Elite Event: “B” is for Brunch at EVO

Let the Blessed honor of my 100^th review Be Bestowed on the Elite Event: «B» is for Brunch at EVO! And an even BIGGER congratulations to this review for finally Being posted in hopes of locking in my spot as the last to review events as always!
:fingers crossed:
Maybe one day… just glorious day I’ll write a review right when the actual event is happening but until that glorious day here’s the WAY Beyond late but Better than never review.
HUGE kudos to the EVO crew for having Big enough huevos to admit that food service was slow, stepping up to apologize, and fixing it!
Big THANK YOU to Hailey B. and the Unilocal gang for a wonderful event filled with great food (hashBrown waffles, anyBody?), faBulous atmosphere (how Beautiful is EVO?!), smashing Beverages (on the house Booze to Begin with either: a Mimosa and Bloody Mary), and Unilocal friends in B-​AMAZIN’ costumes (such a Bacon the Beanie Baby, Bo Peep, Bunches of Bacon with the occasional side of eggs — fitting for the event’s theme – , Bunnies, Biker Babe, and Batgirl)!
Brunch was a Blast! And I will most certainly Be Back to try other Breakfast treats at EVO in the future!

Shout out from Bacon! As one of three Bacons at B is for Brunch, and as a +1 to several Unilocal Elite events now, I feel like I fit right in.
Thanks to Hailey for putting this together, what a great event! Thanks to EVO for pulling it off with a brand new brunch menu and a suddenly slammed restaurant! Great brunch items, loved the upscale yet relaxed atmoshphere of the venue, enjoyed the Bloody Mary Bar as well. I’m a bloody fan to begin with — I actually asked the server to make me one first, and he made a great bloody, then I tried my own hand at their bar, and made another great bloody. Yum!
I was Bacon for halloween… and had the Pork Belly Quiche… is that weird? Well I don’t care if it was weird, it was delicious and I felt like it wasn’t unhealthy either. The Elite who let me tag along with her :) had the Mascarpone Waffles and loved them. Didn’t even need syrup. On waffles? Yeah! What few hiccups we did have were quicly remedied by the amazing staff, and our experience was a positive one.
Very much looking forward to doing brunch at EVO again and I have a feeling it will be like a gateway drug, with dinner being the eventual next step. If the dinner menu is as creative and tasty as the brunch menu, EVO is an all around winner!

This was my first Elite event since moving to the Valley. Naturally it made sense that the first one I get an invite to involves costumes (check) and booze (check check). Being the noob I am, i’d never heard of EVO, nor been to this part of Old Town. SUPER easy directions and they have their own parking lot!
Upon arrival I was greeted with choice of Bloody Mary or mimosa, and our new CM Hailey’s smiling face. It was a total blast figuring out the B costumes to break the ice & explaining my basic-​ness.
Service was spectacular from beginning to end– refills on refills of mimosas and it didn’t take terribly long to order & get our meal. Quiche is UHH-​mazing, but the portion size was a little small. I’d take more quiche if that means less salad… I’m not a big salad-​for-​breakfast gal. My tablemat’es burrito looked fab, I probably should’ve ordered THAT. Way to go Hailey with your first event!

My favorite Elite event so far! We were spoiled silly! This was my first time at Evo and I definitely plan to return to try the rest of the menu. We were treated to a FULL brunch. Kudos to the Evo staff for making us feel really welcomed and special.
My favorite thing I ate was the Rosemary honey mascarpone waffles. Sounds simple, but seriously, it was a beautiful flavor explosion. This wasn’t even my order, but one of my fellow Elites ordered the waffles and she graciously offered a piece to me. Heaven!
There were giveaways and raffles. And using the hashtag #yelpeatsevobrunch I won some awesome schwag and tickets to the Bentley Polo Party. (Loving that we have a Unilocal Phoenix Instagram account, btw.)
It’s always nice to get together with other people who are also passionate about celebrating food, especially local food. I really liked that we got to bring a plus one, too. My husband came with me to this event and he had the best time. Thank you!

