The 12 Days Of Yelpiness at Zhou B Art Center

I know I’m all late reviewing this… but I wanted to make sure I gave a shout out to one of my favorite events. We had an absolute BLAST at this event. LOVED the space. It was cool to step away from the event and visit the many different floors and look at all the cool artwork and actually see some artists in action. There was such a huge variety of vendors –all sorts of cool food and drinks to try. It was very fun!
I loved that each floor had it’s own vibe. The main floor was sort of a «warm» meet and greet vibe. to get you in the mood. Then the upper floor was the «cool» club vibe. We actually talked to a lot of other Unilocalers at this event. Everyone had the holiday spirit… by far, one of my top 5 fave events!

As always, Johnny T. and his team did a fabulous job.
I mean, honestly, I was a little worried at first when Janet W. and I arrived at the 35^th redline station. «The confirmation email didn’t mention at which end the limousine shuttle will be… Crap, and I don’t have their numbers. What to do… Do I message Yanyao N? Will she even see it before the end of the night?» Eeks, I wasn’t sure about the etiquette – If I message her on Unilocal,it won’t be weird, but Android phones don’t have that option; If I message her on Foursquare or FB, that’s probably borderline stalker-​ish, right? Right? o_​O
Luckily, I didn’t even have to ponder too much about that. (Yanyao, feel free to answer my question above). I thought it’d be best to head towards the 35^th Ave end, and we were relieved to see a lot of people there. «These must be Unilocalers!»
I then calculated the time the shuttle should be arriving. «If the shuttle isn’t here at approximately this time, maybe we should consider cabbing it…»
The shuttle came. We were happy to see the Unilocal flyer on its window.
The venue was amazing! I was a little worried that the space would be as cramped as the art gallery at my first Unilocal event (Winter of 2009). Thank God, it was not! We bumped into Ebs B. and Mike K. at least twice (on separate occasions) – Mike K. even gave me a scare during one of those times.
The food wasn’t as amazing as past Unilocal events, but that’s okay. I wish there were more lactose-​intolerant-​food-​friendly choices. Ah well. We loved it nonetheless.
Janet W and I had fun play-​pretending to be art critics. At one point, an artist even invited us back into his studio, and he and his bandmates played a song for us. They even gave us little wooden blocks for free (normally priced at $ 10 each)!
Seriously wonderful. Thank you guys. :)

I don’t know that there is much I can elaborate on that everyone else has not emphasized. But I will re-​emphasize that this party was well worth the hell that we went through to get there. Due to travel issues out of our control, we did not even arrive IN Chicago at the time we had originally planned on. It was a close window to get to the hotel, checked in, bags dropped off, buy transit cards, and get ourselves to the red line station where the limos were to be transporting us to the event.
Due to our train being delayed TO Chicago, and our transportation TO the point of pickup being delayed, I had to miss all but a minute of the Elite portion of the event. But that in no way put a damper on the event for us.
We were immediately greeted by the kindest of folks at the door, where we were able to make our donations. Then we were more than thrilled to ditch our coats at the coat check, check in, and start the process of taking in all that was going on.
What an amazing space. The Art Center is beautiful. We tried to comb every inch of it, and I’m pretty sure we missed some spots. But we made it to at least three floors, and the café. There was a plethora of awesome food and drink at every turn. And it was also very comforting to repeatedly meet new people, all of whom were in the best of moods, and ready to discuss food, drink, location, etc. Having my own dietary issues, this was even an opportunity to learn about new locations in Chicago that we can visit in the future. As crazy & busy as the event was, each individual person at the various tables still managed to take the time to explain the menus, and inform me of gluten-​free/​vegan options that they did not have AT the event — but that I could find at the restaurant itself.
I know as far as food goes — I had some vegan cheese (two different flavors) that I loved. My partner in crime managed to indulge in some sushi, some cider, and some small sandwiches. I was so overwhelmed with all that was offered, that it is almost impossible for me to recall everything he tried during the event.
We also took part in two different photo sessions, and enjoyed some entertaining people-​watching while in line for the booth.
This was a GREAT party. We already love Chicago (our 2^nd home it seems). But to have something like this remember fondly is very nice. And the 12 days of filling the Unilocal bag, with the car service pulling up right as we were leaving to drop us off right at the red line after the event made it all so easy and worry-​free.
THANK YOU Johnny & everyone else involved in this event. We had a fantastic time!

