Yelper Party – The Yelpies @ Coral Gables Museum

This was an amazing way to say goodbye to our beloved Johnny! This event was so big that we actually needed a map sent out before the event — and I wished I had printed it out for the day of the event. I’m sure I missed so many things, but what stood out for me were definitely the goodie bags at the end. So many wonderful items, almost a month later I am still using up some of the stuff. My goodie bag ended up filled with Red Bull Zero, Onli Soda, Honest Tea, a tumbler, stickers, Unilocal schwag and more.
This event was definitely crowded but it was nice seeing so many new faces, as well as lots of Unilocalers I don’t see on a regular basis. There were so many things to taste, see and do that I’m sure I missed so much. I caught glimpses of the painting girl, that was certainly entertaining!
All of the food was amazing, the stand out definitely being Sushi Samba’s tuna taco. I had two — shhh, don’t tell anyone :) :) We also loved the Keurig station, that is all Fernando has been talking about since seeing them at the event. Apparently we are going to buy one now lol
I kept waiting in line to do the photo booth, but as expected it was very popular and unfortunately they were having some technical difficulties slowing the line down. I was distracted by the wine in the next room and kept getting out of line… which by the way I loved the Brazilian wine display in the side room. I also was intrigued by the makeup counter, but didn’t have a chance to speak with the girls there to get additional information. Bunnie Cakes vegan cupcakes were also there, which are delicious!
As ADD as my review sounds is about how my night at the event went — torn between so many interesting and fun things to do. The time flew by and I know we ended up overstaying our welcome at the museum (THANK YOU Coral Gables Museum for being such gracious hosts!).
In the end this event was all about saying goodbye to Johnny and celebrating Unilocal’s 10 year anniversary, and it certainly was a great way to celebrate both. Johnny, I’m so glad you found a new opportunity to grow and I hope you’ll come to visit us when you can! Thank you for this event and all the others in the past, you are an awesome CM and we are all sad to see you go!

I brought my husband, Clyde, as my plus one. We both had a good time. That being said, I wasn’t a great fan of the venue. The large inside room where most of the food was served became super crowded very quickly. It was hard to see what restaurant had what food. Once you got your food there wasn’t any place inside to eat it. I saw people accidentally dropping plates of food on the floor. Thanks Jeannie for removing the cupcake that landed practically under my arm and stuck to my top. Oh, and Allen, I’m sorry I stepped on your foot when I was trying to get through the door.
The outside area wasn’t as crowded, but it was so hot. We kept going outside to get away from the crowd, then going inside to get away from the heat.
I gave this event five stars because I enjoyed tasting the different food and drinks. My favorite restaurant was Mama Mia Italian Ristorante. They served meatballs, gnocchi, chicken, lobster and seafood tortellini, and a little hot sandwich which I think is prosciutto. For drinks I enjoyed the smoothies from Robek’s. I was looking forward to trying Spaghettino, Smashburger, and The Daily Melt. They were on the list, but I didn’t see them.
I loved the string quartet. They were wonderful. I skipped The beauty salon. Is it my imagination, or were they using the same hot iron and brushes on everyone?
Thanks to all the vendors for the food and drinks. Thanks to everyone at Unilocal who put this together and for giving out the goodie bags.
Johnny, good luck in Nashville. I hope you’ll come back to visit us in Florida.

Had such an amazing time at the Unilocalies last night!!! Thank you to everyone who organized such a great event!!! Food was awesome and I’m sorry I did not vote because I didn’t get a pin but I must say my favorite dish was from the Oceanaire that sample of Tuna was delicious!!! Such a great balance of flavors, and the fish was so fresh!
Drinks were nice, that spicy one though, just couldn’t get passed 2 sips lol. Definitely was interesting!
Venue was nice, enjoyed the exhibits, though probably wouldn’t go back unless it’s for another Unilocal event.
Music was awesome! So glad I picked up one of his cards because he was playing some sick tracks. Just a great mix of everything, and each tune played for the right amount of time, know what I mean?
Overall an amazing night, met some more Unilocalers, and my plus one will surely be seen more in the Unilocal community. I guess I convinced her that Unilocal is awesome psshhhhhh… like she didn’t know, but whatever!!!

