Elite Event: Oakland Restaurant Week Kick-Off Party

Sometimes I need a little reminder, just a little nudge. The Oakland Restaurant Week Kick-​Off Party YEE was that little reminder.
I need to get out here more often.
That was thought that replayed in my head over & over as I took a short stroll around Lake Merritt before the YEE started. The Lake Merritt area of Oakland is really quite scenic & Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill has a front row seat to all of it.
For the 1^st East Bay YEE of 2013, this was a blast. Lake Chalet was every bit as elegant & lovely on the inside as the view was outside. The East Bay Elite crowd turned out big time & kept the energy level upbeat all night. It was great to see the familiar faces of some East Bay cohorts & meet some new Elites.
The Lake Chalet bar staff deserves specific recognition for somehow doing a good job of keeping up with the overwhelming drink demand, even while mixing each cocktail to order. Elites are a thirsty bunch & the bars were slammed!
Thanks & gratitude, as always, to our masterful maker of awesome, Nique F. & the whole Unilocal crew for treating all of us Elites & our +1’s to a fun night out on the shores of Lake Merritt. Thanks also to Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill for graciously hosting this Kick-​Off Party.
& thanks for the reminder. Oakland has some pretty cool restaurants that I really need to get out to more often.

Who can take an already upscale establishment and turn out a most droolworthy chic event? Our own grand dame of decorum, Miss Nique, that’s who. Lake Chalet brought the goods and Unilocal squeezed every drop of its swanky essence to forge one unforgettable party for us lucky attendees.
Personal highlights included:
— a taste of the Chalon Vineyard Pinot Noir: intense but well-​balanced, a hint of cherry;
— my Wild Turkey bourbon with ginger & mint: a hint of mint julep but a lot more character;
— a sip of my friend’s Cinnamon Crusto: wow, unexpected and not too sweet. One could get in trouble with these;
— a taste each of mussels and the cheese with pesto. I’ll get you next time, you wascally wabbit.
— the welcome by our very own Mayor Quan, who was fun to rub elbows with. I wonder if she has a Unilocal alias, hmmm …
— music by DJ Matt the Katt, making the good times even better;
— an after all the revelry, re-​living the moments with great friends with the awesome photos from James M. Ngo, who always knows how to bring out the best in the best of times.
All this fun, and on a MONDAY, can you believe? An excellent precursor to our city’s restaurant week. We’re one of the top dining destinations in the country, folks, so let’s get out there and do justice to those shiny Unilocal badges. :)
A big, BIG thanks to all the vendors, to our mayor, and to our wonderful hostess Nique and the entire Unilocal team for an amazingly fun time. And thanks especially to Lake Chalet … I’ve enjoyed you at night before, but honestly it’s been awhile, and I forgot, looking at the rippling lights reflected off Lake Merritt with a nice cocktail and great music, just how special it feels to live in Oakland.

The Oakland Restaurant Week Kick-​Off Party was a pleasant event in a stunning locale. It was also attended by a diverse group as members of Oakland Art Murmur and other Community citizens (including Mayor Jean Quan) were present. I had a particularly enjoyable conversation with a Napa Vintner about Wine, Women, Song, and of course Art.
It was great to see various fellow Unilocal travelers to catch up and of course comment about various sundry topics. I nursed a single glass of Chalon Pinot Noir, munched on various available hors d’oeuvres, and enjoyed wandering around to watch people, listen in on various conversations, and take in the Lake Merritt view. Everyone was very nice including the restaurant staff, the many sponsors, the Restaurant Week and Art Murmur folks. Nique of course was at the top of her game and I’m always grateful for the hard work that you puts in on our behalf.
Then of course there are the amazing selection of Greater Oakland restaurants out there to try and enjoy. I’m sure that I’ll Hopscotch over!

