Elite VIP Dinner @ BlackFinn American Grille

Sorry for the late review!
I had a great time at this event. For it being a «last minute» thing, I thought it went off without a hitch so kudos to Aimee’s awesome planning and organizational skills.
These dinners are a great way to get to know other Unilocalers a little better since they’re typically smaller. This is my favorite type of Unilocal event.
There’s not much more I can add that others didn’t cover. I haven’t been back to BlackFinn since this event, but I would definitely go with friends to give them another try. The food was average, but it’s nice to have another mall dining option if you’re out that way. I think they’ll be pretty good once they’ve had some time to work out the kinks.

First, I have to say that I love the ambiance of this place. It’s a classier place that would be good for a date night. It’s not overwhelming where you need dress attire, but not a sundress and flip flops type of place. As we waited for the event I was greeted by a manager who walked me over to the bar when I said that I needed a drink. I asked one that was a house favorite and I had cucumber water which was cucumber gin with white cranberry juice. The manager stayed there until my drink was delivered at the bar.
The service was top notch. We had two of the best waiters waiting on us. They knew the ins and outs of when to be there and when to not. It was perfect. Very rare do I find a good dinner that it’s perfect and only interrupted in the perfect time. These waiters knew the skill in being there when needed.
The Appetizers
Ying yang shrimp– My favorite appetizer. It’s sauce it was seasoned with was a little sweet and a little tangy. I was impressed how it was more decedent and not fishy. Nothing is worse to me than fishy shrimp. So obviously this place had a great cook.
Flatbread, — I liked it. Would I order it again? Ah, no. But only because there was too much deliciousness in this restaurant. I’ll save my room in my stomach for something else.
Blackened Brie, — This was my second favorite. It had a hint of smokyness with a side of cranberry. Very interesting!
The Tuna– I’m a two bites aka two strikes you out. After two bites, if I’m not feeling it, I’m not eating it. It was very bland. It has much room for improvement.
Black Finn Salad, I like olives but not in this salad. I’m not a fan. Now their homemade Creamy parmasan dressing, I could probably drink. It’s just that good.
Entrees and sides:
Bacon wrapped meatloaf I couldn’t get over how delicious this was. Some of the people that I was with said that they thought it was dry. I did not think it was very dry at all. I mean meatloaf typically is a little more on the dry side.
Brussel Sprouts with bacon: If my mom would of made brussel sprouts like this when I was little, I wouldn’t of fed my Mom’s to the dog. They defintely had the bacon taste and a little buttery. I will come back for these.
Queen City Chicken– I loved the pairing with bacon, however I only seemed to have dry pieces. It may of just been the people I was with got the good pieces.
Blackened chicken alfredo was very filling and really good. I did like the flavor of it. I would have to give it another try. I was too in love with the Bacon wrapped meatloaf to give anything else much attention.
Dessert: I had a bite of Desiree’s Hot Chocolate dessert. Amazing. Best dessert I’ve had in a long time. It was a warm, moist cake with a hint of peanut butter an caramel with ice cream and whipped cream and caramel on top. Wow was it good. I’d only order this again if I had others to share it with. It’s pretty large for one person.
Thank you for an amazing event.

I feel like my buddy, Steven B summed up this elite VIP dinner at Blackfinn down to a T! This was my second elite dinner and I always look forward to these for the fact that I get to see some old faces but meet some new Unilocalers as well.
Pros:
— The apps and the brussel sprouts were my favorites for the night. I loved the blackened brie with cranberry chutney on top. It was sweet and savory — my two favorite taste buds in one!
— The brussel sprouts were out of this world! It was perfectly crisped and melted in my mouth!
— Our server Adam was the perfect example of what service should be in every dining experience. I will most definitely ask for you the next time I head to Blackfinn!
Cons:
— I was actually looking forward to their menu but I was sadly disappointed by the main entrees.
— The salmon was way too dry for my liking as well as the bacon wrapped meat loaf. Yuck!
All in all, an elite dinner event is always full of good laughter, lots of food and wine, and good company! Kudos to Aimee for putting together a great event!

