Elite Event @ Café Nuba

Where is the World is Carmen Sandiego??? I say in Paris :)
I walked in with my Burret, red coat and sunglasses and was so ecstatic to see how many people had red jackets… I had to borrow my outfit from my friends but glad it had paid off… I tried to keep my sunglasses on the whole night, even while we were in the kitchen making bread.
and I must say what a great experience to see what actually goes on, how much work and effort that people put into their food. The kitchen was humoungous. I can only imagine what upscale restaurants have.
This 3^rd location is authentic and very trendy, imo. The staff was super friendly and the drinks just kept getting stronger and stronger haha. Their fresh orange juice was like heaven!
I wish I knew more about the world because I definitely couldn’t answer those questions! it was cool to see where everyone was from … indicated from the stars on the map! The food was delicious and my two favourite things were offered including CRISPY CAULIFLOWER (which we all know is on the LIST if I haven’t said it enough so I hope everyone thought it was deserving). and the Mjadra — it is lentils and avocado on pita bread. lots of goodness.
The dessert consisted of a fig compote (i think) with the bread we made. it was the perfect sweetness.
Thanks to Crystal for an awesome event and tickets to Projecting Change. I think I should be Carmen more often!

Awesome event! Crystal has done it again! The One Love cocktails were amazing. A bit strong at first, but after a few sips you get used to it. I’m actually not the biggest fan of Schramm vodka, but in this cocktail it actually worked well.
The best appies were the pita wedges with lentils and avocado and fried onion. I went back for 3rds and 4ths on that one. I missed out on the renowned crispy cauliflower though. :(Where was it? There should have made a public announcement when those came out.
I loved the most people were dressed in theme.
Can’t wait for the next Elite event!

Sadly, reading is not my strong suit apparently. I showed up an hour late at the wrong restaurant. Don’t feel bad for me, this has happened to me before. I was so excited to go to Nuba, that I didn’t quite read the fine print. Hah hah hahhhhoooooo… oops…
I think I missed the dough making and most of the snacky appys, but I did get the fruity cocktail du jour. I found it to be a bit tart, so I am surprised at how many people thought it was too sweet. I filled my pockets with Unilocal chapstick, Unilocal pens, and a Unilocal lunch box, okay maybe not the box, but I found a Unilocal note in my pocket from the BF that said «you’re hot, call me 604−555−5555.»
Everyone at the party looked great! Lots of red jackets and hats, and everyone was very friendly. You know its going to be a good time when you get your first drink and there’s five people toasting you before you get to taste test it! Many thanks to Crystal for getting us the hook up at Nuba Nuba, and a big thank you to the gracious hosts who gave us a quick tour even though we were painfully late.

The event rocked! Met lots of great people there and had a great lesson about lebanese food. My favorite: the Babah Ghanoush (mashed eggplant, very nutty with a sweet aftertaste). Who ever knew vegan can be soooo tasty! Loved the tour of the kitchen and seeing how pita breads were made. Café Nuba is very cool with plenty of FREE parking around. Other cool eats include spicy cauliflower; sirloin, spicy chicken, prawns served on skewers and hummus. I had a fantastic time. met Crystal and elite-​ist Mark H as well!

Gotta admit, I was pretty excited when I found out the location of the event, I had been wanting to try Nuba for a while after reading all the buzz about it on here. Plus, everything was sort of mysterious in terms of details so I had fun following the event as we found out more.
So ok, I got here a bit late, I wish I got to try more appetizers, but my faves from what I had were cauliflower (fried in oil infused with felafel) and the dessert, fig marmelade with goat cheese and mint on pita bread. Such a light, refreshing dessert. The servers were adorable and the space was comfortable and unpretentious. It was nice to see some familiar faces again and meet some new people… in a way I still can’t believe Unilocal exists, it is so different than what I expected from a review site. When you’re actually curious to meet a writer in real life, there they are!
Congratulations Nuba on the new location, this will be a great addition to the Main street scene :) Thanks for the awesome party, Crystal, Nuba, and everyone who came out!

Honestly, I’ve been in such a daze this week I couldn’t remember what I ate without everyone’s else’s handy-​dandy notes on the subject. I do remember the caulifower smelled really strong at first — but it was delicious going down.
Loved the red cocktails (name? ummm?) and everyone doing it up with the red clothes and fedoras and the whole gumshoe motif.
I never did watch Carmen Sandiego, but the geography quiz was great (y’all may have your smartphones for the answers but my old man was a geography teacher so :-p).
As always it was great to catch up many of my favourite Unilocalers… You rocked it out again Crystal. Someday I’m going to have to stay up late enough for the afterparty.