Despite writing reviews prolifically to «hear» myself talk, I only go to a Unilocal event maybe once a year. So, having been invited to this event, I’ve either gotten it out of the way early, or I’ve opened the flood gates to more events.
We showed up well after 7pm. Anyone who’s been to a Unilocal event knows what that means. No food and limited booze. Booo. I spent about ten minutes talking to some of the Art Murmur folks. Apparently they’re a bit bent out of shape about First Fridays taking the lion’s share of glory for Uptown’s renaissance, and rightfully so. After all, this all started with Art Murmur and now it’s a growing street festival more about booze and food ( Unilocal!) than the art that inspired it. I gave ‘em ten bucks as a donation, then moved onto the bar, in true Unilocal fashion.
My bartender, Daniel, was competent, but overwhelmed by people’s requests for free drinks. He poured a stiff cocktail. Three of them over the night got me feeling pretty good. Don’t forget to tip your servers folks.
I was pleasantly ignored by Mayor Quan. I guess she doesn’t need to gladhand everyone these days. Then again, it’s not like I rushed over to brown nose the mayor. We listened to some folks talk about Oakland Restaurant Week. And then we some how missed the raffle. It was good to come out and meet some of the Unilocal avatars in person, and I finally met our East Bay CM Nique. Haha, how did I manage to avoid that all these years?
We had such a good time, that we stayed afterwards and had a bite to eat while enjoying the beautiful surroundings at Lake Chalet.

Overall fun event. Mayor Quan was in attendance and gave a speech. Tasty bites and nice cocktails. Raffle entry if you donated to Art Murmur.
Food & drinks could have been handled better. There was just one cocktail maker in the larger side-​room (with DJ Matt the Kat) handling a large crowd and the small platters of hors d’oeuvres, which looked great, were vultured upon and barely made it 10 feet from the kitchen door.

What a crowd! I didn’t get to meet all the Unilocal friends on my list because they didn’t all check in (boo!). I’ve never been to the Lake Chalet — from what I have heard, it’s all about eggs/​bacon/​mimosa — and I know what Lake Merritt looks like, so I just haven’t gone. I have to say — I was quite impressed — it’s a very pretty restaurant — or restaurants, apparently there are two sides. Most of the party was in the free standing side to the west.
Drinks were plentiful but food was scarce. Nique told me Ozumo had vegan appetizers but they were gone in under 20 minutes after — the basic problem is that vegans only eat the vegan stuff, but non-​vegans eat EVERYTHING indiscriminately. Harumph!
Fortunately, when I inquired in the kitchen if they had anything vegan coming out — the chef was very kind and said he’d do something for me, and a small plate of toast points with sundried tomato tapanade and some delicious thin sliced zucchini pickle were personally delivered to me, much to the envy of EVERYONE else. Big kudos to the kitchen for making me a happy vegan — and for demonstrating the kind of graciousness and flexibility that makes me consider Lake Chalet as a real possibility for a dinner or lunch in the very near future (the view is pretty nice from inside, and there’s no goose poop!).
I would also like to thank Nique for the opportunity to talk to the Mayor so I could talk to her about the problems with muggings (and guns!) in my Temescal/​Rockridge neighborhood — which resulted in one of my Unilocal Elite friends getting SHOT in the damned leg in broad daylight. I described my plan to the Mayor for helping OPD identify the muggers in my neighborhood by baiting them with backpacks full of cat poop and marijuana mixed up with dried poison oak. So far, nobody has taken my cat poop and I have no idea where to get marijuana, however. Mayor K refused to comment on liability in response to my plan, but I made her promise to arrest anyone who showed up at Highland with poison oak burned lungs. :)

Recollection was confounded last night with the truly delicious servings of all manner lusciousness in a venue that I had remembered for something else. Maybe I’ve been gone too long.
Certainly I’ve been gone too long.
Kitchen — you rock! Servers — you rock too!
If Amy had gotten the nerve to shout Don’t Shoot Me while her honor was speaking I’d figure out how to make this a six-​star review.
The Chalet is cool, and once spring springs I will make a point of filling those cabana chairs with my pale self once again. Nique — thanks for the reminder. And thanks for filling the house with an expanding posse of very excellent Unilocalers. It was a lovely venue, a lovely vibe. You are an amazing lady.
Let’s do it again.