It’s safe to say that everyone I chatted with had a great time at this Halloween brunch event at EVO! The co-​owner (Jeff? Sorry if I remembered your name wrong!) was one of two people who helped with our table’s orders, so we wondered where the service went awry… But first, the event started off well with signing in with paperless event passes[1], picking up Unilocal douche… erm… «wine packs» as a table mate said she’d fill them with (ahem, you know who you are), and catching up with old friends and meeting new ones while we try to guess what everyone is dressed up as.
After we’ve all settled down and have turned in our orders– EVO did such a great job of supplying and replenishing everyone with bottomless mimosas and bloody Marys, so I’m sure not very many complained about the food hiccups! I couldn’t partake in any alcoholic intake since I had to go to work after the event ended, but even if I didn’t have to work after, unless EVO offered mango or peach purée to sub for orange, I could not have the mimosa (orange allergy) nor the bloody Mary (celery and corn allergies). For my brunch entrée, I ordered the hash brown waffles,
as well as the Mascarpone waffles[2], minus the powdered sugar. I usually enjoy something sweet for breakfast, and I do love great mascarpone cream as a topping for waffles and pancakes, so I was very excited about this entrée, so you can imagine my disappointment when a.) the waffles came topped with powdered sugar, and b.) I was told that the mascarpone also contained powdered sugar, the product was already pre-​made, and there wasn’t anything the staff could use to come up with a suitable topping substitute. (Not even granulated sugar and plain mascarpone to replace the pre-​made topping!) Fortunately, Jen H. and her hub were able to enjoy the powder-​topped waffles, instead! I also ordered sides of bacon
and pork belly[3].
So while brunch wasn’t as sweet as I wanted it to be (AND arriving more than an hour after ordering), I still very much enjoyed my hash brown waffles, over medium eggs, and sour cream, as well as the crispy bacon and crisped pork belly! I would order the entrée
and bacon again. However, I found the pork belly to be too much with everything I had already eaten– the side appeared late in the game.
Thank you to Hailey B., Unilocal,EVO, and its staff, for providing free food (and a delicious menu at that!) and beverages for about 40 – 50 hungry Unilocal Elites, Unilocal staff, and photographer! The next time I’m actually looking for something savory for breakfast, I will rush back to EVO for more of those hash brown waffles, especially since I didn’t suffer from any food allergy/​sensitivity while at work that day!
[1] The first time I used paperless passes (scan codes) was during SF’s 10-​Year Anniversary Celebration events. Today’s event at EVO was the first event that new PHX CM Hailey B. had the pleasure of introducing the use of these passes, or at least that’s what I understood her to say…
[2} I ordered more than one side and one entrée only after getting the OK from the co-​owner, who took the orders at our table of five. I’m still wondering what caused the hiccup in the food deliveries (servers were bringing entrees to the wrong tables!), since I’m sure the tables had assigned numbers so that servers knew which tables ordered what? Hmm…
[3] Since everything was given to us for free, I still did my part to tip 20% plus a little extra of what I ordered. I was told that the servers were pooling all the tips made from the event, so I’m hoping everyone tipped well for those bottomless glasses of mimosas and bloody Marys! ;)

This was my first Unilocal event with the new CM Hailey and based on how this one went I cannot wait for the next one! There was a great turn out with a lot of awesome costumes. Was fun trying to figure out all the unique B themed costumes. And what a great location!
EVO has some awesome décor and great food. Since Meg and I were sharing a table with Scott W and Mary S, why not share plates too? We shared an order of Zucchini Cakes, Pot Belly Quiche, Eggs Benedict, and hashbrown waffles. The portions were perfect in size and full of flavor. I really enjoyed how fluffy the Quiche was. The wait staff was awesome. They did a great job handling such a large group and were extremely friendly taking time to chat with us and joke around throughout the event, clearly having a good time as well which is great to see.
Big thank you to Nick and the entire EVO team. I can’t wait to come back to enjoy more of the great food and awesome service experience. And a huge thank you to Hailey for hosting an awesome event. I look forward to the next one.

