled out a whole roasted pig (for the pork sliders)! They really put on a special effort for us.
The scavenger hunt around Granville Island was also a first, and lots of fun. It was hard, but a great ice-​breaker and bonding exercise. I only wish we had more time to complete more challenges, like finding someone famous and/​or old to take a picture with. Oh well, we had fun climbing hills and on playground equipment, hugging random strangers and finding quite the bearded man to shake hands with. Team 3, represent!
Jody B. And Tonye A., I wrote my letter home to y’all. Thank you for the great kickoff to the great Canadian summer.

I haven’t been able to attend any Elite events for a while so I was looking forward to some campy fun. I was not disappointed. Seeing Jody B. in a Sasquatch costume alone was worth the price of admission.
I’m not normally into Caesars but I thought that the Make Your Own Caesar Bar was a genius idea. I chose to have a tasty Caesar garnished with candied maple bacon and a pickled asparagus. Yum! The Parallel 49 Brewing Company Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale was also very refreshing on this warm and sunny evening.
The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun as well. I enjoyed running around the island with #YelpTeam3 trying to get as many items on the list as we could.
After the fun scavenger hunt, we returned to the party and were greeted with a whole roast pig on the bar and for what seemed like a never-​ending parade of delicious snacks: roast pork sliders, smoked Pacific salmon on endive with maple crème fraiche, cinnamon smoked duck breast with berry compote and hazelnuts, macaroni and cheese with peas and Dungeness crab, deliciously sticky s’mores, Ladysmith (not Nanaimo!) bars, and mini hotdogs with sauerkraut.
Thank you to Jody B., the fine folks at Edible Canada, Walter’s Caesar Mix, and Parallel 49 Brewing for yet another great Elite event.

OMG.
First of all, the food was incredible. Absolutely mind blowing. There was roast pig, a whole freaking roast pig. Holy crap. And this was also the first Unilocal event where I had to decline food! That never happens! There was so much of it going around that the staff was happily encouraging us to go for seconds and thirds (and maybe even more. Don’t ask me how many of those endive things I had.)
Secondly, whoever thought of the Make Your Own Caesar Bar idea is a genius. GENIUS!
I was skeptical on how the scavenger hunt would go but it turned out to be incredibly fun!
The staff at Edible Canada was also super warm and friendly.
Jody, incredible. Again. *High five* !!!
If I could give 10 stars I would.