Loved the Carmen Sandiego theme and all the red trench coats today! Also been meaning to check out this new Nuba so I’m glad the event was here! It was quite a treat to go into the back and see how the bread is made! Rolling dough can be so relaxing — maybe I need to get into baking!
The mixed drink special was a little too sweet for my taste but enjoyed the wine. I especially enjoyed the dessert — the jam with figs on the flat bread that we made!
It’s awesome seeing familiar faces at these events now and also meeting new people! :) Thanks so much Crystal!

Yay for Organic vodka!
This event was intimate yet engaging and outright FUN!
I met a lot of new people as well as got reacquainted with familiar faces, and was even peer pressured into creating a Korean UYE. (in the works.)
The food was fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed the cucumbers with baba ganoush and olive oil, as well as the cauliflower and prawn skewers. YUM!
The staff were all very friendly and accomodating and getting hands on in the back kitchen was a real treat for someone like me who LOVES to cook!
The best part was coming home with my very own Unilocal lunchbox. Ohhh yeah, I’m badass now!

Yikes, I wrote a review last night but somehow it didn’t get posted… internet how you’ve failed me!
Well, there are not enough good things to say about this event.
The food was amazing. I talked to the staff and they have some of the healthiest and best vegetarian and vegan fare around.
I also am an occasional seafood eater and their shrimp skewers were so delightful and spiced just right.
I loved the décor too… special thanks to Crystal for booking the event and having interesting trivia to boot! The Carmen Sandiego theme brought back many found childhood memories, so thanks for all you do!
The Nuba staff was amazing as well. I must give a special shout out to Nick who worked very hard, but looked good doing it, to make the event the success it was.
From the crispy onions atop the lovely lentil pita to the dessert that I had a part in kneading… this event was just what the fun times doctor ordered!
Thanks to all who made the night a smashing success!

I had a blast at the Elite Event last night at the newest Nuba! The interior is super cool and reminiscent of the 70’s. It was so great to see they Unilocal gang as always and I loved the Carmen Sandiego theme. As a kid it was one of my fav TV shows and computer games so it warmed my heart to think of all the found memories ahhhh.
The food served was incredible and I especially loved the cauliflower that Nuba is famous for. I think I could eat plates of it and plan to do so very soon! The chicken was also delicious but I would have to say the highlight of the evening (other than seeing the dazzling Crystal H!) was rolling balls of dough in the kitchen. I know makes me sound simple but it was honestly really cool to see how Nuba makes its delicious pita.
Overall it was a super fun evening and I can’t wait for the next Unilocalerific event!

Do you think Bob Marley was referring to last night’s Unilocal event and vodka raspberry cocktails when he sang «One love (name of our cocktail), one heart let’s get together and feel alright»???
It was my first time as an Elite and not a plus one and it was so lovely to meet the people behind the faces and reviews I’ve been reading. All I have to say I’m excited to be the in company of such friendly people. Where else can you dive into conversations about baked goods and Dine Out right after saying «hi»?
Anyway, thank you to the Nuba kitchen and staff for keeping us full of appies and the bartender who tirelessly made those delicious cocktails.
Crystal, thanks for your endless enthusiasm and hospitality. How darn cute are you as Carmen?!

Cool space ~ definitely makes you feel like you’re in an exotic café overseas!
Super friendly staff, had a great time in the kitchen tour — gained a new-​found respect for people that get up at 5:30 AM to bake those yummy pita breads!
Thanks to Nuba & Unilocal & Crystal for another awesome event!!!

Nuba and staff were all wonderful. Food was terrrrriiiiffffiiiiicc! (think Tony the Tiger.) It was Grrrrrrreat!
Thank you for the food demonstration in the back. I think we all looked wonderful in our hair nets. Learned something new and hey, that’s what lifes about right? Gotta learn something new everyday!
And where was Waldo? (ok inside joke).
Crystal et al. Thank you again. You shine in the limelight well.
Lunchboxes for those who just got theirs last night was fun to watch.
Especially Yoony. Hands clapping, jumping for joy. Who ever thought getting a lunch box would be so exciting?
I am now a fan of Nuba’s I will make the effort to travel down to Vancouver just so I can get my Nuba Fix!