This event was the bee’s knees! A huge thank you to EVO for hosting us and a huge thank you to Hailey and Unilocal.This was my first event with Hailey as the new CM and she did an amazing job!
Upon arrival, we checked in for some sweet swag and made our way to the back of the room to check it out. The inside of EVO is beautiful. I loved the brick and vintage feel of the place. (Even the bathroom was very nice!) The entire place was open to us Unilocalers and there were plenty in attendance! I saw some amazing costumes — bacon, bees, black cats, baseball players, etc. It was amazing to see everyone dressed up. My husband dressed as a bandit and I was a blackbird dressed all in black with a bird mask. The «B» theme was really clever and I loved it!
Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas were free flowing. My husband tried the Bloody Mary and I ordered a cup of coffee. According to my husband, the Bloody Mary was average. It was served with one olive and had barely a hint of spice. Apparently, there was a Bloody Mary bar where you could build your own, but one was enough. When our waiter came for our orders, I asked what was good and he recommended the Pork Belly Quiche and the Mascarpone Waffles so that’d what we ordered. We received our food rather quickly but my waffles were wrong. They brought me the Hashbrown Waffles. I stated that I ordered the Mascarpone Waffles and they kindly took the plate back. But less than 5 minutes later, the owner swung by with the exact plate of Hashbrown Waffles and said he’d bring me some mascarpone. I told him I actually ordered the Mascarpone Waffles and these were the Hashbrown Waffles. Apparently they thought I wanted mascarpone on my hash browns? It was very confusing but quickly rectified when they brought out my actual order of Mascarpone Waffles. By this time, my husband had finished his pork belly quiche — which I sampled and thought it was delicious. Not a lot of pork belly but the quiche itself was silky smooth and tasty. When I finally dug into my waffles, the mascarpone was deliciously sweet. The waffles were light, airy, and crispy. Once we finished brunch, Hailey held a raffle and Instagram contest. I didn’t win, but congrats to those who did!
Overall, the EVO staff was friendly but definitely stressed. Sorry! A huge thank you to the owner, Nick, and EVO for inviting us Unilocalers. It was a blast! Another huge thank you to Hailey! This event was super fun and I can’t wait for more!

This was my first Elite event since 2011. I must say it was lovely. The staff at Evo was so great. They were professional & welcoming. There were a few logistical issues, but nothing that took away from the amazing food.
I honestly loved the food & drinks. Plus I felt comfortable & welcome there. I most definitely will be back to try more. Thank you to the Evo staff & owners.

So I hate that I can’t give this five stars, because it was a good event, but there were some issues with it. First off, was cool seeing all the «B» costumes, what a fun theme! Also my friend totally bailed on me, causing me to be late and I didn’t know anyone at the event, it was only my second one. Thankfully fellow Unilocalers Lora and Gina were kind enough to let me sit with them and their stuffed monkey :).
Hailey did a great job, she wasn’t at the only other event I had been to, but she did awesome. Also the décor in there is so cool. The only real issue I had was the staff being unprepared for the event. I’m not sure exactly what was going on and I’m sure there was a reason, but that part was disappointing. I got there at 11:10 and didn’t get my food until around 12:45, fifteen minutes before the event was supposed to end! There were very few customers besides us Unilocalers and I’m not sure why it took so ridiculously long to get our food. Other tables who had ordered after us got their food before us. A bit frustrating, especially when I’m starting to get hangry haha.
The food was incredible though. Mimosa was tasty too! I don’t like bloody marys but I thought it was cool that they had a build your own Bloody Mary bar. I noticed that the menu at the restaurant was different than the brunch menu they have listed online, so they must have changed it recently. Which was good because this one had better vegetarian options! I decided to get the zucchini cakes and I’m glad that I did, because it was so delicious. Not something you usually see on a brunch menu. They were delicious, perfect amount of crisp, the veggies in there tasted fresh and the aioli on top added a little more flavor and spice. Was a small looking portion but it really filled me up, I was pleased.

B is for Brunch …
B is also for Badass Event!
How can you go to any Elite Event and hate it?!
This was my first Elite Event with Hailey as our new CM, and boy did she start things off with a bang!
It was great to see everyone getting in the spirit with B Costumes; everything from Baseball, Beanie Baby to «Basic Bitch» — Alex W. was the contest winner in *my* book, all day every day!
We were able to order anything off the brunch menu, so what did Andrew C., Scott W., Mary S. and I do?
Each ordered something different and shared!
We ordered the Hashbrown Waffles, Pork Belly Quiche, Eggs Benedict and Zucchini Cakes.
All phenomenal, especially the Hashbrown Waffles and Eggs Benny!
Plus I crawled back into bed as soon as we got home — What’s not to love about a Sunday Funday Carb Coma in your finest yoga pants?
Thanks Nick and the team at EVO for opening your doors to us this lovely Fall Sunday — We’ll most certainly be back!
And thanks again Hailey. Can’t wait to see what other shenanigans you have in store for our rad little Community!
PS: Per Nick, EVO doesn’t stand for anything. Just an easy name to remember. And here some of us thought they were trying to spin off of Extra Virgin Olive Oil … D’oh!

