Elite Event @ Japonessa

Thank you Katy!
Pros:
1) Love when people dress up
2) Happy to see my Unilocal fellows
3) A lot of fun with mini games and give-​away goodies
Cons:
1) It’s overly crowded

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Katy did an amazing job putting this together, and I loved the random theme — P party!
This was my first costume party, and I had a fun time debuting my pageant girl costume. It was fun seeing everyone else dressed up too, like the pastrami sandwich, pig with wings, pimps, pirate, prom king and queen, paparazzi and the protestors!
The event was a bit cramped though, and it was hard to make the rounds to mingle, so we basically ended up staying in the bar for the night — luckily, we had our own personal Segura Viduas man refilling our glasses!
I tried some of the food (the rainbow poke and elite diablo roll) and it was delicious as Japonessa always is — I’ll definitely be back to use my 30% off coupon!
Thanks Katy, Japonessa and Segura Viduas!

I feel badly giving 3 stars because I know how much work was put into this event, and that Katy and the staff at Japonessa worked their butts off. However, I have to agree with a lot of other people. There were WAY too many people in that restaurant and therefore, not even close to enough food. The miscommunication about happy hour prior to the event was really disheartening because I was STARVING and I really wanted to try some sashimi. We didn’t want to lose our spots at the bar so we stuck around and had a drink, hoping that there would be enough food.
I also agree that the food was amazing, and that they shouldn’t necessarily have made more, but as per above I was so hungry that I really needed more. To get the two rolls and bit of calamari that I had my friend and I more or less jumped the poor servers (we were part of that mob at the kitchen.) And while the Segura Vidas was quite nice, I feel like it was flowing TOO well for the minimal amount of food available.
I guess this event did what it was supposed to though; I’m hungry for more Japonessa, and I won’t rest until I can go back!

My first Unilocal event and I was very much impressed.
As other reviews have stated, it was pretty fricking packed. However, my bf and I were one of those ppl that snagged a spot at the sushi bar so we had our own little area. :-)
The food was good, mainly b/​c we actually got some! The sushi chefs were super personable and nice, especially Roger. The servers were also good, but like others said, they were pretty much ambushed by everyone. lol, overwhelming I’m sure! We basically stuck to our spot as it would’ve been quite a feat to actually try and go across the restaurant. So many ppl!
The free flowing cava was definitely a plus and it actually tasted good! I’m not the biggest fan of champagne, but I liked it and the promoters were very nice.
I was impressed that the event was so much more than just some free food and drinks. There were activities, a costume contest, and a hunt for hidden keys. I didn’t find one, but it was fun to look!
We ended up talking to a few random Unilocalers and it was definitely a good experience to finally meet other super foodies! It’s a perfect setting to meet new ppl!
Thanks Katy for putting it together! Who can fault everyone for showing up for free food and drinks? And thnx to the staff of Japonessa who dealt with us hungry ppl with patience.

I always enjoy going to these events. Katy does an awesome job at getting every detail organized and having a great turnout.
This venue was a little crowded and overwhelmed but still turned out to be a fun evening. The food that came around was very good and the champagne was flowing.

I had a great time at this event, but it fell just short of getting one of my five star reviews. Let me explain…
I really like Japonessa so I was pumped up like Arnold Schwarzenegger when Unilocal announced they were having the next Elite event here and it didn’t disappoint. The people from Segura Viudas were really friendly, and liberal with their «tastings» (big points for that.) I never seemed to have an empty flute, so when in Rome. Also, the swag they were giving away was actually practical and useful. Costumes were cool, but I didn’t have time to dress up cause I came right from the office, but it was nice to see so many people in the Unilocaling spirit!
Also, major points for Katy H. She was incredibly friendly, even though I arrived near the end of the event, and was completely engaging.
My only complaint is that I wasn’t able to sample any of the food they’d prepared for us. I was really looking forward to getting a chance to sample some of their wares, but that didn’t happen, so they just miss the five star review. I’d go 4.5 overall though, and will look forward to the next Elite event, but the bar was set really high with this one!

