Charlotte Elite Event: Rat Pack Rendezvous at Vivace

I know I’m late, but I’m still raving about this event. Easily the best I’ve attended to date! I won’t repeat what everyone else has stated, but the event, atmosphere, and food were simply amazing! It was great seeing everyone… the Dean Martin singer was too cool! Thanks Nicole!

This was the first Elite Event I’ve been to and it easily exceeded my expectations. It helped of course that the restaurant was so great. It was my first time at Vivace. All of the food served up was great, and the service was top notch. I can’t wait to go back for a full dinner real soon. The vibe in the restaurant was perfect for the night — classy but inviting and casual at the same time. I standouts of the night for me were the wines, cheese and meat, bruschetta, ravioli, all of their shrimp dishes, and of course the chocolate truffles at the end! Met some nice foodies, can’t wait for the next event and stuffing my face at Vivace.

Break out the pomade, vino and the Cadillacs’. The Rat Pack’s back and we’re taking over… Taking over the top floor of Vivace in true Rat Pack fashion.
I’ve always liked Vivace and they’ve further proven themselves with their stellar hosting abilities. Not only did they just cater, they even waited and ensured all the guests were taken care of. They sure know how to treat a feller.
The magical MC, fit the bill magnificently. The food came out on command; Wise guys don’t like to wait ya know. To to it all off, big Todd aka «the Godfather» even had to strong arm some would-​be party crashers. He’s lucky he ain’t sleepin’ wit da fishes!

Basing this on a Unilocal event, but hey the food, service, and atmosphere are what matters and they were all great. The décor is modern and open without being snobbish. It’s very open so it may not be the place for a «quiet» romantic dinner.
Sometimes a you go to a party like this and some of the food is good and some is not so good. At Vivace, it’s all good. Pizza, pasta, risotto balls, and more were all delicious.
The people working were very attentive and friendly. As soon as I’d finish a plate they’d get it outta my way without me even noticing. The also noticed when my beer was empty and brought out another one.
The people at Vivace get it. If you get like 50 plus people in your place and most have never been, impress them so they’ll come back. I can’t wait to go back to there.

As always, Nicole (and Todd) planned another incredible event– so thank you! The music, photographer, food, and wine were all wonderful– and everyone seemed to be having a great time.
My personal favorites were the shrimp risotto, Palm Bay wine and the chocolates served at the end. Which brings me to my next point– Vivace served up a TON of food! The servers and bartenders were all exceptional, and went out of their way to bring us more drinks/​food and make recommendations. Vivace is such a cool venue– I love the view from upstairs and the openness of the space.
I was finally able to put some faces to the names of my «yelp» friends– always great meeting new people !

Vivace is modern, hip and low-​key all at the same time… like many Unilocalers. This made for a perfect Elite event location and what better theme than the Rat Pack. The staff was great… thanks Jeff, Jamie, Joe, Allyson & Nikki for your great hospitality and to all the others that we didn’t meet that were in the kitchen making it all possible.
The food:
–Meat/​Cheese trays are fresh and the chutney/​marmalade to go with it was very flavorful.
–Flatbread pizza selections were great… sausage & peppers, margarita, mushroom & onions, etc!
–Many have mentioned the Risotto Balls… one had shrimp, the other mushrooms… I’m convinced they serve these in heaven, and if I get there some day, I’ll be asking for some balls.
–Agnolotti and sauteed shrimp were packed with flavor!
–And of course, the desserts… oh my… the chocolate truffles… HELLO, NICE TO MEET YOU!
Larry Tanelli, as Dean Martin, was AWESOME! He even brought the «tan» in Tanelli… ha! Walking around the joint singing and dancing was a nice addition to the event!
Many thanks, as always, to the certified Unilocal sommelier from Palm Bay… Mr. Matt LeBlanc serving up some great Italian wines (Bertani & Feudi) with character and history. I’ll make sure to pick up some bottles next time I go out for some wine! Also — the Peroni provided by MillerCoors was awesome. This PBR guys loves some Peroni.
Another great event Nicole… much appreciation for all the planning you do/​did!

Two words: Risotto Balls! I kept going back for 5ths and … I think I lost track after that. Beer and wine were great and the 2^nd floor space at Vivace was gorgeous. I’m already plotting my next visit in the near future with a big group of friends. Good to see everyone last night!

