Yuletide Yelping @ M Bar

Ok, so thanks to James L. I’m not the only one delinquent here in getting a review down for this event, though I have an excuse — see all the reviews relating to getting car repaired — which was the 2^nd event of that evening :-(.
This was by far the best official Unilocal event I made it to last year. Very elegant and wonderful open space to mingle around and say hi to folks and meet some nice new people.
The food was excellent. Shrimp and nicely creamy grits, decadent cheese and crackers spread and the pièce de résistance: tuna tartare with crispy wonton chips. When I first walked by this dish, I just glanced at it and thought it was salsa. I’m soooooo glad I walked back around and took a closer look. I will definitely be back by M Bar to have this dish again.
Another fabulous event. Tara was so cute and welcoming in her reindeer costume. And three cheers to Kevin for bringing Unilocal lunch boxes for a few of us would weren’t able to make it to the previous elite event. Grabbed a Unilocalstick for the blistering winter winds and looking forward until the next Unilocal event.

This is one of the most fancy and unforgettable Unilocal event that I attended in the year 2009.
Love the warm eggnog! :)
And definitely a fan of the tuna tartar!
I absolutely enjoy the party, who filled with my favorite friends, the Unilocal crowd, not to mention the delicious food/​appetizers selections and drinks. Excellent!
Off course in the middle of the party I didn’t forget to thank the friendly Executive Chef and shake his hands. Congrats for the Chef and his crew! Great job Chef!
I even get the tin box lunch to bring home! Yay!
Making new wonderful friends as well. It was a fond time indeed.
I will keep his experience, as a part of a good memory on this winter wonderland!
Salute!

So. after I got lost. as I always do in the District. found parking. and got lost walking to M Bar. I was ready for a drink or two. I did have to wait a while. a long while for my drinks.
I had such a great time seeing my Unilocal Favorites and meeting all of the ones that I’ve been wanting to meet! You guys are awesome. Tara and Kevin are the most outgoing, friendliest, and thank you so much for all of your hard work!
For my first Elite event, I’d say I’d come again =)
Here’s a link to pictures my friend took:

The venue was closer to the Foggy Bottom than Dupont Metro. The dumbass me only found out after getting off the station and was relying on my iphone for directions. It was very windy and cold but I made it at the end. Well at least I realized that it was at the Renaisassance hotel — Unilocaler Brendan F looked around for a bar… hehe.
When I got there, a line all the way out to the entrance already formed we waited to get our tags and was greeted by Kevin L. with his cute Unilocal red hat and Tara L. in the Rudolph outfit! The M bar was spacious and had stations spread out with drinks and appetizers. For the early birds, there were platters of shrimps and grits, cheeses and salsa etc. Later in the event, burgers started rolling out. I kept getting the burger with no cheese bacon eventually I offered mine to someone who was more hungry than me. The burgers were cooked to a nice pink and the buns were soft and tasty! I loved it. I was too lazy to get more food and I ended up with more and more drinks from the the kind samaritans who either loved getting drinks or spilled my drinks– HA! I got the chance to try the Kentucky Sunrise, Mango mojito, the regular mojito which was super stiff and in the end I just wanted the Red Stag neat. It was great to catch up with the Unilocalers I even ran into friend Ming M and Brendan F for the first time!

Because this was only my 2^nd Unilocal event, I have only one other one to compare this one to. That being said, I give it five stars because it was much better than the Saki outing.
The venue was very nice and spacious with amble seating (which I never used because I was too busy ensuring I took every photo imaginable). Also a plus where the different bar stations which helped to ensure you didn’t have to wait that long in line for your drinks. I was also impressed by how much food was available in the beginning. I actually ate before hand because I assumed that all the food would have run our quickly or would have been limited. The only food item I tried was the slider which I hated so bad I gave the rest of it to Celia. Luckily she didn’t throw it back in my face, haha. But yeah, she agreed the slider was yucky. No bueno!
Overall it was a fun night. Tara L. was a good sport taking naughty and nice photos in her little reindeer outfit. There were no goodie bags this time around but like I said, the venue and set up made up for everything.