Who saw this one coming out of left-​field? Hey Jody, didn’t you just get back from China??? So the scene of the crazy festivities was Edible. or we only thought it was going to be this venue. somehow it carried it’s way, and weight, into the outer outstretches of Granville Island. I’ll try to go in chronological order of what went down on this epic (overused. but totally appropriate word!) Elite event. I came along with my dear significant other Elite (Wendy Y.) and our +1’s, and we were early, so as good people of the public… we waited… I tried to walk in first but our cheif gatekeeper Jody kept us at bay with a Unilocal forcefield and kept us out the door so we couldn’t see what was cooking up in Edible! The staff of Edible at least threw us a bone. in a small serving of housemade duck fat fried ketchup chips to keep us at bay. Jody even had to go to the extent of sending ‘second in command’ Tonye to round the heard like roaming buffalo so we all didn’t barge in! — Good job!
When the heard was finally allowed to enter the premises, we were quickly given instructions on where what was… starting with the Parallel 49^th booth providing unlimited glasses of their Gypsy Tears Ruby Ale, there was another booth that had a typewriter to write letters to home. or to mom. (remember it’s mother’s day coming up!). the back table was set up with wicked Unilocal swag in red Chinese takeout boxes (no overtaking now!), on the other side of the glass wall in the middle was the ‘make your own Caesar bar’ with the addictive Walters mix, candied bacon and salmon, pickled asparagus tips, celery. and more, just to get everyone started… for what. well…
After sparsely feeding us food, and liquoring us up real good, we were sent on a journey… scavenger hunt time. Unilocal style. I was part of the last place team #YelpTeam8 and the list was daunting to say the least. All our ventures were to be posted on Instagram with the hashtags of our team, #YelpVancouver and #EdibleCanada… and we were off. Some of the things on the list I remembered, having a picture with an 85 year old, some dude with a beard, a license plate with a name on it, a talking seagull??, the whole team jumping in the air, the whole team on the Aquabus, finding the stained glass, picture on the water slide… a video of the team singing a Disney song, a video of doing the Macarena??? and a video of a team member jumping into the water (whoa!!!) just to name a few off the 30 list! We had a limited amount of time… and for some, limited amount of battery life on our phones! I think this exercise definitely built our appetites for the nights eats, and coming back. #YelpTeam1. one of their members. actually, in his turquoise blue underwear. jumped in the water. game, set, match!
When we came back. we were greeted with tons. loads, heaps, epic proportions of food. A whole, yes. head to squigly tail, pig was roasted for this feast! Chips were still coming out, but then add to the fact of scorching hot S’more’s, some variation of the Nanaimo bar (the original rendition of it), pulled pork sliders, duck breast with nuts, some sausages on small buns, crab mac & cheese… the food kept coming, and the beltline kept growing! There was a talley of the points for all the things that each team did, we had some live music playing, like sitting around a campfire, just amongst all us Unilocaler’s. it was a festive night while the sun started disappearing.
Even Tonye. ended up dropping a glass, what else could happen tonight… then you see Jody in a full on gorilla suit… holy smokes indeed! Again, Jody and your team have thrown a wicked. awesome. crazy event, I’m so glad I was a part of it. And the Edible Canada staff, thank you for making your restaurant our retreat for this night, big ups to the staff that were constantly feeding us with treats coming out from their kitchen. A ton of memories from this one. that’s for sure. I got a chance to meet some other Elite members. and get some teamwork going. can’t wait to play with you all in the near future!
I had to wake up today and still think. did that really happen. then I saw all the pics. yes it did happen! Amazing. no star rating can really rate this.

SO MUCH FUN. I wasn’t sure that I was up for scavengering, but it turned out that running around Granville Island like a madwoman with a group of people I had just met was JUST WHAT I NEEDED. It also broke the ice in a great way — I’d only been to one Elite event previous to this and people were not nearly as friendly as they were tonight.
Edible Canada did an amazing job with food — there was more than enough for everyone to chow down — and the drinks provided by Parallel 49 and Walter Caesar were great. I even managed to drink a whole Caesar — they’re not usually my thing — thanks to the amazing BACON in the make-​your-​own Caesar bar.
All in all a super fun night. Thanks Jody and the gang!
TEAM ONE FOREVA!

This event was so awesomely fun and seriously, a bajillion stars to Jody, Tanya and co. that made it possible.
I’ve been to Edible Canada before and loved their food so I had high expectations. I was not disappointed! Their Mac and cheese and pork sliders (pulled straight from a still glistening, crispy porcine wonder) were lovely and the S’mores were a messy marshmallowy delight. I had no shame in diving in and embracing my inner child. The Caesars from Walters were also fantastic and I enjoyed being able to load up a Caesar with bacon and candied salmon… yum!
My +1 was a good friend from high school and the scavenger hunt was a fun and great way for us to relive our high school camp trip memories. Many strangers were game for our teams questions and requests (although a few spry seniors may not have liked to reveal their age for our «find an 85 year old» task).
Thanks again to the Unilocal team and Edible Canada for an amazing night!

One word AMAZING!!!
If you didn’t go you missed out! So much fun with the scavenger hunt and amazing food by Edible Canada.
Edible Canada went all out!!! You guys Rock!!! I mean a Whole Roasted Pig, make your own Caesar bar with amazing Walters mix, mac and cheese with crab what??? S’mores, pork sliders, hot dogs and so so so much more. I found myself turning food away. Yes unheard of! The food was just a part of it, the scavenger hunt was so much fun, running around Granville Island doing things we haven’t done since we were children or for some this was a daily thing.
We had guitar singer entertainment, drinks, food all we needed was a campfire!
Thanks so much to Jody B who not only looked great being our camp counsellor you’re such an wonderful Unilocal Elite leader and also the rest of Unilocal elite team thank you!!!