Top notch event at a top notch locale! Great themed event at one of the best Italian places in town; the upstairs bar with doors opening up to a beautiful view was all ours. I’ve done a review on Vivace already, so here’s my top three from this event:
1. The Dean Martin impersonator. Seriously good singer with a great fake tan — cracked me up watching him walk around buttering up all the ladies. Very nice touch.
2. The food/​drinks. As always, the spread at Vivace did not disappoint. From the cheese to the shrimp risotto balls to the awesome red wine and chocolate truffles. All was much appreciated and delicious.
3. The service. From the greeting at the top of the stairs by the ever friendly Todd, to the beautiful and gracious hostess Nicole, to the bartender and servers… all was perfect.
Thanks again, Nicole, for the fun evening. I very much enjoyed my first Elite event!

Arancini. More fun to say balls, I know. Whatever their moniker, I made them into dinner last night by scarfing no less than 8 (minus the whoops, shrimpy one I mistakenly chomped down on, see pic) (also I think I win, anyone eat more than that?), while listening to the smoooooth crooning of one Larry Tanelli. Start spreading the news — this dude is legit and a hit with the ladies.
Yet again another place I’d never been, Vivace — I’m just too damn cheap. The space was amazing — a church to modern Italia — all soaring ceilings and huge, odd, plastic red chandeliers. Erik wants one for the house. Even tho they’re pretty much as big as the house.
Enjoyable crowd as always, but this event felt cooler, more grown up. Classy. Lovely. Gratzi.

The event was FAVOLOSO! I like that we had our own space upstairs, which was roomy enough yet intimate. I wish it wasn’t so darn cold outside or I would enjoy the balcony more. Everyone looked so sharp in our doll-​up retro outfits (yes boys, you were wearing outfits and it was a good thing :)) The food was AMAZING and endless (besides the crowd’s fav Risotto Balls, I enjoyed the «ravioli» a lot, and the shrimp risotto, all yummmm). The wine was smooth, the beer was cold (oh yes, I mix them haha). Dean Martin provided the perfect mood music. Melissa & I enjoyed being the Unilocalettes! Thank you Nicole for putting together such a stellar event!

More food than you could shake a stick at and beer and wine flowing to make the evening complete. Sure is was damp and cold outside, but inside the Elite Unilocal crew was being served with style in the food, drink, and music departments as only Vivace could do.
Throw in the ever lovely host Nicole and her trusty side kick Todd with Tonya snapping away and it was the best Elite event to date for the Queen City! Add in the spendor of well dress folks kicking it back to the Dean Martin/​Rat Pack days topped it all off.
Great seeing all my fellow Unilocalers and meeting some new ones.

A big ‘olé heaping helping of Gratzi to our hosts and providers for a fantastic night of modern Italian done right. I’m already a self-​professed fan of Vivace (see my prior review), but they outdid themselves with the spread last night. Though I gladly concede defeat to Jules on the shear quantity of risotto balls consumed, I gave the Elite-​eratti a run for the money on glasses of Primativo downed. Liquid dinner anyone?
The night was huge fun from the well-​executed Rat Pack dress code to the velvet pipes of faux-​Dean Martin working his charm with the ladies. This was one classy event.
We’ve got a great community manager who continually ups the game by finding fantastic partners and sponsors. We’re a lucky crowd. Thanks again.

«It was a dark and stormy night», at least until I stepped foot into one of the best laid out restaurants in Charlotte. The view = WOW!
I had a little dilemma for who to invite to this one, such a specific theme and such a classy event, who was worthy? For MY rat pack we made sure to have people that had spent some time in Italy and were in the music industry. Once that was accomplished good times are all that we needed and they weren’t certainly supplied.
That area is relatively new to me and the convenience of a Trader Joe“s, Best buy, and Target etc… made getting my minute chores for the evening that much easier.
As I walked in (obviously looking like a pimp), I was greeted with a smile at the door and promptly escorted up the stairs. Seeing the friendly face of Todd who gave us the breakdown once we arrived. This whole time I was thoroughly distracted by the city view from the back deck. The free flowing wine and the rest of the décor was quite posh.
Once i entered I saw how much effort was put into this soirée, Dean Martin made the party. Spot on, great guy, that could easily be doing this in Vegas.
The Wine: This is what truly made the party. I love Italian wines, and both of the reds were relatively new to me. Matt LeBlanc knew his stuff. The pics of the «old vines» were some of the most beautiful vines I’ve ever seen. I didn’t try the whites, but both reds were amazing. I’m not positive about the spelling/​pronunciation of the wines, but the «darker» one was my fav, will update the specifics. Complex middle of the road «IMO» between sweetness and dryness. The other was spicy but yet fruity, my only complaint is that it was too clean and didn’t seem to stay on the palate.
The Food: I took a good look at the menu and can’t wait to come back to explore it entirely. What they gave use was great for finger food, as i understand it will be difficult to extensively portrait your whole menu for such a large crowd. Of coarse as everybody else mentioned the «risotto balls» were the treat. The charcuterie and cheese plates were all tasty and got picked over quickly. The pizza was great but was pretty much out shined by all the other options. Dark Chocolate truffles to finish the evening left my palate completely satisfied.
Bottom line is: Nichole knows how to throw a party and although we didn’t get to completely explore the menu they did show us that they know whats going on with food. Can’t wait to do it right, and shell out some cash, especially the deck on a beautiful afternoon.
BTW:Any of Tonya’s pics should be worthy of the front page for this place.

