Elite Event: Discover Kenmore Bay @ Room & Board

This was my first Elite event. I like that I could bring a guest. The location was cool. Even though I’m not in the market for furniture, I do love looking at it!
I also like the couple of food and drink sample stations. The scavenger hunt idea was neat too. I had a cold and was a bit exhausted, so I didn’t fully take part and had to bounce early. Overall, though, rad experience.
Thanks, Unilocal Boston!

The furniture store is mammoth and they were so brave to host the tacos there.
Yes, the tacos were greasy, but they were delicious. (Under Fire, folks – gotta go there)
Bourbon cider – delicious + beer was good too.
No complaints, I was a fan – fun times near the Hynes.

Eating sloppy tacos and drinking beer in a beautiful and comfy show room?! Sounds like a good time to me, and luckily I didn’t even spill anything. The lines ran a bit slow for the bourbon drinks but they were so delicious and the server was so sweet that it was worth it. The tacos were delicious and it was awesome to get them in the full size. I enjoyed being able to explore such a big space and not feel confined to a single floor.
The scavenger hunt seemed like a taunting feat at first (TWELVE ITEMS?!), but proved manageable and fun! I liked that there was a game and it went above and beyond the typical eat and drink and push people to eat and drink faster than everyone else.
The canvas bags are super cute and functional unlike the typical free tote.
Oh, and winning the $ 500 gift card wasn’t too bad either.

Room & Board, literally…
Having seen all those viral videos about having a dinner party in a furniture store, I was plenty excited for this event (because when else can you do this?) My plus one and I trotted up first to the Buffalo Trace stand, had our Old Fashioned in one of the living rooms, then wandered our way downward. We loved all the space — it never felt crowded, even in line, and it made it easier to have longer conversations, even with Elites I hadn’t met before. And I am definitely using my tote bag.
The Underfire tacos were great — we split a group of 3 tacos and that was a lot since the tacos were stuffed to the gills! I will definitely be using my coupons. Down the Fire beers paired well — plus one and I were big fans of the saison, and since his housewarming is coming up we’re planning on getting some for that. I actually didn’t know Josephine’s was upstairs until the very end, so I can’t speak to that. I think one thing that would have been helpful is if some of the food had been prepped ahead of time, and while I really liked the tacos, it was hard to explore the store with them in hand.
Thanks, Damien and everyone!

As I delicately placed myself upon a $ 1900 grey and charcoal colored midcentury style chair, I let out a sigh of contentment: here is where I will spill my sloppily delicious chicken-​and-​pork fat taco with runny salsa and creamy crema.
While I think that some of the furniture was over the top, midcentury modern with quotation marks around it (mostly the dining tables with extremely thin, tapered legs), there were plenty of classy, subtle pieces that would look great in many homes. I enjoyed being surrounded by this beautiful stuff I’ll never be able to afford, and came away with some ideas.
I also enjoyed the Buffalo Trace booze bladders. I’ve had occasion to purchase booze bladders in the past, so here’s a tip: if you are somehow forced to go on a cruise with your family and don’t want to go broke buying booze, sneak several bladders full of whisky into your luggage. Discreetly slip whiskey into every drink, and float away as your mother drones on about whatever.
Before going to the Elite Event, we perused Newbury Comics, where I picked up the Drive-​by Truckers 2011 Record Store Day EP. It includes a heartbreaker of a song-​vignette about a young woman from rural Tennessee «fresh out of college» who goes to California seeking greener pastures, and soon returns to Pulaski, Tennessee dead. Be careful out there, ya’ll.

My first Unilocal Boston event! And in a fancy furniture store! My friend and I had a wonderful time wandering around the store, talking to fellow Unilocalers, and trying all of the good grub.
The food and drinks were delicious. We LOVED the loaded tacos from Under Fire: flavorful sauce, fresh guacamole, and hearty fillings of chicken and pork belly all served on a warm tortilla, yum. The delicate food from Josephine’s was flavorful and I definitely need more of that crab and hazelnut salad. I had the Old Fashioned from Buffalo Trace, which was tasty, but the drink winner definitely goes to Buffalo Trace’s cider, which was dangerously sugary. I’m not a beer drinker but the Fairy drink brewed by Down the Road was nice and the bottle artwork was pretty.
Although we decided not to embark on the scavenger hunt, my friend and I spent time talking to the vendors, all of whom were so passionate about their products. I loved hearing about their journeys and visions, and can’t wait to check them out soon. We also loved talking to the store staff that stayed for the event: everyone was so friendly. Also, thanks for the swag! I needed a canvas bag and had been eyeing those Elite chargers and now I have both, yay!
Thanks Damien and team for making this happen. Can’t wait for the next event!

This event was basically tailor-​made for my better half. Three blocks from our apartment, in the furniture store she loves to ogle (but we never set foot in, since we mustn’t yield to such tasteful temptation), serving fancy tacos and bourbon drinks both of which are pretty much her favorite thing. Needless to say, she instantly wants more tacos, and better furniture.
(i had fun too.)