A successful event! I would’ve expected lines for the food and drink, but I didn’t expect the line I met when I walked into the door of the Renaissance. I sure hope the hotel guests weren’t turned off by all the crazy Unilocalers invading the bar.
The food was surprisingly flowing despite the many Unilocalers (myself included) pouncing on it immediately. The bacon cheeseburger sliders and the shrimp and grits were delicious while the regular sliders and tuna tartare were on the bland side. Good amount out there to soak up the alcoholic beverages we got to enjoy. I wish I got to try the spiked eggnog, but the warm apple cider was inviting after braving the cold wind getting to the place. I didn’t hear favorable words on the mojitos, so my friend was nice enough to dodge them for the bacardi and sierra mist — very refreshing!
Great event! Thanks to Jim Beam, Bacardi, and the lovely folks at the Renaissance M Bar for being gracious hosts. Some more thanks Tara L., Kevin L., and Danielle for hosting a great event! Can’t go bad with a Unilocal CM in a reindeer suit — hot stuff Tara!

this may not have been the liveliest event in recent history… but man… that tuna tartare with the deep fried «chips»… so good. i felt like the food was pretty plentiful, between that and the shrimp & grits and sliders.
i was pleasantly surprised to partake in the nonsyrupy mango mojitos! so seasonally inappropriate but so yummy. the lines were slow, but they were doing the drinks right.
best of all, i got my zoolights tix and even scored a Unilocal fruitcake after making fun of how unappetizing fruitcake always looks!

Who knew you could make Rudolph sexy? Last night I found out that hot girl + Rudolph suit = a sudden understanding of the Furry movement. HAHA!
You’ve got to love these events. I was able to meet more Unilocalers like the lovely Joie and Erik. I got to chit chat with friends of Unilocalers like the lovely guy I chatted with at the Unilocal table (Dude, you would look so smokin’ in hot pants).
The drinks were cool. That cider was just delicious. In fact it must have been a little too delicious, because they were out when I went to the table to get my own. Like someone else said, that line for Bacardi drinks was a little crazy but they did muddle their own mint and sugar. One must remember, mojito making is an art.
I was only able to try the tuna tartar and it was terrific. The food did seem like it was quickly replenished but I was too busy yapping or spending time in line for more drinks.
What a lovely way to start the holiday celebrations.

This event was fantabulous!
So many cool new and old Unilocalers to hang with! I wish it could’ve gone on all night!
Tara in her reindeer outfit stole the show.
Great red stag egg nog and apple cider drinks.
Great tuna on wonton concoction, thanks M for the heads up!
Great crowd, and after reading what happens at Unilocal events in SF, I think our lines rock!
The space was beautifully decorated and all the servers were very polite and friendly.
5 stars for a job well done!

From the time I saw Tara dressed in a furry reindeer costume I knew I was in for a good time.
I arrived fashionably late as usual (hey, at least I was dressed fashionable, otherwise I would have been just plain olé late) and I was surprised to find a very long line. Then there was a long line for the coat check as well but when I was finally done with waiting in those I was able to start the fun.
M lounge itself was very nice, it was a nice mixture of being very cozy and warm/​trendy without seeming stuffy. I appreciated the dark red tones in there and the plentiful couches. Someone mentioned there was also wi-​fi so I imagine this would be a pretty cool place to come and hang out. Seating was arranged so each place had its own area.
Drinks were yummy (As most free drinks tend to taste to me) and plentiful. The only downside is the lines for the drinks were quite long. I had egg nog which was great, im an egg nog lover so I was impressed. I heard rave things about the cider although I didnt get to try it. I had a sierra mist and bacardi and that was good as well (how can you really screw that up though?). The food was good and I did an excellent job snagging it. My fortune was that I tended to be standing right near to where food came wherever it was. The Unilocal gods definitely smiled on me.
The star of the show for the food was the tuna and guacamole. The guacamole was delicious. Also good was the flatbread pizza, the mini burgers were standard, not great, not bad. The funniest thing was that no food item lasted more than about 40 seconds usually. It was like a swarm of animals hahah.
Saw tons of great awesome Unilocalers as well! I love Unilocal
:heart:

‘Twas the night before Yuletide Unilocaling, when all through DC
Not a Unilocaler was Unilocaling, not even Rohan P.
The reviews were written with plenty of care,
In hopes that Kevin L. would soon would be there
They were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sliders and grits danced in their heads
When out on M street there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my office to see what was the matter
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But Tara L dressed as a reindeer!
More rapid than ever the Unilocalers they came,
And she whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
«Now, Brian N! now, Harry T! Now, Farzan K! and of course Keon D!
As I mixed and mingled and was turning around,
Red Stag and Barcardi Rum drinks were soon a bound
Eggnog and cider and mango mojitos too
Have two more? Don’t mind if I do
After so much food and booze I grew a little round belly,
That shook, when I laughed like a bowlful of jelly
A wink of an eye and a twist of my head,
Soon gave me to know it was time for bed
I headed to the metro and was soon out of sight
Merry Yuletide Unilocaling, and to all a good-​night

Tara in a retro Rudolph the Reindeer costume alone merits this event 4 stars. Amazing.
The food (when we were able to grab a nibble) was great — but what I reaaaaally enjoyed was the drinks. Mojitos (despite the endlessly long line) made to perfection and winter warm drinks — oh my! Both the spiked eggnog and the hot apple pie drink were delish and devilish.
Nice venue — perfect amount of space and mingle-​room. Only improvement would have been some MUSIC!!!

Tara was the embodiment of holiday cheer in a snazzy light up reindeer costume. A++. The extra plus is for letting me pet her tail. That’s really all I wanted for Christmas. I loved how festive all the servers looked. There was a great spread of apps including super succulent, tender shrimp that convinced me to get over my aversion to shrimp at least for the evening. The hot cider was perfect for such a cold night, though the mango mojito was too heavy on the rum for my taste. I know, blasphemy.
It was my first time at M Bar, and I thought it was a great venue. It’s open and spacious with low lighting and low seating – perfect for a gossipy chat in the corner or an attempt to make new friends by huddling together on one of the group couches. Really loved seeing so many lovely people out, inappropriately accosting Tracey in her holiday finery, and harassing Farzan about scheduling another salsa event. It was also nice meeting unmet Unilocalers and matching real life faces with fuzzy/​ambiguous internet pictures and nom de plumes.
Thanks, Kevin and Tara for organizing such a great event and M Bar for not knowing what they were getting themselves into. Tara– between your costume and your guest who let me make several «Where’s Andre?» jokes with nary an eye roll – 5 stars all the way.

Absolutely NOTHING inappropriate took place at Yuletide Unilocaling @ M Bar because FENNY L was not there.
Everything was perfectly Unilocaln Normal.
The shrimp & grits were AWESOME.
The blocks of cheese and fancy crackers were TOO GOOD!
The Asian Tuna Guacamole Salsa was DIVINE.
The portobello and swiss sliders were FREAKIN DELICIOSO!
The Freddie Appleseed drink with Red Stag was too sweet but eventyally got me DRUNK off my rocker.
Other than that, it was a perfectly normal Unilocal elite event…
…I had a FANTASTIC TIME!
Thank you Tara L. and Kevin L. and Happy Holidays! Love you both! XOXOXOXO

Warm thanks to Tara and Kevin and the staff at M Bar for a wonderful Yuletide Unilocal event! I loved that there was so much space to mix and mingle or cozy up with other Unilocalers old and new, on a cushy couch and/​or booth.
I thought the staff did a great job of feeding and satisfying DC’s Elite food and liquor palates because I constantly saw the tables being replenished. (Only seconds later to be demolished!) I was able to snag a few blocks of cheese on my way around the room which were awesome. Goes along with my life motto: You can never go wrong with cheese! More, please! The drinks looked quite tasty but I did not taste. I don’t even like eggnog but they looked so darn good in those mugs, I almost got one but then again, I say, don’t drink and [photo]shoot!
Tara was the sexiest Rudolph I’ve ever seen! And also, great job on the Naughty/​Nice box. I appreciated your craftiness. I loved shooting the event not only because I love taking photos, but because it was a great way for me to work the room and say hi to old Unilocalers and meet new Unilocalers.
Thanks again, DC Unilocal Elite for being so gosh-​darn photogenic. See you in 2010!