I went up to the DJ on the 2^nd floor to tell him thanks for playing music from such artists as Bag Raiders and Cut Copy, and he replied with «Thanks», while doing a little hair-​flip with his slightly slicked back hair.
I wish I had hair like that. #jealous #totes

On the 12^th day of Unilocaliness Johnny T gave to me.
Cream Puffs a puffing.
Guinness Black Lager a flowing.
Tenderloin a melting.
Unilocal Balls a bouncing.
Photo Booth a snapping.
And the list goes on and on and on!!!
First thanks to Johnny T, Jelena Z, Yanyao and the rest of the Unilocal Team. Also to the Zhou B Art Center for hosting our event. I loved your video on the second floor. It really showed off the space… I can not wait to come back to another party here.
All of the vendors were fantastic. I love taking time to talk to each one as I make my way around the event. Some other Unilocalers hate that I’m a Yapper because all they want to do is grab food and run. I am usually blocking and finding out about the chef and the food. I have learned so much about the vendors from these Unilocal Events. I wish that more Unilocalers would actually take some time to really find out more about these great businesses that are giving us food. I am sure that many of you also take some time to learn about these great places. I just always feel the hot breath on my neck as I am Yapping (that is the live version of Unilocaling)!!! Ha!!!
Everything was so good… the food… the drink… the venue! I also loved the photo booth too. We need more photo booth!!!
The cream puffs were my favorite. I can hardly believe that I have walked by this business after getting off of the train downtown. How did I miss this place? Plus free coupons! The girls here asked me to Tweet there photos and I did. They also sent me a nice message back. I can hardly wait to stop by here on my next trip downtown.
I met the Chef from Flavor 180. She was serving up Mango jerk chicken wings… wow…these were so good! Real chicken wings that were not deep fried and they were full of yummy flavor. There was also a nice kick to them too. The guy working in front of the table too had so much personality. He made me want to come here and ate plus he gave us a handwritten coupon for 20% off on our next visit.
The drum guy on the first floor made the room. He was really good and boy did he get into it. Is he available for parties? What was his name?
There were two cider companies there… I am drawing a mental blank on both of them. I really liked the cider on the first floor near the coffee shop.
I am also a Vegan now… wow…did anyone else have that Vegan Mac and Cheese from the The Vegan Food Truck? The actual truck wasn’t there… it was more of a Vegan table! Honestly I was not expecting much but it was really really good.
We also hung with Michael from the Chicago School of Flower Design. Michael showed us how to make a bouquet. Which I can now add to my MacGyver Skill Set and apply to a wedding emergency. Did you hear that all soon to be brides? I can make a bouquet now!!!
I also must compliment the Unilocal napkins. How cool were the Unilocal Libs!!! Maybe I have missed these at other events or maybe they are new but I really liked them. I just needed a Unilocal Pen near the napkins to fill them out.
Also the Beef Tenderloin from Union Sushi was the most amazing piece of meat ever. I need some of that right now!!!
I also loved being able to get in an hour early too… thanks for letting us Elites in to sample everything.
I could keep going on and on about this amazing event… what an incredible way to close out 2011… here is to Unilocal 2012… long live the food!!!

It’s Monday, and I’m still hungover. Just kidding. Johnny, Yanyao, Jelena and the rest of the Unilocal crew put together an event for the ages.
The food, booze and venue were all top notch, but the best part of this event was hanging out with the wonderful group of friends I’ve met on Unilocal.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody involved for providing us with so many wonderful memories. Not just for the Christmas party, but all of the events throughout the year. I’m sure I’m speaking for everybody when I say we appreciate all of the hard work that goes into putting these events together.
Happy Holidays to all.

what a great way to start the holidays, to meet Unilocalers old and new. This party was sick, I was in heaven.
Firstly got a super cute watch (if anyone knows how to change the time and date though, I’d love to know!) And got my hair done with a super cute french braid, got a rose– cos I’m pretty, and got facepainting done. Cheers to Tracy Page!
On to the food– wow bao was as amazing as ever, as was forever yogurt. Some surprises were Roma and Homage– their meatballs, butter chicken and peruvian desserts were outstanding. I also learned about chimney cakes and that I want one for every party that I’m at.
The drinks that I loved were the Remy mixes and the Rishi cider tea. Also got some awesome photos to commemorate the evening.
Thanks a ton Unilocal and Johnny T, you outdid yourself this time!

