Elite Event at Gordon Bennett

Let’s just say it’s a full month after this event, and not until this morning did I remove the mustache from my purse.
You never know when you’re going to need one of those… I’ve found it to be the world’s best weapon, a snazzy conversation starter, and simultaneously the biggest turn-​off and turn-​on for men. Who needs personality when you can just slap on a little facial hair?

My FIRST Unilocal Elite event! I was extremely pumped about this and looked forward to it for a few weeks. I was so excited, that I grew myself a fine mustache, even if I had to Just For Men it, it looked stunning. When we got there, it was packed. It seemed like the bar was ready for a crowd, but it was at times hard to go from one side to the other, as well as hard to go to the bathroom. LINE!
When we finally found a spot to park ourselves, we were presented many gifts of food. French fries were awesome. Buffalo Wings were some of my favorite in a long time. Pulled pork slider and cheese burgers were pretty good, nothing to write home about. Unfortunately, later in the night I was not able to get myself a banana pudding, but whatever because the Bulldog Gin was flowing.
In general, the food is pretty decent. I would go back for the wings and french fries alone with a couple of friends for some beers. I just hope Gordon Bennett’s doesn’t really get too packed, because then it just gets annoying. It just seems like a place to relax with some friends and get schwasted.

When I heard about the stache bash, I was like «oOOOoo.» And when I heard it’s on the other side of Brooklyn and I need to transfer to 3 trains to get home, I was like «ohhh…» But since it’s on a Friday and it’s not like I can wear a stache every day kind of thing, then of course I was like, «oh yea, let’s do it!»
Hmm…just a stache? Why not play it up? So I finally put to use this girly tuxedo I had in my closet, borrowed my friend’s bow tie and wore a hat to be Charlie Chaplin for the night. It was quite funny when I dressed up after work in the bathroom and people thought I was ushering an event or was a waitress haha.
The event was pretty great. There were many familiar faces or not so many familiar faces because people do look really different with extra facial hair. The space was pretty small to hold this many Unilocalers and their +1s, but the food was plentiful. The sweet lady just kept on rolling out with trays and platters of sliders, pulled pork sandwiches, bruschetta and crème brûlée bread pudding. By the way the crème brûlée pudding was wicked! Loved it a lot!
I didn’t eat much at the stache bash because I didn’t know it was that hard to eat with a stache — it was getting in my mouth, my food and it was falling off lol. I went out to make a quick phone call and I got hit on by this passerby… I guess wearing a stache makes everyone sexier haha. At one point in the party someone looked directly at me and said «Charlie!» And I was startled and looked around and was like «who’s Charlie? Why is he calling me that?» haha. Thanks to my +1, she reminded me I am Charlie that night. Funny thing was I didn’t even drink haha.
But all and all I had a great time with the Unilocalers I’ve already known and it was pretty neat to meet other Unilocalers that night. I guess it was really worth the 3 train transfers to get home. Thanks to Gordon Bennett for having us, the sweet lady who brought out all the food, all the awesome Unilocalers and of course to Jane K and Peter D for throwing yet another witty and fun YEE!

Peter D: Your events almost make me want to live in Brooklyn. If Queens didn’t exist, I would maybe consider it.
Yes, those were some good mushroom caps, wings and sliders. The brew was tasty as well. I especially liked the ginger muffin that was tending bar — she was nice.
Note: Fake mustaches do not stick to real mustaches. But special thanks to the Unilocaler with the black lipstick — that was a good alternative.
Space was a little tight, so I was inappropriately groped a few times, most likely by Jane K, who looked extra «special» in her mustache.
Overall, a fantastic event made even better by the addition of facial hair. Thank you.

