Yelp's Elemental Experience at the Castle Chicago

I'm still catching up on the goings on of this weekend. My body is exhausted from all the activities, but my soul is happy from all the friends and fun.

After my awesome 5K race Saturday and baking a batch of double chocolate cookies, I headed downtown to my sister's apartment to pick her up for the Yelp Elemental Experience. I'm a Yelp Elite, but this party was open to the public. You just had to register in advance.  We took the train over and got in quickly. The party was free, but there were charities accepting donations and Yelpers always tip their servers. Always, people.


Mandy and I were excited to get on the guest list because we've both wanted to go to the Castle Chicago (formerly known as Excalibur) for a long time, but we're not club people. It's a landmark in the city and is known to be one of the most haunted locations in Chicago. This was a great way to experience the location without the general doucheyness of going to a club.


This was a seriously amazing time. We walked in and were immediately greeted with appetizers and an open bar. This is my jam.  There were such and array of amazing vendors that I felt like a kid on Christmas day. I wasn't sure where to look first.

The venue has four distinct sub-clubs an the party took advantage of all the space. In addition to awesome decorations, there were probably a dozen different places to grab a drink and at least twice as many places to nosh on snacks. Mandy and I ate, in no particular order: vegan cheese, vegan mac and cheese (and stand out, in my opinion), Polish pizza, beef and mushroom risotto, onion rings, chicken and waffles, Middle Eastern desserts, French fries, Dominos pizza, steamed pork buns and sushi. Additionally, we drank Moskato (both flavors), Redd's, Fireball whiskey and Four Lokos (Mandy did, not this kid). Needless to say, we were full.

We also tried to meet and greet with all the vendors. We both got airbrush make up and fake lashes, along with freebies from PopChips and others.  Mandy and I also got a caricature done.

I don't really think it looks like us. What do you think?

Thanks to Yelp, the Castle and all the amazing vendors who made this party possible. Mandy tweeted that she felt like Kim Kardashian, and I must say that I agree. We were treated like VIPs and given the royal treatment. I can't wait for the next event! You can follow me on Yelp to see what I'm reviewing now in the meantime.