So many places to sit. I love sitting. I especially love sitting on expensive things I could never imagine buying (not just for the cost but because I move a lot). I like that we had a lot of room to move around, and because of that I think there could have been more people (but then more food would have been required and I’m not sure they would have been okay with that) and more mingling! The scavenger hunt didn’t help with mingling either because if I won I was not going to share with a stranger! But I didn’t win… I found the clues to be hard so good job to Jess S and the other winners!
Love the bag! Was just saying I need a new canvas bag too…
My –1 star is… if there are 4 food/​drink places and 4 floors why was there not one thing on each floor? Huge line for tacos lead into the beer and I just wanted beer! Or Bourbon, which had a shorter line, so I inevitability went there. I didn’t enjoy Josphine’s food, but I guess I’m the only one! Oh well… I do think I liked their smoked salmon, and would go there just for a bagel and lox if they have it (I have to say I think I liked it because I did not like the gazpacho).

The greatest thing about events like this is that it gives me a chance to make a deep-​dive visit to a venue that I walk by almost everyday, but never actually enter, and lingers eternally in the «shoulda-​woulda-​coulda» files of my cerebral cortex. SO ecstatic that Lord Damien melded yet another epicurean expose with creative ambiance.
First of all, the Under Fire tacos… OOOOOH THE TACOS! I’m a Los Angeleno that’s called Boston my home of 20 years. Yes, I’m a taco snob, and I almost sneered at the opportunity… until I took my first bite. In the words of the now-​famous Michael Bergin (who went haywire on the «sea monstah» he found in Boston), «HOOOly SH_​T! What da f_​_​k IS dat? Oh my Gawd!» Yes… I was humbled. They were amay-​ZZing!
Second, Down the Road beer had some of the best-​tasting pale ale I’ve ever had. You could almost taste the love. Admittedly, I’m not a beer expert, but like my sex life, I rarely get something memorable like this.
The interesting layout of the event was that the food offerings took place on the first and fourth floors of the store. The good thing is that it gave me the opportunity to look at the wide selection of some pretty awesome furniture (on a side note, the one piece that I found the most interesting and appeared on every floor, turned out to be the sales register desk…). Just when I was starting to think it was a bit strange, I got it. I SOOO got it…
Like the path to Nirvana (the spiritual thingy, not the rock group… although… maybe.), I found ecstasy (without any necessary pants clean up) at the top. Josephine’s delectable cucumber gazpacho, crab salad, and quiche (yeah real men DO eat it), were beyond compare. If I wasn’t on a chubby-​cheek reduction diet, I would have had thirds and fourths. AMAZEBALLS!
Yet another win Lord Damien. Loved it. Loved meeting new faces, and, as always, love you.

My plus 1 & I had a great time at this event. I wasn’t drinking but he was so the same line for beer & tacos was OK with us.
The tacos from Under Fire were tasty, but very drippy. The staff of Room & Board did not seem happy because it definitely dripped on their rugs.
The scavenger hunt was fun, but I wasn’t fast enough to win. (I’m OK with that! I was wearing a hat I won at the Goorin Bros Unilocal event, so I’ve had my luck for the year.)
It was a more spread out space than usual so I didn’t meet anyone new but it was relaxing.
Thanks to the burbon company that accommodated my lame request for cider without alcohol in it!
Thanks to everyone at Unilocal and Room & Board for hosting us!

All the reasons Phil listed for enjoying this event are what I thought made it unpleasant.
The venue: beautiful and spacious… too spacious. By stretching the food and drinks from the 1^st — 4^th floor, it didn’t create an ideal setting to mingle. The void was nice for finding some space, but terrible for mixing with new friends. And the drippy tacos made me nervous for my life | I hope all their furniture is ok!
Tacos: Absolutely delicious, and I will absolutely be joining them this weekend for more tacos and drinks. But they were so slow! Aren’t tacos quick street food? For people who had been fasting all day for Yom Kippur, waiting in a 20+ minute line for tacos was sad. The tacos were filled with liquid which spilled out easily onto the beautiful furniture. Yikes!
Josephine’s soup and quiche was fantastic and I talked with the chef for a little bit. I really can’t wait to go to their restaurant.
I think with a few changes this 2 star event could easily have been a 5. At least I have two new restaurants to check out!

Very cool event. I drank, I ate, I conversed, nothing here to complain about! The tacos were great– I can’t believe they were made by the same folks who fed me at my first date (Fire and Ice — Harvard Square, love you always and forever). You better believe I shoved 20 of those «Free Taco» coupons into my bag. The bourbon — cider drink was awesome, and a perfect seg-​way into Fall. I got white girl drunk off the Down Road beer, and that is ALWAYS a good thing.
Room and Board’s furniture is beautiful, nice enough to ALMOST make me quit my hippie job, and sell my soul to the man, just for the ability to purchase it.

This was a pretty unique event being that it was in a furniture store! Although we did not win the $ 500 to Room & Board it was still fun to be an adult playing in a scavenger hunt haha. I was surprised the store allowed us to eat tacos and sip cocktails/​beer in the store, but it seemed like everyone was very respectful of the store. The tacos were tasty, but there was a very long line to get one. This was another great event by Unilocal Boston, thank you!