Katy knows how to throw a party. This is a well known fact that has been scientifically proven. I remember reading a study on it. But I have personally seen the study in action.
Katy’s party planning skills are so good that literally every Elite member wanted to get on the guest list at Japonessa. In addition to being the best party planner, Katy is also the nicest person on the planet. So when Japonessa told her the Fire Marshall would only allow 200 people, she fit exactly 200 people in there. Personally, I think the Fire Marshall wants us to all die because if there was a fire, we would have all been trampled to death. Luckily, I found a spot in the back near a Fire Exit, for my own safety.
I don’t eat Sushi. So, I am sorry to all the people who wanted to party it up at Japonessa with us and couldn’t because of me. BUT, my cousin LOVES Sushi, so I made sure to get on the guest list for her benefit since she was visiting from California, where the sushi is mediocre at best. She loved everything that she tasted, she tried to eat enough for both of us, but sadly there just wasn’t enough food, and when you did find it, it was really hard to get to. But there was Cava, and a really cute boy to serve it to us and flirt with us. Said cute boy would just come to us to give us more alcohol (although, he did cut me off because I was driving, which I am thankful for) and smile at us with his beautiful smile that can melt any girls heart.
It was great to see everyone in their costumes, and meet lots of new Unilocalers. For the record, I was dressed up as a Penguin, and my cousin was a Parakeet. We are very abstract.
Thanks Katy, Japonessa and everyone else!

Katy did a great job trying to get in as many people as possible, and Japonessa was a very gracious host, even as people attempted to look under tables, dresses, in the loo, and between cleavage to score their keys. Segura Viudas was excellent, I’m definitely a cava fan and I’ll spread their word about. Japonessa’s food was all excellent. They managed to get all the food staggered out to all in the crowd in a steady stream, and cheerfully so for having to elbow past all the participants. The bartenders were also patient and kind.
Thanks Katy, Japonessa, and Segura Viudas for sponsoring the event!

As usual Katy did a faboosh job throwing one hell of a party!
However, I have my minor quibbles.
Place was SUPER packed. I think it took me 30 min to get from one side of the joint to the other — and that wasn’t due to stopping for conversation, etc. It was just FULL to the brim, and hard to navigate around (and I wasn’t even dressed as a Sandwich! Moving around in that get up must have been hard). I got up close and personal to a lot of new people last night unintentionally. Also the food didn’t make it around much — I admit we Unilocalers tend to jump on the servers like hungry vultures and clear their platters before they can get 3 feet from the kitchen — but still. Some people there didn’t even SEE any food let alone have some.
Beyond that, the cava was free flowing (may have had too much), the «find a key» game was great and set off an hour or so of OCD madness with me trying to find one (I did, but alas it didn’t open the treasure chest). The food I did manage to try was quite good! I can’t remember what roll was what — but I enjoyed everything I nibbled on. Costumes were ~great~, even though I copped out with mouse ears (I was «Pinky» from Pinky & the Brain I guess), I loved seeing everyone dressed up… the flying pig and the aforementioned sandwich being my favorites.
A little chaotic, but fun times all around. Thanks Katy, Japonessa, Sugura Viduas and everyone else who showed up!

I can’t in good conscience 5 star this event.
This is almost entirely predicated on Japonessa and their handling of it.
I’m sure they were excited about the opportunity and felt they could handle the 200 people they told Katy they could, but I am going to disagree with them. (Though Kristin’s theory the Fire Marshall is employing his own form of population control may hold some water, too)
Less Unilocalers is tough, I know, but it would have meant better mingling and meeting new faces, ability to sample the food they offered us, and a lot less elbow-​shoving in an attempt to get around or find those «hidden keys» for prizes.
It was far, far too crowded for pretty much anything.
The amount of bites they were able to circulate (and the limitations of the lay out of the space IN such a crowd) didn’t equate to all getting even one and too many never even seeing anything. What I was able to try when I was lucky enough to whiz past someone with food on their tray or to convince a Unilocaler closer to pass one to me was good. I would visit again on my own to have just those again.
I also could swear that the original event description indicated happy hour food and drinks would be open to us up until the event. If I’m wrong, that’s fine, but upon early arrival (6:30pm) the staff knew nothing about it and the kitchen completely «closed» before the event to prepare. Acceptable, but some of the staff chose to be much more snippy about it than I think was warranted. No one was upset or making a fuss over it, they were just disappointed to not get to eat there beforehand.
Although one staff member made a positive impression with me when she took it upon herself to make sure Julie was not forgotten where she had to remain in the bar. Stairs and a sardine-​canned event don’t really mix well for Ms. Sexy-​on-​wheels. I know she had a great time, but I’m also glad she was recognized by the staff. A few servers were a little rude about that subject when I attempted to approach them, and over the evening, I heard quite a few comments from others indicating that seemed to be a theme.
They were clearly overwhelmed, and I get that, but it was also by their choice of over-​seating such an event that led to a lot of the reasons WHY it was so overwhelming.
(I’m adding here, that I didn’t at all feel like we «deserved» more. This review is based upon the event and how it was handled by the restaurant and staff. I didn’t see «vulture» behavior”, but, come one, cramming that many people into a space and thereby forcing many to stand near a kitchen door or path is going to illicit some «I have to grab one because I missed all the other stuff I saw» herd-​like mentality. A properly planned event from the venue-​side won’t have this happen to the level people are sniping on)
All those «the reasons for not 5 starring an Elite event» aside, I did have a fantastic time. The costumes, the drinks, the friends and the fun is what an Elite event is really all about for me, and those were all 5+ stars.
Waiting to see what Katy can cook up for us all next!