The event was fabulous and I wanted to thank the people who organized it. Clearly, most of us just showed up and had a great time, but I’m sure alot of detailed planning went on behind the scenes and good job to Johnny T and the other people organizing the event. My husband and I were very impressed and last night was another reason I will keep Unilocaling!
All the participating vendors were great and with a great variety. We also saw and said hi to Victoria Sprung (one of the photographers at the event) who also did our wedding last year. Aww…
I look forward to more Unilocal greatness in 2012.

Unilocaliness=Happiness
Zhou B Art Center was the perfect venue for this wonderful event. I had visions of crowds and shoulder to shoulder herding going on but the venue was spacious and there was a lot of elbow room for us to mix and mingle. The art on display was thoughtful and it was nice to meet some of the artists hanging out.
The light bites and drinks were good – a nice array available for folks. Sad that I didn’t get confirmed for the Elite hour but time I got to spend there was worth it. My faves of the evening: the steak and sushi from Union (AND a 10%off sticker that I can use FOREVER), the strawberry and cream cream puff from Beard Papa and the meatballs from Go Roma. Always good to see Isla Pilipina too! They are certainly near and dear to my heart for their help with a philanthropy my dad is working with.
Drinks and Drinks galore too! Yeah for Magners and Guinness! Yeah for Honest Tea!
I was a little too busy chatting to see one of the performances going on, but it was nice to see some of my Unilocal Chicago friends – lots to catch up on! The lines were not too long, except for the photobooth – but who doesn’t love posing for pics in the photobooth?
So much more going on with the hair styling, face and body art, great music, Dewars tasting… Loved this event!
Thanks to Zhou B, Unilocal,Johnny T and company for a wonderful time!

Best.Party.Ever!
Let’s discuss why:
–Spicebox Whiskey (sooooo goooooood!)
–Beard Papa strawberry cream puffs (my fav!)
–Asian food galore (Isla Pilipina, Wow Bao, Sushi!!)
–Sprinkles Red Velvet… omg.
–Remy Marin cranberry shots
–Dewars, of course
–Discounts (union sushi, ra sushi, flavor 180)
–Chimney Cakes!
–Great dj’s (Otis + Christmas Music + Dougie, nice!)
–Beaaautiful venue, freals.
–Amazing swag!
THANKS Unilocal team! So much fun! This event was simply amazing. Happppy Holidays! ;)

After an hour long bus ride on the Halsted bus I finally stumbled upon Zhou B. What a unique place tucked into the heart of Bridgeport! Really the only time I have spent in Bridgeport is at White Sox games, but I did know it’s a cool community. Zhou B was an amazing selection by Johnny T and company for a killer holiday party! The food was great, although much of it went extremely quick. The drinks were outstanding and miraculously I didn’t have a hangover! That’s a Unilocal first!
Happy holidays to all my fellow Unilocalers! See you all again in 2012!

What a great event to end the Unilocal year. Everything was amazing! When so many great things come together well, it makes a fabulous party. This is yet again a masterpiece of an event orchestra by the incredible Unilocal team.
I was thrilled to have an event on the south side! It was so awesome to have a limo bus shuttle people from the train to the event. and even better for me since I can walk home from where the limo bus dropped everyone off. Thanks Unilocal for bringing people to the south side!
All of the food and drinks were amazing. I was too busy talking to people, so I didn’t try everything but everything I liked everything that I tried.
I had never had the spiced whiskey before last night, but I really liked it!
I want to say a big Thanks to all of the people that worked hard to make last night an amazing success!!! Well done!