Diving head first into a Unilocal Elite event is like whirling down a wormhole into the restaurant at the end of the universe… to find an apres-​party at the «things that should be on a t-​shirt» convention…
«Is this slider made of reindeer?»
«My life hasn’t changed since I got my boobs.»
«Wow, you’re even funnier in real life.»
«N.E.W.B.I.E. spells virgin in Greek.»
«My Spanx are digging into my ribs.»
«Is your name French?»
«Alcohol and cream… sounds like a Saturday night!»
YOU know who you are! Okay, some of those were by moi! But, that was the sort of elegant debauchery going on at the M bar… ah, wait, I mean, art soirée! Thanks to my plus+one, Noël (should I not have won a prize for bringing the BESTEST ever plus+one to a Yuletide do?), the artist let me cut in front of him in line for my Johnny Appleseed (which joined the Tequila Sunrise and Eggnog already canoodling in the pit of my belly). If you don’t know which of the dark haired dudes was the artiste, he was the one with the limpid eyes reflecting the deep waters off the coast of Basque country… drool, drool… Did anyone notice the art he created? He uses mixed media in a fauvist tradition… get it? (Hint: masking tape.)
Speaking of things that stick to your thighs, the nibbles were delicious. For a person with short arms, I managed quite a bit of the food… The shrimp and grits were cheesy. The three cheese mountains were a reliable source all evening. The tuna tartare with avocado on wonton chips was divine. The slider with swiss cheese was moist (so juicy that oil dripped down between my mounds of Janus). The slider with nothing was chewy delight. The slider with bacon was crunchy… keeping in theme with my Unilocal Elite lunchbox, I think the sliders should have been renamed «flying saucers» because they flew off the plate straight into the gaping maws of Unilocalers!
In reflection, I would go back in a quieter momentito and eat sliders in a non-​competitive manner… so if M bar wanted publicity, they got it! Kudos to our Unilocal DC team, M bar, and a shout-​out to the bartendress working the mojito bar… her arm will probably drop off from last night’s activities. Wait, shouldn’t that be on a t-​shirt?

The night started with Tara in a furry costume and ended with me deep throating a giant wedge of cheese. Clearly this event was a success! It would have been five stars if I had been fed properly; two sliders do not a meal make.
Great seeing the whole crew as usual — I can’t wait to see the Flickr pool for this one; I have a feeling there will be some inappropriate reindeer poses for me to make my desktop background…

Where ‘s the food darn it? All I got was some cheese oh well when there is no more food to be had just have another apple jack to fill you up and that was one goooooood drink. Nothing like a nice crisp warm apple cider to help warm up the chill that I received cause I went to the wrong Marriott thanks GPS well only had to walk a block and half no biggy.
It was so nice to finally meet a few people like Maya and nice seeing more Unilocalers new and old that I don’t see on the talk threads that much. Then there’s the trusted «fun bunch» crew of Brian, Juliana, both Ben’s, Vasily, Kalib, Harry, Gloria, Keon, Mike T, Michelle L. Lester and so many others. I never tire of seeing you guys and hanging out even if it’s only for a short time.
I love this time of year and the holiday spirit of warm fellowship can be felt even on a cold day. Special thanks goes to M Bar and the Marriott Renaissance hotel without this spot this would be a Mr. Grinch party and a wonderful special thanks to Rudolph the reindeer (aka Tara and the ski patrol leader himself Kevin L. both of whom made all things here tonight a wonderful Yuletide party. A great way to wrap up the year. A cup of Cheer to all and to all a good night.

After not seeing an official entry, I figured this would get merged and am going for it anyway.
Great time! Great drinks! Great reinde… er, Tara! I didn’t see the tuna tartare but did enjoy the sliders, cheeses, and shrimp & grits. The mojitos were fine but I was especially fond of the apple cider since it was warm and the first drink after coming in from the wind.
Got to catch up with a few old Unilocalers and saw a few new ones. Always a great time when you get to catch up. Great job again, Tara and Kevin!

oh Jake and Sarah you suck. I thought for sure I was gonna get an FTR for this event. To my surprise I already see a listing.
Anyway everything was good. Food, drinks, and friends. What I thought sucked was the long lines I felt like I was in a freaking amusement park. You’d get two drinks, then immediately after that go back to the end of line because after you finished your drinks it was time for more. The food and drinks were great, but a little on the sparse side. Conversations with friends was priceless though. We enjoyed talking with Paul and Cindy, Roman and Brandi, and countless others that stopped by. Lots of fun spending time with Vasily and his crew, Jake and Simone. Special thanks to Nicole and Hyunoo… you guys are awesome.