What a great space! Seriously. The view of Oakland from this place is amazing. There was plenty of room to mingle without it feeling over crowded. I met a few new Unilocalers in addition to saying hello the usual suspects. Thanks to John Z. for graciously offering his plus one to me. I had been wait listed but felt okay sharing the love.
The small bites were quickly snatched up. I had been running around all day so I hadn’t had much time to eat. The nibbles that I had sampled were pretty tasty. The drinks also seemed quite tasty as well. I had to go easy on the one that Markus had given me.
Also nice to see Oakland Art Murmur representing at the raffle. I didn’t see any info about it or I would have donated. I was too busy trying to find my friends at the event.
The music was also pretty awesome as well. Nique always knows which DJ will play the good stuff. As a music geek, that means a lot!
Overall, this was a super chill way to kick off restaurant week. I need to rally some friends to go and try some of the restaurants that are featured.
Kudos to Nique, Jocelyn and the rest of the Unilocal staff. It’s been neat being elite all these years.

What a Classy and Swanky way of Starting Oakland Restaurant Week. Great Job Nique and Jocelyn Thanks. Also had a a Great Cause to donate to Oakland Art Murmur. Even in Attendance was Oakland’s Mayor Quan a personal hero of mine.
The Venue was Off the Chain Lake Chalet the Crown Jewel of Lake Merritt. Part of Old Oakland Beauty. Nique and her posse greeting and checking everyone in very efficiently.
DJ Matt the Kat jamming the tunes made it a festive atmosphere.
3 Bars to pick from My fave was the Wine Bar and the Pinot Noir. Very Generous pours.
Small bites– Mussels, Cheese with Pesto, Rabbit Pâté was in Circulation.
The Mayor of Oakland gave a nice speech and small meet and greet in the Main room.
The Raffle for assorted prizes — Lake Chalet Dinner for 2, Art Murmur Schwag, and Assorted Gift Certificates.
The new Class of 2013 Elites a lot of Beautiful and Smart Elite Women in Attendance.
It was nice Meeting New Elites and the Usual Suspect Elites
A Great Start to the 2013 Eastbay Elite Season.
Thanks again Nique, Jocelyn, Lake Chalet and Mayor Quan.
I had a great time.
2013 The Year Of Trials And Tribulations and Getting Back To Basics.

My first Unilocal Event of 2013 and a great start at a great location. Thanks to Nique and Unilocal squad for putting together such a fantubolous event at The Lake Chalet restaurant on the shores of Lake Merritt. It is always a fun time talking to the Unilocal Elite veterans with the new knighted Elites.
Great hor dourves — mussels, cheese with pesto, rabbit pâté were served with the complimentary beer, wine & cocktails during the event. I had a waited in line for one of the mixed drinks, the Siesta drink — Tequila with Campari and juices. Wow!
The Unilocal Squad put together the following: Lake Chalet dinner for two & gondola ride, free Art Murmur membership & schwag, gift certificates from Oakland Restaurant Week, and more! Definitely worth buying the raffle tickets and for a great cause.
I can’t wait for the next Elite Event.

The Lake Chalet was a perfect spot to have a party to kickoff Oakland’s Dining week. The building is beautiful, and for me it is a perfect example of the good things in Oakland.
Nique and the Unilocal squad put on an amazing party. The drinks were perfect, and the appetizers tasty. I really loved the hot oysters on the spoons. The music was conducive for conversation. It was an ideal place to meet and mingle with other Unilocalers and members of the art community.
S, who really did not want to go with me, had such a good time he did not want to leave. He was charmed by Nique and impressed with the chance to talk to the mayor.
This party set the bar pretty high for future Unilocal events