As a perk of having this blog, often times I get to try stuff or, even better, give YOU stuff, but nothing has been more fun than attending Blogger Prom, which last year if you recall, was an 80s themed, Hollywood rooftop spectacular, oozing with free goodies and promotions. Not to mention amazing food and fabulous people!
This year's event was no less spectacular. Themed with old Hollywood glamour, the prom committee really outdid themselves. The new venue, the effervescent and elegant Yamashiro, perfectly lended itself to the theme, as it is on a hill overlooking the brightest part of Hollywood and has been around for almost 90 years.
Admission was changed up a little this year. A $10 per person fee went to Operation Frontline, a groundbreaking cooking-based nutrition education program, that teaches low-income families how to prepare healthy meals. It was a nice touch -- we spend the whole night enjoying freebies and it's some good karma to help a cause simultaneously.
There was food and drink galore. My personal favorite, like last year, was the "sex cheese," which is actually an Aged Brick Spread from Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker, Joe Widmer, courtesy of The Cheese Impresario. It resonnated so much with me last year, that this year, it was the first food item I bee-lined for. They don't call it "sex cheese" for nothin'!
And, super bonus, I FINALLY got to try Coolhaus, whom I've followed forever on Twitter, and is basically my #1 "I wanna try" food truck. Let me just tell you: TWO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH SEA SALT CARAMEL ICE CREAM IN THE MIDDLE?! Yes, that is as heavenly as it sounds. I encourage you to stalk them and eat them as well. If you do not live in Los Angeles, I encourage you to get on a plane and find them. (Ok, I am kidding, I would never encourage you to be so flagrant unless you were Richard Branson. Or you REALLY liked ice cream cookie sandwiches.)
I also must point out that my favorite vodka, Pinky, was there -- and they are only my favorite since I discovered them at last year's Prom -- they have always been kind to me on the social media circuit and I love that its pink vodka. I'm an easy sell. But the drink of the night was delicious. Pity of the night was the massive line that was a permanent fixture at the bar. It was kind of a deterrent for me and I wish they had that set up like last year, with a couple locations. Perhaps they thought limiting us to three drinks (with drink tickets) would keep the crowd minimal but no such luck. Anyway, it kept me from having my second and third drink. Similarly, the long line for the tacos (which looked delish) also kept me away. And frankly, left more room for sex cheese and ice cream sandwiches. Oh, and chocolate from ChocolateBox. Click here to check out the full menu for the night.
The goodie bag was beyond measure and while I am dazzled most by the free vodka (I am, if not anything else, predictable), the Pinkberry gift card and $30 for Border Grill (I love Chef Susan Feniger), there was a LOT of give-away goodies. You may envy that here (and in the photo below).
And while we're at it, though I did not win any raffle prizes AGAIN (Yes, I am bitter), you should check out all the amazing companies that contributed there, too.
Did I miss anything? OMG, I didn't even touch on the beer tasting or the scotch tasting... Let me sum that up for you, though. I like white ale and I HATE scotch. White ale is delicious (love you, Beer Chicks!) and scotch is pungent as all hell. That shit BURNS. Who are you super-powered devils that consider yourself scotch afficionados? You are crazy is what you are. LOL. (But let's still thank Dalmore Scotch because their reps were very tolerant of all my questions and picture taking and they tried so hard to convert me.)
The event, overall, a smashing, marvelous success. I always come away wishing I'd met more new people, but always, always happy to have seen blogging friends I never get to see and already anticipating the next event. The prom committee should be congratulated and feel so proud that they did it AGAIN. I cannot WAIT to see what they pull of next year! AWESOME! STUPENDOUS! GLAM! LOVED IT!
Also worth checking out: Blogger Prom photo group on FLICKR