Yet another great Unilocal Elite event — finally got my Unilocal lunchbox with the some swag goodies, Unsure if I dented it when I was clutching onto it for dear life, or it came with the pre-​worn look.
Had a chance to do my best «I Love Lucy» impression with the bread-​making lesson — it’s way harder than it looks. Thumbs up to the distinguished gentleman handing out the aprons that reminded me of Uncle Leo from ‘Seinfeld’ — he didn’t make me needlessly drape a hairnet over my bald head.
Hors d’oeuvres were on-​point and delicious — glad I got to try the famous Nuba crispy cauliflower and the beef/​chicken skewers were dope. I’m a huge fan of cauliflower and I’ve never had it quite like that before — must try. The ‘One Love’ cocktails were a bit too sweet and fruity for my liking, but I definitely cannot complain about the Phillips Blue Buck.
Good location as well — tons of free parking and off the beaten path. I knew that as soon as the undercover cop let me off with a warning for busting an illegal u-​turn nearby, everything was going to come up spades.
Just wish I took a picture with ‘Uncle Leo’ — «HELLOOOOOO!»

Yet again Crystal and rest of Team Unilocal does it again. This was my first Elite event and boy oh boy did I have a smashing good time.
Nuba’s new location is really funky cool. A true new gem for the mostly commercial area. The owners and staff were so passionate, friendly and really treated us like gold.
We started with a tour of their Pita baking ‘factory’ in the back. I volunteered to flatten and then roll out pita balls. Well I should say attempted to, mine probably wouldn’t look so pretty when baked.
Food was amazing. Skewers of cumin spiced chicken, beef, prawns, cauliflower, cucumbers with babaganoush (sp?) and some others I forget. For dessert they made the most amazing dessert from the pita bread we made. Some sort of chutney like jam, sooo good: P
Now if that weren’t good enough, let’s talk drinks. The ‘One Love’ cocktail using organic strawberries, organic Schramm’s vodka and agave sweetener was really good. There was also beer and red/​white wine.
Compared to the last big event, the smaller, more intimate size made it a lot easier to chat up a storm with fellow Unilocal’ers. Met a lot of really cool people.
Can’t wait until the next one! Thanks again Crystal and Nuba!

So… where in the world is CARMEN SAN DIEGO!!! Tonight, she was in Lebanon with all of us Unilocal Elites and +1’s! Finally got a chance to try out at the new location of one of my favourite restaurants to eat at, NUBA! Love the retro feel of this restaurant. Very fresh.
Superb event! ABSOLUTELY loved the «One Love» cocktail, featuring Schramms vodka, organic raspberries, lemon juice, and agave sweetner! Fruity, sweet, with vodka goodness! I lost count on how many of these I had.
Food was delicious, as always. Skewers of savoury marinated prawns, grilled chicken, and lamb were awesome! Avocado, carmelized onions, all with mjadra, on slices of pita. Delicious! Veggie options were also available-​hummus on cucumber, and a veggie wrap. Oh, and I’m saving the best for last. Najib’s special (aka Crispy Cauliflower)!!! I swear I’m addicted to this stuff; I’ve been having it way too much. At least it’s healthy?!
Enjoyed the tour of the large kitchen, and watched the process of dough kneading and cutting. It’s always nice to see how things work behind the scenes.
Trivia questions throughout the restaurant, and a costume contest. (Congrats Rachael!) Nice to see familiar faces, as well as meeting some new ones.
As always, had a wonderful time dressed as a «Scottish» Carmen San Diego tonight, and until next time…

@Tina — Wow, you’re fast for FTR!
This was an AWESOME event! Loved the new 3^rd location for Nuba and the food was wonderful… great mix of kabobs and vegetarian appies. I loved their mixed fruit juices (the carrot and apple combo rocks) and their signature cocktail is nice, sweet and fruity.
One of my favorite things about the place was the staff — they were really enthusiastic and seemed to love what they do… super passionate about healthy eating and good food. The tour of the kitchen and getting to make our own bread tonight was a fun twist!
Can’t wait to come back once it’s officially opened!
Kudos to Crystal and loved the dress-​up!

So much fun! Delicious! Friendly, cute staff. Nice meeting lots of people. Is this where I dump all the pics I took?! Thanks Nuba + Unilocal for a fabulous time! I heart U.
@Katie: Thanks! And I would say I was the quickest draw in the west, but that title goes to the girl dressed as the gun! haha!