I’m a newbie Elite and this was my first Unilocal Event! My guest and I dressed up as paparazzi. WOW I was impressed how many people were there. I didn’t get to say hi to some of my Unilocal friends but I was able to meet some cool people :)
Good times chasing after the food servers while trying not to poke people in the eye with my chopsticks. hah. For real though, everyone was so friendly and I loved the sushi! We requested a veggie roll to the sushi chef which was also very tasty. oh and I found a key… but mine didn’t open the treasure chest argrrrgh!
It was so much fun, my guest and I really enjoyed it. Thank you Katy this was a wonderful event.

Fun Fun FUN! For this being the first EE I’ve attended, I had tons of fun!
okay, okay. I’ve been to an EE before, but it was a «ladies only event» so it was a bit smaller and oriented.
BUT! This EE at Japonessa was certainly a lot of fun. Met some other elites, ran into some old time buddys (Justin Prince!!! bwahaha!), checked in with one of the girls (Hi Sammie! xoxox), sipped on some Segura Viudas, spent time looking for keys, chased after food servers, and all in all had a great time. :)
First: Thank you to Katy H, Unilocal Volunteers, Japonessa and Segura Viudas for organizing, helping, hosting and serving. We can always count on Katy H. to bring the partay and find the best places to get on down… :)
Second: Food was nom-​NOM-​tastic. I will certainly be coming back to try more and will write a review then.
Third: It was awesome seeing you guys dressed up! lots of cool costumes to check out! Thanks to the powers that be that allowed me to score a prize for my puppet costume! Two tickets to Triple Door for a show! I hope someone took a picture, because I didn’t get a chance to! (I know I fail. :P)
Fourth and finally: I can’t wait for the next one! The tables, origami, wheel, key search were all nice touches to keep everyone moving and doing something. I didnt make it over to the bar side, but looks like a lot of people were having fun!

I had a great time at the Unilocal Elite Event @ the supa cool Japonessa with fun «Letter P» theme per Katy! Loved the location for this event.
Yes, it was a lil crowded, OK! It was a lot crowded… but once I sat down at a table and met a few new to me as well as some old Unilocaler pals. the world was good again! The fun staff working the event passing food and pouring the drinks were all amazing in such a crowd of sushi vultures! Gotta give credit as I saw a few people gettin a lil grabby. haha! :0) I was only able to try one roll slice of eel and the yummy poke salad, both were really good thou.
I also really enjoyed the Sparkling wine Segura Viudas and was appreciative of the generous pours and lil freebie swag. So although, I did not get to try many samples of actual menu items by Japonessa. I was excited to receive a coupon for 30% off a future dinner bill! Can’t beat that! Sashimi set here I come!
Party on, Letter P people, your costumes rocked!

On Sunday evening, the 13^th, Japonessa turned into a hip, exclusive club just for Unilocalers!
The line wrapped around the side of the building, but Katy H went thru and checked people off before 8p in order to allow us to get into the WARM. Once in the WARM, we could see just how packed Japonessa was. I’ve been here before for their great HH, but this was a whole other level of packed.
There were flashes of P-​costumes throughout, pink winged piggy, pirates, plaid, pimento loaf??, pimps, peacocks, painter, etc. My crew and I were wearing P-​ink and P-​urple clothes, representing the more uninspired crowd. Heh.
The Japonessa floor plan of a giant V (with two levels in the center, joining into one level on the each end) was crazy busy. We maneuvered our way to both ends to see who we could meet (lots! Hello, friends!). There was a Segura Viduas (bubbly) gal holding an ipad where you could enter to win stuff if you found one of six keys hidden in the restaurant. Randomly, we would hear shouts/​squeals when a key was found, but I never did find out what the cool stuff was when you unlocked the chest because I was always on the other side. SV also had a prize wheel with flashing necklaces, wine charms, wine stoppers, and an opportunity to win a trip to wine country if you signed up.
Tables had Unilocal schwag (mints, emery boards, Unilocalsticks, pins), along with a few vouchers for a Triple Door show (two free admission, sweet), mini notepads, and origami paper/​instructions for the more dexterous folk.
Japonessa staff moved swiftly through the crowds from one of two kitchen doors. The SV staff walked around and filled your glass with bubbly. It wasn’t even necessary to move (kind of impossible to move besides, heh) and you were fed and watered! Our group was able to sample just about everything. I liked the rainbow poke and the diablo roll best. In addition to the rolls, were yellow tail and tuna nigiri (tuna more popular), and the short-​ribs were awesome.
A shout-​out to the folks I managed to say hi and quickly chat up — Aaron, Kevin, Keoni, Jorge, Kimber, Marissa, Oliver, Ming, Michael, many others I saw but could not get to (I need to attend more UYEs). Our lovely CM for the evening, Katy H was a great hostess (as usual) and made time to chat with groups of people, even offered to get US stuff. US? Really? How sweet is she! And Crystal, who helped the check in process and had a ready smile as she gave us 30% off coupons for Japonessa (not valid during HH but still an awesome deal).
It was another great event and I was so glad to be able to make it out to see y’all! Thanks. :)