On October 29, 2010 strange things happened.
— I know no longer despise gin. Evident by the empty glasses of Bulldog Gin + Cider I left behind.
— I took the M train, not to go home to Queens but to the borough of Brooklyn
— For a night, I banished my girly ways and let the hair on my upper lip take the spotlight
— I ate not one, but two of those crème brûlée dishes*
— Normally opposed to tight places, I rather enjoyed rubbing elbows and other body parts with Unilocalers old and new
— I no longer hate Brooklyn**
One thing for certain that has not changed, is that I will still travel for great food, bangin cocktails, a chill atmosphere and an awesome crowd of people. Kudos to the Unilocal team for throwing a hot Stache Bash!
— — — — — — — — — — –
* I’m not a big dessert fan
** I never really hated Brooklyn, just the MTA for not allowing me easy access to the borough from where I live

Let me just start by saying that I did NOT bring that drunk psycho lady as my + 1. I wasn’t even entitled to bring a + 1. Still, it is as much to my chagrin, as it was to Jane’s, when this «woman» spilled a beer all over the check in table, Jane, and her check in partner. My namesake quickly came over and informed the «woman» that it was a private party and told her to leave. When her attempt to open the door failed I gladly opened it for her and sent her off into the brisk night.
I struggled at first to find a spot to call my own but once I did I was able to enjoy the event, some wanna be Guinness, and my fellow Unilocalers. Not sure if the space was too small or if there were too many people but yeah, you get my drift.
I did kind of find it odd that so many people, including the women, had mustaches. They must be making a come back!

I love Elite events and Gordon Bennett was AWESOME. Two big thumbs up to Unilocal,Gordon Bennett and Bulldog gin! The bulldog and cider was SOOOOOOOOOOOO good, I cant wait to introduce all my friends to this delicious drink. The food and service at Gordon Bennett was EXCELLENT! The wait and bar staff were so friendly! Unilocal do I really need to say anything? YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! can we have more of these «costume» parties? I loved seeing everyone in their stashs!
Oh my cats were having so much fun, one cat jumped ship. If you found him please give him a good home.

S/​O to the 2 Asians chicks who gave me a mustache near the end. I finally fit in! LOL. I had a great time at my first Unilocal event. Loved the vibe. Really surprised by the amount of food: wings, sliders, bruschettas, crème brûlée. they kept coming. Totally regretted eating beforehand. Staff was awesome, especially the bartenders. My new fav drink: apple cider + gin. thanks Unilocal

Peter and Jane are on certainly on the point; I love these wacky and fun ideas for NY elite events. There were so many creative mustaches — my favorite being a full on gray beard worn by a lady (unfortunately, I didn’t get her name). As usual, the crowd was full of friendly faces. The venue was cozy and was oozing with character.
3 CHEERS FOR THE WAITSTAFF!!! They were working hard and always had huge smiles on their faces. Constant stream of delicious apps from the kitchen — pulled pork was my favorite of the bunch.
Fun times in the bathroom line — I shared a DIVINE chocolate bread pudding dessert with Laura A. Goes to show that true Unilocalers will enjoy food anywhere!

One of the things that always bothers me about Elite events is I never seem to get into the pictures. Is that because I’m usually stuffing my face with great drinks and food? Sure. But spare me your logical assumptions and connections and just photograph me already!
So at Gordon Bennett, which I recognized instantly as that cool place I run past on marathon training runs that go over the Williamsburg Bridge before annoying all the Hasids on Saturday mornings as I continue down Bedford, I found the perfect solution to my issue — set up shop next to the cameraman! I ended up in more photos than I’ve ever been in, and that’s in addition to the beautiful scenery, the drink specials (three different beers to choose from!) and as Clint said, a staff that made sure everyone got as much food as they could work out, even if we stood in teh front corner the whole time and never really left.
I really liked this place, especially the gigantic mac and cheese we ordered after the official event was over (it was truly gigantic — we didn’t finish it and that’s almost sacreligious) and would love to come back.
Thanks pete and Jane!

Let me tell you something about stashes: I cant grow one! That’s why this event was so much fun for me. It was like everyone got to grow one for a day and they all grew in differently!
It felt like the fall finally rolled in on the night of this event, that’s why everyone grew a stashe to stay warm. OK enough with the corny jokes.
The friends and beer flowed at this event, I was really happy to see everyone again.
I was really impressed with the juicy plumpness of the chicken wings served up by the friendly Gordon Bennett staff. I just don’t know what happened to the dipping sauce, it was very watered down and dripped all over the place.
Being right under the Willy B bridge was magical, I like the exact gps coordinates of this place alot and view of the bridge from outside is pretty cool too at night. Finding this place was a slightly different story.
My little photo series of faulty mustaches kept me amused for the entire event too.
Sorry I missed the after party. I ended up going home alone after being talked into leaving. Next time Unilocal,next time.

