Yelp’s Red Carpet Gallery Gala

Last night, Mal and I were invited to Yelp’s Red Carpet Gallery Gala at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. It was such a cool event– complete with a red carpet, fancy cocktails, and delicious eats from some of Boston’s best restaurants.

Yelp picked a great spot for the gala! I loved experiencing the museum “after hours,” especially in such a lively and festive atmosphere.

Plus, it was fun sipping a cocktail next to a million-year-old fossil and munching on tuna tartare while staring into the mouth of a hammerhead shark (my favorite kind). I’ve definitely never been to an event like it!

Both being dorks at heart, Mal and I spent quite a lot of time checking out the exhibits. We stumbled upon this animal skeleton that, for some reason, reminded me of my aunt’s miniature greyhound, Impy!

And, of course, we had some fun, too!

Ahh, tiger! Watch out, Mal!

The Yelp gala featured 25 different vendors, including 12 Boston-area restaurants and food purveyors, complimentary beer and cocktails, a dessert room with tastings from Taza Chocolate, Sweet Cupcakes, and Still River Winery’s Apple Ice Wine– just to name a few.

It was really warm inside the museum, so we made a beeline for a nice, cool cocktail.

Mal and I grabbed a couple of ginger mojitos. They sort of reminded me of the ginger lemonade from Crema Cafe that I am currently obsessed with.

The ginger mojito was AWESOME! I drank a second one later in the night!

There was SO MUCH good food!

The tuna tartare from the Rattlesnack was a highlight for me. It was topped with a lemon-y sorbet and served on a spoon. Initially, this combo seemed strange to me, but it was a perfect summer appetizer.

Our next stop was Sweet!

We hit Sweet early in the night, so I had plenty of room in my stomach for an entire cupcake– not just a small sample.

Mal chose the Red Velvet cupcake, which he loved. I picked the Organic Karat cupcake, which I also loved. And I especially loved the cream cheese frosting. Holy yum!

Mal and I sampled all sorts of yummy foods and drinks over the course of the evening.

Mal was starving, so he took full advantage! Chomp!

Masa had a wonderful Haberero Watermelon Margarita that was slighty sweet with a serious spicy kick to it.

Masa also had amazing Queso Fundido Empanadas. I helped Mal finish his!

Now, I really want to visit Masa!

I wish this photo had come out better– it’s of Mal following the beer guy. Mal spotted him and followed him into a different room, so he could nab a beer. As you can see, my husband is a real go-getter! 

More delicious eats!

I didn’t try the steak tartare from Gaslight, but Mal raved about it.

The event offered a “Red Carpet Ready” room where several salons and beauty professionals offered complimentary mini-manicures, make-up and hair styling, eyebrow threading, aromatherapy and skin care demonstrations. It seemed pretty cool, but (understandably) my date wasn’t interested, so we just strolled through.

On our way out of the event, I snagged a mini burrito from Boloco for my lunch today. I felt kind of weird walking around with a burrito in my purse, but it sure tasted delicious for lunch!

I also scored some sweet swag at the end of the night. It was no HLS swag bag, but it still had some great stuff in it.

What a cool event! I loved everything about it– the venue, atmosphere, food and drink, and the people we met– including the lovely ladies of We Are Not Martha! They attended the Healthy Living Summit last weekend, but I never had a chance to chat with them, so I was psyched to bump into them last night. I wish I had remembered to snap a pic, but I’m sure we will see one another again soon.

Thanks for inviting me, Yelp! Mal and I had a fabulous time!

Tagged as: Sweet