Well, Johnny, if you have to leave us, at least you went out with quite a bang!
This was a gigantic event… I had my doubts that this many people would be able to fit in the Coral Gables Museum, but we managed! Sure, it was crowded at times, but as long as you kept a good attitude (and used a convenient Unilocal fan), it was totally fine. I’m very disappointed in the people that gave this event low ratings, simply because they couldn’t be bothered to read instructions. Their lack of reading comprehension is squarely their fault, not Johnny’s. Some people really have a lot of nerve complaining about a free event. Okay, getting off my soapbox now…
Going to be honest, I don’t remember much of what I ate, drank, etc. There were just so many options, it was hard to keep track! I loved most of what I tried, and even discovered that I do, in fact, actually like coconut water, provided it’s chocolate-​flavored ;) By the end of the night, it was so oppressively hot outside (again, not Johnny’s fault… ahem) that my favorite vendor was the guy handing out water. I wanted to give him a hug. Sure, I could’ve just stayed inside, but then I would’ve missed the raffle drawing, where I won two tickets to see the Wayans Brothers at Hard Rock Live! Two others in my group of friends won stuff from the raffle too, although I would’ve given my first-​born child for that Unilocal lunch box ;)
The goody bag buffet at the end had a longish line, but it was worth it! This was not your ordinary Unilocal schwag… they had awesome tumblers, four packs of Red Bull, Honest Tea, Keurig cups, shot glasses and other random things for the taking. It was such a cool and unexpected way to end the evening.
Thanks so much to Blue and Michelle C. for putting on a fantastic surprise for Johnny, to the awesome (and generous!) vendors, to the Coral Gables Museum for being such gracious hosts, and to that museum parking garage for having shockingly-​reasonable rates in such a high-​priced area :) Many, many thanks to Johnny for putting on a fantastic final event. We’re really going to miss you down here… whoever takes your place certainly has big shoes to fill. I’m so grateful that I really started attending Unilocal events thanks to you! Nashville is damn lucky.

This was no event! No way, not at all. It was a total blowout of an EXTRAVAGANZA! For a moment I thought that I had somehow ended up in Unilocal Heaven. Hundreds upon hundreds of Unilocalers, all as usual, dressed in style, full of humor, having fun, drinking and of course eating.
With aid of the innovative Unilocal Party Pass, the entry line move quickly and once inside what should I see but lemonade, ginger and Tito’s Vodka which we all know =‘s Moscow Mules, a delicious starter drink. Then on for some food, and it was food galore. Unfortunately so much I couldn’t try or list them all but I was totally impressed with the offerings of TK’s, Samba Sushi, Ikura Sushi, Mexicana and Jimmy Z’s. My inclusion of those is only because there was so much I really couldn’t do all, but I’ve kept a list, have memories of what I saw and of course will at some future point patronize their Unilocal friendly establishments.
The venue for this Unilocal Extravaganza couldn’t have been better, the Coral Gables Museum, an artful edifice blended of a 1939 Deco/“Depression Moderne” and Mediterranean Revival architectural styles. Its hallways are vast and its exhibits eye appealing at every turn, plus the outside patio area with yet more food drink offerings provided a refreshing interlude from the indoors environment.
Then for entertainment a string quartet, a «Snap! Studio» booth and a haircare area (no, I do not have split ends), just to name a few.
In all, it couldn’t have been a better farewell tribute to Johnny and the event with our BPB CM, Blue, ever present was about as perfectly coordinated and orchestrated as could possibly be done.