This Unilocal event was grrrrreat! First here’s how the scoring went.
5 stars cuz you start off everything with 5 stars and work your way down… or atleast I do, especially the Unilocal events.
Minus 1 star because it was sooooo out of the way!
Plus 1 star for the grrrreat service:
It was awesome, the lady who was walking around with the food was really all about making sure everyone got food to eat, which usually isn’t the case at the free-​for-​all food tables at the other events. She brought out the yummy cheese stuffed mushrooms first, then when me and Bobby C. had a few of those she says, «don’t get too full I’m coming with buffalo wings next.» She came over to where we were sitting and brought us a plate of 4 buffalo wings with sauce to dip. She did the same thing with the DELICIOUSSSS sliders they had. Man that was really awesome of her to do that. Combine that with some yummy stout and Gin & Juice and you have another 5 star Elite Event… big ups to Peter D… the hardest working man in the reviewing business!

It was great!
The vibe, the crowd, the veggie burgers and bruschetta, the gin & tonic, and facial hair. I have to confess that a lot of the action revolved around the bathroom downstairs. After my first attempt was deterred by a few Unilocalers I got lost in conversation with, I ran downstairs later and I’m sorry to the guy who forgot to lock the door.
As usual, the Brooklyn elite events always have this unpretentious vibe where there’s this perfect balance of service, patience, and satisfied people. Thanks to the Unilocal team for pulling off a great event and picking another amazing place to go to!

Unilocalers make facial hair look good. Or is it vice versa? Or was it the gin? Oh the gin. Here is a random question to anyone that had the london cider, did it remind you of a popsicle/​popsicle stick? Think about it. Yes? No? I know i’m not alone on this one… right Leighann?
The food: fries, sliders, stuffed mushrooms, buffalo wings, bruschetta and crème brûlée = delicious.
The drinks: london cider– you are my new favorite fall drink. Were great.
The company: AWESOME! It was great seeing some old faces (hi guys!) and meeting some new ones (hi to you too!).
special thanks to Vivian H for letting me be her +1
and thanks Peter, Jane and Leighann for an awesome friday night!
it was definitely worth the trip out to brooklyn!
hope to see everyone soon =D

My oh my was it hard to recognize friends with extra facial hair on. It even made some speak differently too. The stache took over Unilocalers in full force!
There was an abundant serving of mushrooms with goat cheese, brioche sliders, buffalo wings, fries, semi brulee semi pudding w chocolate dish and yummy pulled pork samiches. We were seated at a great spot just off of the kitchen. So when the owner came with a tray of new dish, she made sure our table had enough serving. Thank you very much! My preferred drink was the bulldog gin with cider. Woof! It was simple yet tasty.
Oh speaking of samiches… we started a series of photos called Cassy/​ie samich. I’ll post a few to give you an idea ;)
Another fun successful event to meet and catch up with fellow cool Elite Unilocalers. Thanks Peter D., Jane K. and Leighann F. for giving us a great halloween weekend kick off party! And thanks to Matteo for allowing me to be your Awesome Guest.