Jody has done it! Her five star rating is here and is the first time I’m giving a 5 star to anything ever on Unilocal or anywhere for that matter.
Everything just came together for a perfect, what felt like a summer evening, scavenger hunt/​food from heaven camp!
The décor felt very hispter/​campy yet relaxing and cute. The checkered mark table cloth on what looked like wooden park tables with attached benches really made it feel like you were outside.
I specially liked the make your own caesar bar as the tomato mix from Walter is out of this world. I’m really not a caesar person and always thought it very over-​rated but Walter mix has won my heart. This is my first review with a photo attached as I feel like this caesar deserved to be shared with everyone!
The suckling pig was delicious, the salmon was divine, the macaroni and crab was to die for!
As a sweet tooth person Ladysmiths won my sweet heart;) Not to mention that I learned something new about this sweet creation…(Google Nanaimo bar and you’ll that Ladysmith came up with the recipe first.)

Wow… Jodi has really outdone herself tonight. Every month we get the elite email with the same sort of routine. «Tasting menu provided, this is not a meal, you will still need to eat before or after the event» etc etc. Well tonight, the folks at Edible Canada could have rolled me out the door.
The food was… amazing. Pork sliders, fancy hot dogs, mac n cheese, s’mores. All pretty simple campish type stuff all done exceptionally well. In fact, the pork slider was probably the best I’ve ever had.
Edible Canada is an awesome venue and would be a great place to take out of towners or to take a date. It has a great atmosphere and there’s a little section at the back where you can buy wine and all types of crazy chocolates. Plus it’s right in the middle of Granville Island which means you can go for a lovely stroll along the waterfront before or after and take in one of Vancouver’s most popular tourist attractions.
Huge props to Vancouver’s own Parallel 49 for providing a tasty brew– this time «Gypsy Tears” — my personal fave.
Thank you once again for an amazing night. We will definitely be heading back to Edible Canada!

Jody B and the team really hit it out of the park with this one. It was my first Unilocal Elite event and I really didn’t know what to expect.
Upon arriving, it turns out everyone is very friendly to newbies, and as luck would have it, I knew 3 people who practically greeted me at the door.
The scavenger hunt was a great ice breaker, I now feel a tight bond with my teammates, especially after winning first place and some sweet prizes (including Edible Canada gift cards which we plan to use to come back and taste the menu a little closer).
I liked the «meatballs» movie theme, the weather, and the whole 9 yards, and let us not forget the 49^th Parallel beer samples and Walters caesar mix which were great (and I’m not a caeser fan usually but the bacon…). The samples from Edible Canada were all fresh (and generous) and enough to interest me in coming back to see how they roll these local items into the regular menu.
All and all, a great first experience — thanks Unilocal

This event was so awesome, it makes me want to sing Disney and Christmas songs and hug random strangers all over Granville Island!
Fromage as this may sound, this is the kind of event that makes you aspire to be a Unilocal elite! It had all the elements:
— great venue and food (Edible Canada, you are more than just your a beautiful duck poutine. SERVICE was stellar. FOOD was delicious — omg Mac and cheese and roasted duck. And the BUILD YOUR OWN CAESARS were out of this world.
— great location (Granville Island. Vancouver’s happy place. ‘Nuf said.)
— great activities (a freaking scavenger hunt?! Wow. And I get to sing in public?! Dream come true). And to be able to mingle in small groups with new friends made it even more fun!
Top those up with great company, live music, and a gorgeous spring day, and it was truly an outstanding night!
Jody, Tonye, and the fine people at Edible Canada: I salute you the best way I know how… with a long… meaningful…SLOW CLAP. Times three. (Ok and followed by a round of high 5’s). Thank you for putting together yet another dynamite event!