This was a fun Unilocal event indeed and Hailey did an amazing job. It was fun seeing everyone’s costumes and getting to meet some fellow Unilocalers. This was my third Unilocal Elite event, first one where there was free alcohol. Again, I must stress that Hailey did a great job.
The restaurant on the other hand, seemed a bit unprepared as orders were messed up and there seemed to be some miscommunication with who was paying for what as we received a bill… and I noticed several other tables receiving bills. The people sitting next to us never got their food and had to flag someone down to place their order. It appeared that the business didn’t have a staff meeting before this event and come up with a strategy which lead to the kitchen being overwhelmed and rushing out orders. I have watched enough Gordon Ramsey cooking shows to know that it’s important to have a strategy when hosting a VIP event.
The bloody Mary’s and mimosas were really yummy and I definitely think it’s worth it to do the $ 20 unlimited mimosas and $ 7 for a Bloody Mary isn’t bad.
I love the Unilocal Elite events and hope I’ll get to go to more. :)

The food made me rethink my aversion to breakfast food. We each ordered a dish and shared. I had the Zucchini cakes, My friend had Eggs Benedict, and our table-​mates had the Quiche and a Hash Brown waffle. All of the food was excellent. I usually despise Eggs Benedict but I tried it and this dish here was wonderful.
The Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas were a nice added touch. Also, to note, this place has one of the best cup of coffees in town. I really enjoyed brunch. The service was excellent considering they were a bit short staff due to illness. The «B» costumes were crazy good. I love creativity and word play. Beatle Juice, Baby Bo Peep, and Brawny were my favorites, well besides ours of course. Thanks so much for everything.

I think it’s fair to say that we both had an «Egg-​ceptionally» awesome time at the Evo Brunch this morning. My hubby was reluctant to wear his bacon costume to complete our B-​reakfast attire, because he didn’t want to be the only one guy wearing a costume. Fortunately, there were two other guys there who also sported the bacon wear! I was so relieved, because our costumes as a whole fit the «letter B» theme!
This was the first event where he got to experience the generous offering of unlimited mimosas and the Bloody Mary bar. He was also impressed that we could try anything on the brunch menu. He loved his waffle hash dish and I really enjoyed my Evo Benedict. He got a side of pork belly and I got a side of bacon. People were concerned that he, as a Bacon, would be eating a side of bacon, considering the act «cannibalistic» in nature. He assured the others that in such a special occasion, it would be okay (wink, wink).
The part owner of the restaurant helped serve our table. Some of the orders were a bit mixed and took awhile to arrive but it gave us time to really socialize and talk to other Unilocalers. He was very sincerely apologetic and the staff did their best to make the experience great for all of us. We are so grateful to have been a part of this event. Thank you Hailey, Unilocal,and Evo for successfully entertaining us, feeding us, and getting the week start off right!

The best part of waking up is a mimosa in your cup!
Nothing like having brunch with some of Unilocal Phoenix’s best after a productive week! There were glasses upon glasses of Mimosas, a steady parade of Bloody Marys, clean red linens, and glass orbs suspended from the ceiling. EVO is a beautiful restaurant with an even more beautiful staff. It was fun seeing everybody in their letter B themed costumes. I was Bacon the Beanie Babie for this event and sat at a table with a bunny, a buccaneer, bacon [and his egg], a black cat, and a «blueberry.» It was lovely meeting Jennifer H. and Janelle E. in person finally!
After guzzling down a couple glasses of mimosas, I had the EVO Benedicts and a bite of the Pork Belly Quiche. Aileen B., the smexiest buccaneer out here in the desert, shared her order of pork belly with me as well. Delicious! The food was great and the drinks were thirst quenching. Even though they were a bit short-​staffed and there was confusion [and the owner was super apologetic about this — no worries, kind sir!] with orders, I still had a wonderful time because Unilocal Phoenix makes for awesome company and EVO is beautiful!
Thank you Hailey B., Unilocal,and the wonderful owner and staff at EVO for a brilliant Sunday! Brunch is always a good idea.