I might never again have beer and tacos in a furniture store.
This was my first Elite event in Boston and I had a lot of fun. I was particularly glad to meet some of the awesome local Unilocalers. The venue choice at Room & Board was certainly interesting. There certainly were enough tables, chairs, couches, and even beds to sit down and relax (or have a taco). I was extra careful not to drip on the demo furni.
I really enjoyed the beer samples from Down the Road. They were only serving small samples, but you could keep coming back as many times as you wanted (and I certainly did, the 3 beers they were offering were all packed with flavor, unique, and delicious).
The line to the Buffalo Trace bourbon was long, so a little patience was required. The spiked cider was good, but the cocktail was a bit on the watery side. On my second trip I ordered a neat shot to make up for it.
The pork and chicken tacos from Under Fire were packed with meat and pretty darn tasty. A little patience was required, but they didn’t run out, so I went back for more a few times throughout the evening. The taco line certainly cleared up a bit during the very competitive picture scavenger hunt.
Thanks to Damien, the Boston Unilocal stafff, the vendors, and our hosts at Room & Board for putting together a fun event.

I was thrilled for this opportunity to explore Room & Board, which I’ve passed millions of times at Hynes/​Newbury without entering. Who knew it boasted 4 floors (including kids furniture) and an outdoor balcony?!
What else, you ask? Beautiful, contemporary furniture, zen wall colors (they even have their own paint line!), and even calming fonts are all things you’ll find at R&B, along with good-​humored staff who readily assisted with the night’s highlight – a scavenger hunt!
My lovely +1 and I thought a furniture store Instagram scavenger hunt was highly creative, and while we did not win the awesome $ 500 R&B gift card, we had a blast (and got quite a workout) running up and down the floors to locate and pose with specific pieces of furniture.
Food? The Club tacos (pork + chicken) from underFiRE (located under Fire & Ice – ⁵⁄₅ for the name alone) were my favorite. Everything about it: fresh + delicious. Can’t wait to stop by to use my free taco coupon to get another! Of the fancy bites by Josephine’s, the quiche was my #1 pick.
Drinks? I didn’t imbibe, but the options from Buffalo Trace and Down The Road brews looked great (and were clearly a hit with other Unilocalers).
One criticism is that there was a ton of congestion on the first floor where the drink and taco station were adjacent. I wish they had been separated like the stations on the 3^rd floor so I didn’t have to wait in the drink line to satisfy another taco craving.
Overall, this was a creative and fun way to explore an atypical venue! The R&B tote bags and elite gift of a rescue phone charger topped off a wonderful evening.
Also, I appreciated the cutoff « Unilocal LIFE» gloves, but I initially thought they were athletic gloves that said « Unilocal LIFT” – and now I really, really hope those might make an appearance at the next event (pretty please, Damien!?)

Food and drinks around new furniture? I would’ve been nervous if I managed the furniture store…
This was one of my favorite events, not necessarily because of the food, but of the venue. Room & Board provided a lot of room and the event did not leave me… bored (pun intended). There was plenty of space and the event felt classy. It didn’t feel crowded and overly loud, yet it wasn’t too quiet either. The furniture allowed for good conversation with other guests. The photo scavenger hunt was enjoyable and a bit of a work out, running up and down the floors of the store. It was a good idea to have people look at the variety of furniture through a competitive game.
The tacos from underFIRE were pleasantly good, with flavorful chicken and plenty of salsa/​guacamole. The only drawback was that it was hard to eat without making a mess, and there was definitely some consternation at a furniture store. Salsa-​filled tacos on thin cocktail napkins made it a messy deal. So eating at a dining table was the way to go, and not a couch. I enjoyed Josephine’s soup and while no one was there to give me a description, I surmised it to be a cucumber soup with smoked salmon. Nevertheless, it was refreshing and I loved the flavors.
The bourbon cider from Buffalo Trace wasn’t bad, even though I’m not a big bourbon drinker. The +1 drank most of my beer from Down The Road. Speaking of which, she seemed to enjoy herself with the food, drinks, conversation, and game. The only thing she wanted was more water available, seeing that there was running and jalapeños. Hey, if I don’t end up being unfriended on fb by my +1 after a Unilocal event, it’s a win for me.

This was a fun event and a great space for it. The furniture was beautiful and all the different set ups provided great spaces for people to sit and talk. The food was very good, but my favorite was Josephine’s crab and hazelnut salad. I started to do the scavenger hunt and then realized it was highly unlikely that I would win, so my +1 and I just joined some like minded Unilocalers in the Buffalo Trace drink line. I’ve never had bourbon before (what!) so I was super thrilled when I liked the apple cider cocktail they were offering. New drink options!
Room for improvement– scan everyone’s party pass at the entrance so they don’t have to try to find a staffer who can scan it or email someone so they don’t get marked as a no show (true story). Also, I think it would be helpful to encourage food and drink vendors to consider preparing food ahead of time if possible. Josephine’s rocked this and it was nice to linger with their staff and have them explain the food then just waiting in a long line and going quickly because others were behind you. Ps. Loved the Unilocal Life gloves and plan to wear them as soon as the weather allows.