What a fun night — I loved checking everybody out in their «Rat Pack» attire and the Dean Martin impersonator was an awesome touch. Thanks Nicole again for organizing such a great event. I tried all the fabulous wines from Palm Bay and the bartender continued to fill me up the entire night extra + + + for him he was very attentive and friendly as well as the entire Vivace staff. The atmosphere at Vivace is amazing I can’t wait for some warm weather and $ 10 all you can drink mimosas on Sunday’s relaxing on one of those cozy couches on the outside terrace.
As for the food — yummy I want more right now.
The risotto and the risotto balls were so good… I love good risotto and it’s hard to come by. The shrimp risotto was my fav.
The pizza kept me coming back for seconds and those little chocolate truffle things I grabbed while leaving mouth watering.
Looking forward to coming back real soon!

Went here last night for a private Unilocal event upstairs. Excited to see such a crowd on the main first floor for a Wednesday night. The food was great (meat/​cheese, risotto balls, pizza) and the four wines were delicious.
I will go back to try this place out at a regular table downstairs soon!

So, what can I say that no one else has?
Yeah, nothing, the evening was superb and have nothing but mad props to give. I seriously don’t know how Nicole keeps topping each event with the next but this one knocked my calzini off!
The wine and beer were flowing (thanks always to Palm Bay and MillerCoors) and Dean was crooning and you knew it was party time when the bowtie came undone!
Vivace was the perfect venue for the evening with their swankolicious upstairs area and fabulous service. Seriously, I don’t know how Vivace trains their staff but they should be schooling other restaurants on how it’s done! They were spot on and brought out food non stop. Never once was the spread empty and holy balls, it was flippin fantastic! Meat and cheese platter, risotto, flatbread pizza, mushroom ravioli and more??? Yeah my arteries went from clear to clogged in 60 second.
And it was worth every bite.
I contemplated going to Target to get some ziplock containers to take home some of the now famous risotto balls but didn’t want to leave my Peroni all by it’s lonesome. I’m good to my drinks like that. When searching for an item in my purse at the bar, the bartender just stood there waiting for my order. He was waiting for me, what, when does that happen?
Answer: Never… except in a risotto ball filled heaven. Now that’s amore!

All I can say is WOW! The food at Vivace is Magnificent. My favorite was the shrimp risotto! The shrimp was grilled to perfection. Larry Tanelli singing the stylings of Dean Martin was a treat. Nicole & Todd were wonderful hosts! My husband and I knew the moment we walked in that it was worth the 2 hr drive. We got to meet some of the Unilocalers I have only seen online. Loved Chad E in his signature sport coat and shorts! Thanks to all for a great time! We hope to see you all again soon.

You outdo yourself every single time. Another big dog event. The prosciutto was fresh, the rice balls were top of the line. The food, drinks, desert= fit for a king.
Great job guys making this a tough event. Events like this, that’s whats good…
Yours truly,
Legitimate Big Dog Tim G

Great spread. Sure, there were cheese cubes and prosciutto, but there were multiple kinds of pizza, dozens of risotto balls (Did you even know risotto had balls? That one never gets old!), several pasta selections, and should you tire of that, you even have «regular» risotto and dessert. Not to be one of those venues that gets knocked for running out of food, there was still plenty of food left as the timer ran down. Nice.
Huge props to the beverage vendors as well — the wine and Peroni was flowing all night (Nicole had a massive wine glass too — was I the only one that noticed?). Naturally, Tonya from Poprock was snapping pics and dancing her way across the floor all night long. Always good to see you, Petunia!
Perhaps the coolest thing was straight out of Myrtle Beach, our very own Dean Martin-​esque crooner, Larry «The Tan» Tanelli. Awesome. Many — including yours truly — had their pics made with him, and probably kept him from singing as much as he should have done. I have no doubt there will be profile pics showing up with LT soonish.
Thanks to everyone!