This was an amazing, tasty, fun filled event that will go down as one of the better ones we’ve had in Miami, and was certainly a fitting send off for our soon to be departed CM, Johnny T. It was also a great way to say «Happy 10^th Anniversary Unilocal!».
When I arrived, the line to get in was longer than expected, but as others mentioned, the Party Passes we were asked to print and bring with us helped the line move along relatively quickly. The overall entry process was set up well, with 1 person scanning the passes, another giving out the wrist bands, and staff/​volunteers taking cash or credit card donations for the Coral Gables Museum.
Once inside, there were food and drink vendors in a few rooms in the (nicely air conditioned) museum, as well as out in the quasi-​courtyard area. So many others have done a great job of describing the food and drink vendors, restaurants and businesses that were in attendance. Personally, my favorites were Wynwood Brewing, who continued to serve drinks to the attendees of this event long after most other vendors had either run out of product, or had taken away their displays. I also liked LIQ’s shots and the company that had the infused vodkas. As far as food, I loved the wings from OTC, the short rib, cole slaw (with blue cheese, yum) and skewers from TKs, the pork and chicken wraps from La Mexicana, and of course, the mini cupcakes from Cakes and More Store.
It was great to see lots of people like Tim, Kyle, RT and a few others whom I’ve not seen in a while, as well a lot of BPB Unilocalers who made the drive down. As always, the afterparty at 7 Seas was also awesome. Love that place!
Finally, last night’s event was also our farewell to our CM, Johnny T, who’s been at the helm of Unilocal Miami for a few years now. I still remember meeting him for the first time when we had another one of these large scale events with several hundred people at the National Hotel. He was serving up wine at the Cupcake wine booth. Since that time, he’s hosted tons of great events, helped raise Blue from humble Unilocaltern to the kick ass CM of Unilocal BPB, and has continued to grow the Unilocal Miami community. Good luck in Nashville, my friend… And don’t be a stranger!

I have to admit, this review is a little bitter sweet. Sure it was an amazing event and I have no complaints (and happy anniversary to Unilocal!), but it sure is sad to see Johnny T take his talents to Nashville.
For me the event started at 7pm. This meant trying to get a bite of everything possible before the masses rushed in. I definitely got distracted by saying hi to everyone and chatting with friends so I didn’t get to try everything, but I was impressed.
My votes ended up going to Sushi Samba and Jimmy Z (I loved the guava balls). Special shout out to Red who had an amazing presentation with the beef consume and beef carpaccio on the spoon!
As far as drinks, that asian rum hit the spot! Hints of pineapple and coconut, yet not masking the rum. I needed a bigger glass!
On top of the food and drink there were also activities such as the photo booth and hair and makeup stations! I wish I knew that ahead of time I would have not done my hair at home lol.
All in all an amazing event and a great (sad) send off for Johnny. I loved the Johnny heads and really loved all the funny pictures people managed to take with them afterwards (looking at you Paul). The new Miami CM has big shoes to fill but I’m excited for the future :).

Just WOW!!! This celebration of Ten Years of Unilocal was a true blowout farewell to Johnny. The Coral Gables museum being a retrofitted 1930’s police and fire station was the perfect setting for such a momentous event. There was talk that he was going out with a bang, but this was an explosion!
Rolling up to the event, we saw the line forming outside the museum. Every one was dressed to impress in their «after 5» wear. In the parking lot we met up with some Unilocalmigos and were introduced to some new faces on the elevator. The party was on, and we weren’t even to the line! The line went quickly, I.D. check (and thanks for that, always nice to still be carded). Walking into the event the illustrious Blue scanned my party pass, we quickly made our donation to the museum, and it was on to food, beverages, and more!
We chose to start outside. It was hot, but the drinks were cold and refreshing. The area was open and gave lots of freedom walk around, take in the beauty of the architecture and catch up with some Unilocalies. Some great food samples to start off with, an iced coffee from illy, and it was all uphill from there. Being the DD, my all time favorite from this portion would have to be Robek’s! Some really great selections they made to sample. I even gave the kale a try, and I was not disappointed. The icy beverage was perfectly sweetened by the pineapple, and made me forget all about the kale. Now I know what I’ve been missing with Green smoothies being all the rage. A fantastic start, and one to some AC inside.
Everyone in the main room was on dinner when all I could think about was dessert. Cheesecake, cookies, cupcakes, brownies — I was certainly amazed at how many seriously great desserts could be in one room. A second cup of coffee from Keurig and a third iced flavored coffee (No wonder I was up all night!) and after a conversation here and another there, it was on to the next room!
By now my hair was in need of a pick-​me-​up and thank goodness for the stylist from Creato! This was certainly a fun idea to have stylists doing 4 minute make-​overs. This guy was fantastic, and while no trade secrets were shared, I was looking and feeling quite fabulous afterwards. And with a pick-​me-​up double chocolate vegan cupcake from Bunny Cakes, it was time to view the exhibits.
Highlight of the evening: Erin Barylski… I mean how in the world can someone create actual beautiful artwork through yoga body painting? I was expecting just abstract art. I really don’t know how she did it, but that cupcake painting was phenomenal.
All around awesome party! A grand farewell event.