Williamsburg is a pain to get to from where I live so for this event, it was no fun traveling there. I had to take the D to transfer to the N so that I could end up taking the J to the nearest subway stop. Even then, I had to walk a couple of blocks to Gordon Bennett. The second I got off the train, I knew I wasn’t in familiar territory anymore and didn’t know which direction to head to. A kindly old man saw our group’s confusion and after finding out where we were supposed to be going to, pointed us a few blocks down… in the wrong direction. I guess it was the thought that counts. Just wished he would have thought harder before his fingers started to point. After back tracking and getting lost a little bit more, we ended up being about half an hour late.
Walking in, the first thing I saw besides the sign in table with our beloved Unilocal community managers trio, was buffalo wings… or should I say the bones of what was left of it. Awww… I missed it. For those that know me and my reviews, they would know I’ve been making a list of buffalo wings in NYC and not being able to try these is devastating to me. I asked the waitress serving the food if there was a chance they would be bringing more out? She tried her best to get me some to sample but alas it was a no go since they ran out of wings. She was a sweetheart for even attempting it and memorizing my name in case they could make another batch.
Food came out constantly from the kitchen through out the night. Every few minutes it was something different. The highlight came at the very end with this incredibly delicious crème brûlée dessert that everyone that I talked to, agreed was the best of the night. I haven’t seen this much variety from a Unilocal pub event since Sweet Afton about a little less than a year ago. As always, the drinks were free flowing and that cider concoction was amazing.
The venue was small and everyone was packed into the tiny little pub. If there was ever a time to get to know your fellow Unilocalers real well, tonight was the night. Because of the lack of space, we were rubbing elbows… and backs, and behin… err. never mind.
I never knew that the ladies on Unilocal could look so pretty with mustaches on. *Wolf whistle real hard* I think I have a new fetish. My mustache was fun until it started getting in the way of my food and parts of that damn thing decides that my nostrils were a good hiding place for some of it’s hair. After that it was demoted to a goatee on my chin and then when it finally fell off on it’s own (wink wink) halfway through the event, a stepping rug on the floor. I felt like tap dancing on top of it singing «free. I’m finally free» at this point.
At the end, some of us liked this place so much that we stayed an extra hour and a half past the event. New faces, old faces, Peter D, Jane K, Leighann F (She’s starting to recognize me… yea!!!), they are what what makes these events so fun. Long ass travel forgotten. It was all worth it. I love my fellow Unilocalers. You all know who you are. Thanks for another great get together. Thanks Gorden Bennett for hosting us. Now I want a dozen or two order of that crème brûlée thingy to go.

:-{)
The hottness was in full swing at Gordon Bennett last night, thanks to a super-​packed event.
Didn’t recognize that many faces[1], partly because of the copious amounts of facial hair on display, and partly because of the copious amounts of alcohol I had. The Red Wagon IPA was good, the Belhaven Stout brought nostalgic tears to my eyes [2], and the Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale made me reconsider the pros of the fall season.
Copious amounts of food kept coming out of the kitchen. Highlights included a very juicy pulled pork sandwich and a yummy crème brûlée/​bread pudding with chocolate bits.
I don’t remember much of the afterparty at East River Bar…
Shout out to my Unilocal friend Maria M., whom I finally had the pleasure of meeting in person.
Minus one star for the most convoluted way to go back home: Brooklyn to Manhattan to Brooklyn; and J to the F to the C. WTF…
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
[1] Who the hell were all these people?!
[2] Sweet remembrance tears of my years in Scotland.

I’d better write my review now before all that free-​flowing Bulldog Gin obliterates my recollection of the night.
I had such an amazing time because:
— I love themed events and it was the rare occasion where my unwaxed upper lip actually came in handy
— people who hang out in Brooklyn are the coolest people on Earth
— my fabulous +1 John F. is an instant fun-​maker
— the food came out of the kitchen in full force faster than an early load-​blower
— the warm bread pudding with chocolate was better than the cute mystery guy at the office making small talk with me today (OK, maybe not but damn close)
— gin makes me feel like I’m floating on a motherf*cking cloud
— Peter D.‘s hilarious «hurry hard» broom mustache
So great to see familiar Elite faces and meet some new Unilocalers («La Perla» C. and Dan R., I heart you guys!). Thanks to Peter D. and the NYC Unilocal crew for liquoring me up and making me love life.
Gin is awesome.

Okay so I’m like breaking away from my month long hiatus of writing reviews to post but this was awesome!
A healthy crowd, mustaches abound and excellent food. May I just say if you were one of the unlucky carnivorous Unilocal eaters who elected to eat a veggie burger, well shame on you! The meat sliders that Gordon Bennett served up rich and full of beefy flavor. And don’t get me started on the wings, wings on steroids itself.
Props to the fabulous selection of booze. That bulldog gin is still leaving a mark in my system. Props to my wonderful +1 Vito, dude that guy know how to rock a ‘stache. And props to the Unilocal crew for throwing a kickass event!
Brooklyn events, oh how I heart you and your peeps.
Postscript: Did anyone else notice Baohaus’ cool Eddie Huang in the crowd? A little ironic n’est-ce pas?

There
Were fine
Meats, free drinks
And new friends with
Mustaches. Thanks Elise A and all. Fun!