I mean, honestly. How can you not love the annual Unilocal Holiday Party?
I’m consistently impressed with our CM crew’s ability to find new venues large enough to house hundreds of folks and still make things comfortable enough to walk around, mingle, etc. No exception this year, my friends. The Zhou B Art Center was spacious, lovely and perfect.
After casing the joint for the wine vendors, I pretty much hung out on the 2^nd floor all night long. With everything from meatballs to sandwiches to cupcakes to spiced whiskey and sparkling wine, I was one happy camper.
Thanks again, Unilocal Chicago, for putting on a stellar production!

What a perfect way to end the Unilocaly season! I had a blast with all my buddies. For some reason I keep forgetting these huge parties are multilevel deals and thought it would be crowded, but I had no problem making my way from one end of a room to another. It was perfect. 5 solid stars! Zhou B is absolutely gorgeous and the artists were so talented and friendly. Special love to the guy with Boxer-​Bulldog mix. I like art, but I LOVE animals.
We dropped our $ 5 donation for Rock for Kids at the door, grabbed name tags and hung up our coats. The wait for coat check was a little long at first, but it seemed to get moving quickly. We were hitting the vendors by 6:15pm. And I think I hit up just about everyone there was. I was surprised by how well Go Roma does a meatball and we really liked the Ra Sushi rolls. Ste Martaen & Soul Vegetarian Vegan Food Truck made a spectacular mac and cheese. I would have to say it’s my favorite Vegan dish so far. However, I’m a girl who loves meat, and Wow Bao’s baos were perfectly packed with Kung Pao Chicken and BBQ Beef. I ended up eating four of them. Want.More.Now! I’m also a fan of sweets, so I hit up Sprinkles Cupcakes and Chimney Cake Island. I’ve wanted to try CCI for for-​ev-​er and was not at all disappointed. Amazing! And Beard Papa’s Cream Puffs does a decent puff, too!
To help wash down all the food consumed, I hit up Honest Tea and grabbed their Pomegranate drink. They ended up giving us quite a few more flavors at the end of the night. I also loved Rishi Tea and the little goodies they gave us when leaving. I passed on the Dewar’s this time, but only because I’ve done the sampling about half a dozen times at other events and wanted to give others a chance. That didn’t keep me from finding other alcohol, though. I pretty much set up shop near the Magners Cider tent and I would have done the same with the Spicebox Whisky if the samples had been larger. I found them at the end of the night, so I think they were rationing what was left. But oh my goodness was that whisky-​lemonade-​coke mixture delicious!
At the very end of the night I stopped at Chicago School of Flower Design’s table with Jenny S and was soon joined by Anne S and Laura S (that’s a lot of Ss). We learned how to make bouquets and other floral arrangements. I’m tempted to take their class. The guy demonstrating was a lot of fun. This would be perfect for a Girls Night Out type of event.
Thanks to all the CMs and Unilocalterns and anyone else who had a hand in this. It was a wonderful night. Everyone looked spectacular and I can’t wait to see all the pictures. I hope Capture This Photobooth posts soon, because everyone knows the photo booths are always the best part of any event. Yay props!

Jonathan Todd did not flip me off this time so I actually had a good night!
Always a good time at the Unilocal Holiday Party!
Highlights:
Huge space so there wasn’t any overcrowding
Seeing Colleen again
Good sushi
BBQ Pork
Remy Martin pineapple shots
Guiness Black Lager
Seeing everyone I haven’t seen in awhile
Harassing Angie M for not inviting me to a party
Kellie K grabbing my butt
The awesome artwork on all floor levels
Linda D’s dance moves
Good work on this event team… cant wait for the next one!

Oh my god! Becky, look at her butt.
Holiday party turns Sir Mix-​A-​Lot Video. Just when I thought Five Guys had the greatest juicy double.
A quick donation to The Human Fund and we were on our way to an evening of mixing and mingling. Zhou B was an excellent venue for the festivities. There was plenty of space, which made it easy to sample from the various vendors and catch up with everyone. The jerk chicken and the Kung Pao Bao (George likes his Kung Pao spicy) were the best things I ate. Vendors were in the holiday spirit and served up food and drinks that lasted till closing time, another Festivus miracle!
As always, I’m realizing that I failed in my efforts to work the room and missed some friends. I got the chance to meet a bunch of new people, shout out to the girl who said she liked my reviews. Who knew people actually read my drivel. Luckily, I had the chance to catch up with JT and talk about my alma mater and top ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats. Other fun memories of the night included always seeming to be at the wrong staircase and needing to go clear to the other end of the floor to ascend/​descend. Don’t think I ever got that right, I blame Magner’s and Guinness for that one. Exploring a new neighborhood was cool for me. Sadly, the party ended rather quickly and we found ourselves back on familiar grounds and nearly saw Nachos splattered on Madison.
Thanks again to the Unilocal team for all of their efforts. Considering that holiday parties are nonexistent these days, this was much appreciated. Cheers.