It is hard to believe that this was my first ever Elite «Dinner»! I have been to many other events as an Elite member, but the size of this dinner was just perfect and I was honored to be a part of it.
BlackFinn is a very nice restaurant. It felt classy in a comfortable kind of way. Since we were dining in as Unilocalers I knew we were going to get some «stellar service, but I had no idea it was going to be that great! The booths we were in were comfy and the company was great. The only downer (others have mentioned) was that we were kind of separated and it was kind of hard to chat with all the other Elites. I was able to shout over to the other tables, but it was definitely not that kind of restaurant where I felt comfortable using my «outside voice». Thank goodness for great Elites at my booth to keep the chit-​chat flowing. It was great to meet new Elites and enjoy conversation with them as well.
The food was really good. I can’t complain about any of it. I know that the one thing I would go back for… wait…the 2 things I would go back for would be the Chicken Alfredo and the BlackFinn Hot Chocolate! Both were delicious and I couldn’t get enough. The glasses of Cab that I drank were really delicious as well.
Overall; the restaurant was awesome, the company was great, and the event sure was top-​notch. I hope to be a part of many more dinners like this one. Kudos to Aimee as she has yet again done a great job planning and organizing this event. Thank you for letting us all be a part of it.
BlackFinn will be on my list of restaurants to re-​visit just so I can experience as a «regular» customer. Watch out!

What can I add that has not already been written? I found the food to be abundant and the service to be second to none. Things of note: I have never had Brussels sprouts flash fried before. These were the best I have had ever! The salad had a buttermilk parmesan cheese dressing with garlic. Outstanding.
There was so much food I did not sample all of it. I had to raise the white flag and pass on the mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, pasta, asparagus, carrots and dessert.
The Elite’s and the conversation was about food, food, and more food. BlackFinn did an amazing job of keeping the food and wine flowing during the whole meal. I myself had a diet Coke and my glass was always filled. Sometimes I had to ask if it was mine or not as the server would just slide another diet and I never saw her.
Aimee puts on a great event. I am most thankful and blessed that I have been to a few of these. I do cherish these events and the whole Unilocal experience.
pk

Where do I begin to tell the story of an Elite VIP Dinner? Do I begin with the ambiance? The fabulous Diners? Or do I jump right in and tell you about how some of the food was a hit and others were a miss? I’ll use a format similar to Nick V., so pretend you’re in a meeting watching a PowerPoint presentation. Pictures have been posted for your enjoyment.
Ambiance:
Comfy, casual elegance. Lot’s of wood paneling giving the warm feeling of elegance and comfy upholstered chairs and booths. The casualness comes from the variety of contemporary art on the walls.
We were seated in four large booths, each seated six Elite Unilocalers. There was enough space that you did not feel crammed and the table space was large enough to accommodate all the plates and bowls for our family dining. The only downside of these type booths, is when the innermost person needs to get out, two need to move.
Diners:
You could not of found a better group of people. The only way you could, is if you replaced them with another Saint Louis Elite. As mentioned in other reviews, the crowd was very diverse, but blended together well. After all, we all have Unilocal in common.
Hostess:
As always, Aimee was charming and the perfect hostess. She made sure everyone was taken care of and mingled with each and every table.
Servers:
Adam and Nancy, I want you to follow me around to every place that I eat out. You were true professionals. I was impressed, that you were learning and remembering all our name as the night progressed. When I come back to BlackFinn, you can be assured I will ask for either of you.
Appetizers:
Ying-​Yang Shrimp: Crispy Shrimp served in a Sweet & Spicy Asian Sauce. I enjoyed this dish very much. It was a great accompaniment to my white wine, which seemed to be endless.
Seared Ahi Tuna: Sushi grade — pepper crusted, pickled ginger and wasabi sauce.
I do not like Sushi and I could not get enough of this one. So glad, that some of the diners at my table were not into it, leaving more for me.
Flatbread: Any place can do Flatbread, it is not that hard to do. However, BF struggled with this one, totally missed the mark.
Blackened Brie: Unique and different. The apricot and cranberry chutney made it stand out from other Blackened Bries I’ve experienced.
Salad:
The BlackFinn salad can be a meal in itself. This was one of the better salads that I have had in awhile. Great mix of field greens and romaine lettuce. Then tossed with shaved Parmesan, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, pine nuts, red onion and topped with house made buttermilk Parmesan dressing. I loved this salad.
Main Entrees:
Lime Seared Salmon:
Best of all the entrees, I am a big fan of Salmon and found this to be an enjoyable presentation. I would easily reorder this on a future visit.
Blackened Chicken Alfredo:
Rich creamy sauce and enough blackened seasoning on the chicken to give this pasta dish a little kick. Pair this up with a BlackFinn Salad and you’ve got a great meal.
Queen City Chicken: Boring! How can you bacon crust a chicken breast, stuff it with sweet sausage and have it come out bland? To make that happen, they had to work real hard.
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf: No comparison to the ones you can get at privately owned restaurants in St. Louis that specialize in farm to table cuisine. This entrée was as equally disappointing as the Queen City Chicken.
Vegetables:
These six side dishes were true highlights of the evening. Vegetables like these could persuade me into becoming vegetarian.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Creamy, whipped to perfection. Would have liked more garlic flavor, but still very good.
Sweet Potato Mash: Equally as good as the other potatoes. Again, for my personal taste, I would have liked more brown sugar and Cinnamon mixed in.
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon: Yummy. Give me the entire bowl.
Asparagus: Steamed perfectly. Perfect tenderness and crispness. Only grilling would have made them better.
Maple Glazed Carrots: Again, give me the entire bowl. Cooked to perfection, carrots had good snap to them and the glaze was perfect for a Thanksgiving feast.
Steamed Broccoli: Steamed well.
Dessert: BlackFinn Hot Chocolate:
Whoever created this dish should be spanked with a spatula. It is totally decadent, sinful and worth breaking a diet for. The way they blended the chocolate, whip cream, vanilla and peanut butter hidden at the very bottom is masterful.
My fellow Elite’s if you haven’t been to a VIP Dinner, make an attempt to attend the next one. These are rare and fabulous experiences.

