Elite Event At Battista’s Calzones

Brittany K. was going for the kids birthday party vibe with an adult twist and it worked!
I felt like I was just chilling at someones house. It was very laid back. You could help yourself to beverages in the cooler, including the Fentiman’s — which I really liked — and many flavours of San Pellegrino pop, which I love. You could choose to add vodka or rum to spice it up a bit. Liv and the staff put out platters of calzone bites throughout the night which you could also just help yourself to. I didn’t touch the plates of candy that were around the room, but I definitely noticed them. There was lots of Unilocal swag to be had, too. I grabbed a few bookmarks that I hadn’t seen before.
90s pop playing in the background — not too loud that it was hard to talk but not too quiet that you couldn’t boogie if you wanted to — was a nice touch.
There were games — Pin the Post-​It on the kitty (not gonna lie, I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not doing it), face painting and tattoos. And again, no pressure to partake. Except for the piñata! Am I ever relieved I didn’t get picked. Jacqueline kicked the sh! t out of that thing and I liked it.
I liked that this event was so soon after the fancy Prohibition Party at Suede. Sometimes I feel like there’s a long time between seeing Unilocal friends, so it was nice to see people again soon after and kind of pick up where we left off. Everyone seemed really relaxed and I got to meet even more people that I hadn’t met before.

I really enjoy these casual get-​together Elite events. Friends, drinks, calzones, candy, hitting things with sticks… yeah.
Thanks to Liv and Brittany for a great night!

Well well well! Another awesome Unilocal event! As always, it was fantastic getting to chat and catch up with people I haven’t seen in awhile (though it really hasn’t been that long since the last big event.)
I’m so glad this was hosted at Battista’s. I’ve been wanting to try their calzones for the longest time, but my work/​school schedule doesn’t allow me to make it during their open hours. It was a bit of a wait for the vegetarian calzones but when they finally arrived fresh out of the oven, they were amazing! The food here is seriously delicious. No wonder Battista’s has a solid 5 star rating on Unilocal.I’m definitely going to make an effort to come back for more.
I absolutely LOVED the kids birthday party theme. It was hilarious watching people try to smash the piñata and to see it go flying. The only part I didn’t like was all the candy… not because it wasn’t tasty, but because I can’t help myself around it!
This was the first Unilocal event that I was able to bring my boyfriend to since he lives in Calgary (boo!). After this event, I think I’ve almost convinced him to start « Unilocaling» himself. Good job with the first impression!

After going to several types of Unilocal events, I feel like there are two category of events. One, the more casual, social gathering type, without too much music playing and just conversations navigating us through the night. The other, the more grand variety with sponsors, lots of drinks, lots of things happening etc.
This event was a casual one at a friendly location — Battista Calzones. The space is very open, pretty much with two walls of glass (since the windows are really big). It certainly felt like a patio event, much like the one at Wunderbar last fall. The birthday theme was well executed with the added touch of a piñata.
As always with Brittany K., the event was extremely well executed. Perhaps a little bit too much of chocolates and other candy. That’s never a bad thing though. While owner Liv V. was generously feeding us with calzones, we had our pick of sodas and other drinks from the refrigerator. Bottles of vodka and rum were there in case we wanted to make our drinks real. Almost felt like we were chilling at a friend’s house.
I suppose my only real complaint, if you can call it one, is that in our invite we were asked to eat before the event. I can never gauge how much I should eat before an Elite event. Last night’s event had a lot of food but I didn’t eat much (and that’s fine because I’ve had everything on their menu before) since I’d had dinner right before.
Cheers to Brittany for a fun and Unilocaly night! Thanks to Liv for opening the doors on a Friday night. It’s the first event on a Friday night, which made it that much more special (yep, some of us continued drinking after).

Since it was a Friday night, and we live so close, this was a perfect Unilocal event for us. And I’d been wanting to try Battista’s based on all the great reviews it’s been getting.
Allan G. and I showed up a tiny bit before 7, getting our name tags made and adhered, and saying hello to Brittany G. Addie, and Matt L. Then we found a nice spot next to the window and proceeded to check out the place. I love the bright décor and the airy feel of the place. It’s a welcome addition to the 118 Ave neighborhood rebirth.
When they let us start choosing our beverages, I chose one of the Fentiman’s Cherry Colas (so yummy!) and got some vodka and an orange soda for the old man. The Fentiman’s is made with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, so it went down nice and smooth. I definitely want to find out where in Edmonton I can buy more!
Got to catch up with Laurel P. and Lea A. and their their +1’s, so we were having loads of fun talking and watching folks pinning the post-​it notes on Mookie the cat poster and other people getting their faces painted.

When the calzones started coming out of the kitchen, Al grabbed us some sort of combo with veggies and what looked capicolla ham. I was so hoping for meatball, but we wanted them nice and hot, and these had just come out of the oven, so yum! I’m not a green pepper person, so next time I go in I’ll get a meatier version.
The strawberry/​nutella calzone is a revelation, and I’ll be back just to stuff my face with those.
When it came time to smash up the piñata, I wanted to show the folks how we Texans do candy shopping. I bashed that sucker three times. Direct hits, y’all. Jacqueline totalled that sucker– it popped it right off the rope, so we lay it open on the refreshment table like a sacrificial goat on the schwag table. Tootsie rolls all ’round!
We left just before 9, but Al assures me he is now going to join Unilocal.Way to go Unilocalers! You talked him into it. :)