Whats a girl to do on a chilly, lazy Sunday afternoon in Denver? Go to a Yelp event of course! I attended the at the Capital Grille in Larimer Square this past Sunday and had such a wonderful time!

Even though Capital Grille is a chain restaurant, its one of the upper echelon steakhouses out there. Ive only been to Capital Grille twice before and both times were when I lived in Charlotte. Both times the food was simply amazing-precisely prepared and well worth the more expensive price tag than Im used to. The place has a boys club feel to it thanks to its mahogany walls along with intimate oversized booths, portraits of old distinguished men (can someone tell me who these men are?) and an an air of elegance.

Yeah, thats rightcloth tablecloths and napkins.

When we walked in the restaurant to sign it , we were greeted by an intricate Yelp ice sculpture along with some of the biggest shrimp I've seen in a long time!

Automatically we were greeted by a server to get our drink order. Now that is what Im talking about! They are rolling out their cocktail menu so the featured drinks were the Stoli Doli, a martini with pineapple infused vodka. Along with that was a champagne drink with peach schnapps with drunken raspberries which wasnt too shabby. I don't think I've enjoyed Schnapps this much since collegewho knew??

Even Diana enjoyed a glass.actually, more like a few sips. Dont worry, I took the drink off her hands so it didnt get wasted. I like to be resourceful like that!

Diana, Lynne and me enjoying the beverages

We all gathered in the bar area and canoodled with other Yelp Elite members (and watched the Ravens lose, yet again I say, damn you Tom Brady). What stood out about this event was that it was Elite members only, whereas we can usually bring a guest to Yelp events. I was a huge fan of this since it was easier to interact with others without them with the crutch a +1. I went to a Yelp Elite event last month but didnt even post anything on here since it wasnt a successful night in the least. I went by myself and tried talking to multiple groups of people but much to my surprise, they werent friendly or welcoming. This event was the exact opposite and I think it has to do a lot with people letting down their guard and stepping outside the box and actually interacting with others..you know, like youre supposed to.

Not only was the bar area a perfect place to be due to the foot traffic of the servers with food and drink, we were right by the goodies for the night, the swag bags!

Capital Grille hooked us up! Not only did we get a rub to use in our adventures in cooking at home but they also provided a coupon for a free order of calamari at that location plus cookies. Yes, cookies!! A fabulous swag bag indeed.

Being it was Capital Grille, I had high expectations for the food. Much to my delight, the food was exactly as I remembered it! There was a number of servers coming around to the crowd with finger foods and appetizers such as jumbo shrimp, lobster rolls, tenderloin sandwiches and truffle fries.

The truffle fries were the most amazing Ive ever had. A server dropped off a few cups of them at first and after we killed those within two minutes, we were on the hunt for the next helping of fries to come around. They were absolute perfection-crispy on the inside decked out with a ton of flavor. Soon, Lynne and I turned into real housewives and switched to Sauvignon Blanc.

You know.because switching from martinis to champagne to wine is a winning strategy. Soon after we got to break up into mini groups and take a tour through their kitchen, specifically more so to learn about their process of dry ageing their steaks. The executive chef led the tour and showed us the walk in refrigerator where they hold the steaks and how they make their steaks out to be some of the best in the market. Not only did I enjoy seeing where they make their food but I loved the fact that if they have food that arent going to use, it goes to local food shelters instead of throwing it out.

While none of us won the free lunch for six that Capital Grille was giving away to the Yelp attendees, I would say it was this event was a success. I finally got to attend a Yelp event in Denver where people were welcoming and engaging and I got to go back to a new yet familiar place and see some familiar faces.