This was my first Unilocal event and it was AMAZING! I look forward to many more to come. I enjoyed meeting everyone, and agree that the seating was at all not great for a large group. It seems the biggest table they have seats 6. My table had great interesting conversation, i enjoyed this evening tremendously with my fellow Unilocalers.
So, for my reviews:
Dessert:
I MUST Talk about this first! YOU MUST get the Black Finn Hot Chocolate it is worth every bit of the $ 6.99 that it is. It comes in a big soup bowl type cup and the bottom is full of some sort of chocolate cake mixed with peanut butter and caramel then topped with a huge scoop of ice cream again the caramel and peanut butter flavor then topped with of course whipped cream and caramel. This thing is to DIE for and is orgasmic in every way… i would come here and drive all the way from the metro east just to have this and only this… it is one of my all time favorite desserts.
The Appetizers
My favorite was the ying yang shrimp, it was very delicious, not fishy at all. I would have to say that the menu is misleading it states that it is «crispy shrimp» to me i would think that means fried shrimp, but it in fact was nowhere near fried. It was served on a bed of lettuce and very flavorful, i would order this again.
Flatbread, i’m not sure which one we had, however, i found it very flavorful. I think it was a great texture kindof like a cracker, not too bread like, if i had a small appetite i might order this again.
Blackened Brie, now here is something i would’ve never ordered, im not a cranberry fan, however, it was delicious! It was one of those foods that enhance all of your senses, i could just taste each flavor one by one as they hit my pallet.
Lastly the Tuna, I cannot rate this i didn’t even try it, it looked appetizing and as some of our other Unilocalers they said it looked like beef, so i guess it is appealing to the eye for tuna.
Salad:
I’m not a big fan of the Black Finn Salad, it was very strong on the olive side and pine nut side. The homemade Creamy parmasean dressing was delicious, i would probably try the dressing with another salad next time.
Entrees and sides:
We started with the Queen City Chicken, it was delicious, some pieces were dry while others were moist and perfect. The bacon was a great touch and it was almost like a wrap cut down into slivers, i enjoyed it, while i would not order it again.
Blackened chicken alfredo — is amazing, the sauce was nice and thick and it had great flavor it is one of those italian pasta dishes i would be able to tolerate for being my whole meal. I would definitely order this again.
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf — this seemed a bit dry to me, it fell apart very easily, while it was flavorful it is in the middle class of my meatloaf experience and the bacon is the only reason it got there.
Brussel Sprouts with bacon — OH MY GOD AMAZING!!! I have never even liked brussel sprouts but something about these makes me want more, this would be my first side of choice at this place.
Carrots, asparagus and carrots — just as they always are anywhere else, just taste like what they are, the carrots were nice and tender.
Sweet Potatoes and garlic mashed potatoes — you can tell these were homemade, they were very very very very yummy!
My experience at Black Finn was great, while I do have to add that I do wonder if the service is as great if we were there on our own.

Another stellar Unilocal Elite event! My facebook friends just called me a Unilocal addict and I am not arguing!
BlackFinn itself is a very cool place to be. I couldn’t believe how popular it was on a weeknight after only opening a few weeks ago. They have a comfortable dining room, two different bars and a work in progress patio for outdoor seating. Can’t wait for that! The sports bar was crowded, noisy, with tv’s everywhere. just what you need for watching a game. The other nautical themed bar was a lot more relaxed and quiet. Free wifi and plugs everywhere, score!
I can’t believe how much I ate tonight too. Bacon wrapped meatloaf? Yes, please! Every kind of vegetable they make? Pass another helping! It was so awesome getting to try a little bit (ok, a LOT) of everything.
I literally texted my friend on the way out the door with «YOU HAVE TO come back and have the hot chocolate dessert with me!!» Talk about decadence in a bowl. don’t forget to dig down into that peanut butter, girls! :)
Great place, great food and even better company. Thanks for putting this together, Aimee!
Excited to go back to this place the next time I’m in the mall!!!