On the 1^st Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, meatballs from Fiore’s Deli.
On the 2^nd Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, FRS Healthy Energy.
On the 3^rd Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, a Guiness Black Lager (or three…).
On the 4^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, a shot of Spicebox Whiskey.
On the 5^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, ROCK! FOR! KIDS!
On the 6^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, Sprinkles Cupcakes from lovely Colleen C.
On the 7^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, a thimble full of wine from Lulu B.
On the 8^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, ethnic food from Homage Street Food truck.
On the 9^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, hot art on Levels 1 – 3
On the 10^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, Brett D. and Victoria Sprung Photography!
On the 11^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, Wao Bao BBQ pork dumplings.
On the 12^th Day of Unilocaliness, Zhou B brought to me, 12 Daniel Cranes drumming!
So much food and drink, lots of space, good DJs, dolled up Unilocalers and dapper gentlemen. Sadly, I missed my chance to shoot a video to say why I love Unilocal,so I’ll say it here: Unilocal gets me out of my comfort zone and helps me find new places, explore, meet some awesome people; and having a Holiday party at Zhou B Art Center did all of that and more.
Awesome job, Johnny T., Colleen C., Caroline M., Jelena Z., Yanyao N. and the whole Unilocal crew.

Unilocaly holidays!
This was such an incredible event! Art, dining, friends new & old, gifts & beauty at every turn. A true holiday celebration perfectly orchestrated by our amazing Unilocal!team.
In the spirit of giving & sharing, Unilocal!asked for a small charitable donation for kids. I was so moved by the kindness of the Unilocal!community.
I enjoyed so much visiting with fellow Unilocalers & sharing in the party fun! My friend, Stacy Y. & I had our hair curled with sass by a talented & generous salon. I was so impressed; I want to try the salon for a special ‘do asap!
We then had our photos taken & split up to enjoy the sites & people. I visited another booth where I was gifted with beautiful make-​up artistry. Now that I was stylin’ I was ready to party!
Guinness! Puffed crème pastries! Live music! Bao! Sushi!
Finished off the evening by meeting up again with my friends & a trip to the fun photo booth on the 2^nd floor of this excellent party.
Thank you, Unilocal!& local businesses for your generosity to the community & to us Unilocalers.

There’s no party like a Chi-​town Unilocal party!
Johnny T., you really outdid yourself. This was the event of the year!
My picks of the night were Sprinkles (OMG yummy) with the mini cupcakes, Beard Papa’s Cream Puffs (strawberry & cream puff was heaven on earth), Union Sushi & Barbecue (I HAD to get second of their dish, sorry Unilocal), Rishi Tea (Chi & apple cider is good) and Sweet Ride (the sweet treat & cute little sales man was charming).
The Zhou was cool! I enjoyed walking around looking at art; nice touch. The space was nice as well.
Great event!

I think the holiday season began officially tonight with the Unilocal party at the Zhou B Art Center. My +1 and I really enjoyed this bang-​up event, and it was fantastic to see lots of Unilocalers old and new (and I know there were plenty of others that I did not get to see — sorry!). We enjoyed the «bonus» Elite hour of course, but even when the place filled up it never really felt too crowded. There were a bunch of great vendors (Beard Papa’s Cream Puffs were our top pick for the evening), and there were so many that I know we did not get to try them all. There were also plenty of art gallery spaces and studios to visit, and the artists made us feel very welcome. The Unilocal goody bags are always a feel-​good way to leave the party.
Happy Holidays to the great Unilocal crew (including Andrea!!) and thank you for another amazing party — how do you guys do it?