Bunny cakes. bunnnnnnny caaaaakes. bunnyyy. cakes. bunycakesbunnycakesbunnycakes!
My apologies (or you’re welcomes) to all those who got a taste of my self-​composed Bunny Cakes theme song that I was singing loudly [obnoxiously] most of the night. Also, I apologize to all those who fell victim to my impetuous game of «duck duck boop» during the goodie bag buffet. And thanks to all those who went out of their way to compliment me on my neon orange shoes, it makes my heart sing.
I still haven’t worked out my feelings about the contortionist/​painter/​stripper/​artist lady and I don’t know if I am confused or aroused. I mean, it was weird, but I like weird… but it was definitely on the cusp between ‘art’ and the shit my two year old niece does during «messy play.» But nonetheless, an unexpected feature and an interesting addition to the night.
And of course, Unilocal Miami delivered with the yumms. Bunny Cake cupcakes — you complete me. Brazilian Moscato — you complete me. Crème brule ice coffee from SpecialTEA lounge — where have you been all my life? And Robekes, you totally changed my mind about green smoothies. I don’t know what ‘handmade vodka’ means exactly… but tonight it meant quickly fracking up my sobriety and making me eat multiple bunny cakes. And those plantain fritters from Jimmy’z kitchen were so delish.
I just want to know how I can never seem to find the damn Unilocal party hats! Always. grr.
Seriously, great event and a big thanks to all the Unilocal peeps who worked so hard to put it together. Happy 10 years Unilocal!!!And Johnny T., it’s been great having you in Miami!
P. S. I can’t believe I just read some one or two-​star reviews for this event. Seriously people, if you have the gusto to complain about an event where are getting a crap ton of free booze, free food and free fun/​entertainment, you deserve a smaking.

Great people and great grub! I’ve been fortunate enough to attend these annual events and can say this one was for the books. For starters I was checked in by both my boy Blue and fellow Kaskadian and Yorke parent Colleen B. My spot in line was next to fellow churrasco fan Adrienne C and the line itself moved quickly. The various liquid goods vendors on the terrace (Tanduay Rum with their tropical colada and Titos Vodka with both their spicy mule and berry drink were my favorites there). On the food front, the Thai wings from OTC and chicken tacos from La Mexicana deserve some love for their spiciness. Inside, I enjoyed the chicken taquitos and refried beans from Paquitos, and cheesecake from OTC. Throw in some red velvet vegan cupcakes from BunnieCakes and Brazilian Moscato among other delicacies and you have a fun night!
But that’s not all. throw in a sexy contortionist painter, a DJ jamming 90s throwback hip hop and a Johnny Tupac Unilocal Life mask, yeah!
These Unilocal events are all about friends and I got to chat up with buddies from the 305, 954 and 561. It was fun trying to put together faces with Unilocal pages and chitchatting. The recomendations of which tables to go to first were appreciated and In the spirit of Unilocal.Thank you so much Johnny T for a rocking event. Nashville is a lucky town… gracias…daleeee!