Awesome event. Would have been more awesome if a.) the sushi servers were within sight (I totally lost out on trying their food as a result of them hiding), and b.) had been told that I should have come as something that started with the letter «P». I had to settle on a makeshift «prick» persona which came off more as being a ‘skirt-​chasing asshole’ vs prick. I don’t think people got it –sigh–
At any rate, the biggest success for me was meeting all the new Unilocalsters, finally hunting down Katy H (great costume btw) to thank her for the event, and discussing the history of Segura Viudas cava with its two very effective marketing reps.
All in all I’m really glad I went. Great costumes guys!

This is the 3^rd EE I’ve been to and it was AWESOME, as usual! Katy H. did a great job of making it a fun, exciting event!
First of all, the Japonessa staff were all SO helpful and nice even though we inundated them with our hoard of weirdness. They even dressed up, what good sports! Prom queen and king, «painter»… Great service with a great attitude.
The sushi their was SOOOOOO awesome!!! the poke salad??? YES! I didnt catch what the rolls were, but they had nice zing to them. Loved it.
Cool costumes I saw:
— Pig
— Pinocchio
— Pocahontas
–Pirate
–PIMPS!
–penguin
–and many more!
I love costumes :) I also love the prize I won for the costume contest! Dinner for 2 at Japonessa!!! Cant wait to come back!
There was a fun spinny wheel where you could win free prizes! I won a wine stopper!
Thanks a ton Katy H. and all your awesome volunteers for making this happen for us!

Thanks Katy for another fabulous event! Last night was my first visit to Japonessa and I will definitely be back to try their normal menu. The rolls were delicious and the sushi chefs and servers were great.
The line moved fairly quickly getting in and it was absolutely packed. The cava was flowing and there was plenty of sushi to be enjoyed if you hung out around the sushi bar but it did go rather quickly. The sushi chefs were friendly and all the staff maintained a good upbeat attitude although I’m sure our large group was beyond stressful for them.
It was fun seeing costumes on people. I did not make it to the back side of the room because there were so many people. It was very hard to make your way around or even move much but it was a fun, vibrant event with yummy food and drink! Thanks, Katy!

The «P» costume theme went great! It was nice to see many of the Unilocalers dress up for this event. I went as a Pilot and my wife went as herself, pregnant. lol Even the Japonessa staff was dress up which is pretty cool.
We ate many times at Japonessa so we know the food and happy hour is amazing!
The food that we did try was great at the event. I added pics so you can check it out. I was disappointed that we couldn’t eat before the event for happy hour because they needed to prepare food for the event but made up for it by giving us 30% off our next dinner with them.
The origami was a nice touch at each table, so it allow the new and the old to interact with each other. Great idea to help each other mingle.
Free cava from Sugura Viduas was great so we can get our buzz on but wish some non alcohol drink was available for my wife.
The event was little crowded but I understand since Katy wants as many Elite members to participate and attend. Katy did a great job as usual, Crystal doing a fantastic job of quickly checking us in, and the Japonessa servers especially our pretty girl server that I forgot her name… she was so awesome of concentrating on getting us food at our table and was a sweetheart. I really appreciate the hard work that goes into these event. Thank you for another wonderful Unilocal Elite Event.
On a side note, it was funny to count so many princesses and I have to give props to the pastrami sandwich costume… best costume of the night!
Here are the photos for the EVENT right here:

What a great event! I was quite impressed with the number of awesome costumes that were present last night. It was pretty freaking cool!
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to sample much of the food since it disappeared rather quickly. I’ not that bummed about that since I do frequent this fine establishment on a fairly regular basis, but I did sample quite a bit of cava that was always being replenished! Thumbs up to that!
Thanks again for a wonderful event, Katy!
**This is the second Elite Event that I’ve attended in this space — the first was back in September 2007 when it was Union!