Down With Y-E-L-P, Yeah You Know – Yelper Party

Always know how to deliver… good job to everyone who came out partied, vended, and entertained!
Frutalicious — great bubble tea with these jellies/​bubbles that popped! One girl kept pulling the skin of those things out of her mouth, and i was like «that’s edible! and it’s not skin!»
Velvet taco put out some great tacos; there was a pulled pork concoction whose sauce HIYA-​ed! me in the mouth. And that’s when Frutalicious’s bubble came to the rescue! The cries of my taste buds were slowly drowned out as the bubbles and mango-​iness overpowered the spiciness. And after I had two bubble teas and survived a tummy ache, I tried to make eyes with the DJ… because we needed more girl-​power 90s songs, and not loud men rapping.
Power House was pretty powerful. I envy the way they pop… luckily, I have a chance to try out a class for free. My envy moves closer.
I love FotoFavor! I hope that those fotos they gave us were just samples, and not the real deal as the images were grainy.
Overall, it was great. Thanks for the food, bevvies, chapstick, and an opportunity to dress… strange. I always appreciate it when I can get my freak «on» — I mean «out»!

Frances did such a great job planning all this! Last year there was alot of traffic, but this year definitely was fun! I couldn’t drink too much because I had taken some medicine, but my friends had a blast and I was stuffed from eating! They had WHiskey Cake, Phở is for Lovers… awesome restaurants. I has dined at both places before and I love their food. The bartenders were quick at making the drinks and they were so nice as well.
THANKS FRANCES!

I was so amped for this party, and it was everything I had anticipated and then some! Frances definitely did the 90’s justice with the dance crew, old school jams, Nintendo games, mouth watering food, and fabulous drinks! Best of all… FREE!
I was one of the weirdo Unilocalers dressed up in costume. I channeled my inner Lisa Turtle and threw on a shoulder-​padded Liz Claibourne sweater, mini skirt, a flourenscent reversible jacket and red lipstick. There were some other great retro outfits in the mix including an American gladiator, Left Eye from TLC, Clueless Girls, and several grungers. This being my first Unilocal event, I was highly disappointed that the majority of people didn’t dress up! You would think that would be the ‘yelpy’ thing to do. I was a bit bummed.
Overall, this was a well-​planned, fun event. I loved mingling with new folks and met several new friends. I can’t wait to see the next crazy shindig Frances has up her sleeve!

You can’t go wrong with a free party on a Saturday night! Unilocal is obviously getting very big because even during the elite hour I barely knew anyone. And I stalk the hell out of this site, so it saddens me a little that I never recognize new people like back in the old days. *sigh* Oh well, I did get to see some of favorite Unilocalers so no worries.
I was stuffed from a previous lunch so sadly did not try any of the food, but indulged in the Deep Eddy’s sweet tea, which is always great.
Sadly I’m one of those few people that don’t like to dress up, so sorry to offend the others that enjoy that. I hate shopping for real clothes, so the thought of shopping for costume clothes makes me want to jump off a bridge. If I had kept the stuff I wore in the 90’s, my fat butt would not fit in them today! :)
I knew Life in Deep Ellum existed, but had never been, and finally got see exactly where Mokah is, so yay! I guess my Deep Ellum bubble was too small…
Thanks Frances for another awesome event!

What more can be said, other than «Another success Frances!»
The venue had easy parking, the food was delicious, and the music was tight.
Velvet Taco — get down wit ya bad self! Pulled pork and blue cheese? Divine.
I do agree with the other Unilocalers that an activity that lets Unilocalers to get to know each other would be nice. Also if the event could stretch a little longer would be great, even if we would pay for a cover charge.

This was my first Unilocal event and I have to say I was impressed! The venue was cool, the people were fun, and it was free :) I love theme parties and was really excited that my friends and I weren’t the only ones dressed up.
I liked all the local vendors — I have to say my favorite food was from Velvet Taco, I will definitely be frequenting that restaurant in the near future. The food was fantastic, the drinks were strong, and the DJ was great!
My only complaint would be that it was only two hours. I know that it’s difficult to ask people to give out free stuff all night, but I would have been fine with vendors either leaving at 10, or charging for an «after» event, so we could’ve stay another few hours and danced! Alas, I ended up starting an impromptu Deep Ellum bar crawl after this, so my night didn’t have to end at 10pm. :)

Free food and booze! .with a tip here and there of course. Can’t go wrong with that formula. The sponsors were all awesome and I had a chance to speak with most of the wonderful people behind the tables. My favorite of the night was probably the hummus and whiskey cake served by. you guess it. Whiskey Cake! However, all the sponsors were great and I was stuffed by the end of the night. Everyone that went in my group thought the same and we now have some new places to hit up after sampling all the food. Awesome job, Frances!

First time at a Unilocal party in Dallas. It was fun and very entertaining with great food. I like Velvet Taco, Crispin Cider, and Fruitealicious. There was another one i like but i can’t really see their sign. Some vendor had their sign up to where you can see who they were and some you can’t see it.
Life in Deep Ellum is a cool place, just a perfect space for anything. Plenty of parking and easy to find.
Looking forward for the next Unilocal event.

What a fun event! I loved the ‘90s theme and the rockin’ tunes. I enjoyed the food, drinks, and dance group. What an awesome venue for an awesome event! I really enjoyed the dance floor! Great event!

I’m just going to put it out there… the main reason that I write reviews is so that one day I will be granted Elite status so that I can finally go to Unilocal parties more than once a year.
I went last year when they had the party at the Dentist’s office and had a ball. Picture a dentist’s office, but then as you enter each room, where you usually have the dentist’s chair and operating equipment, you have booze and free hats and booze.
So this year, my expectations were set pretty high and I invited a buddy as well so that they too would know the joy of free food, free drinks, and the eclectic group of people known as Unilocalers.
This year did not disappoint!
Food: Whiskey is my new favorite flavor of cake. Who would’ve thought… The banh mi from Phở is for Lovers was amazing. I took a tray home, well actually, I ATTEMPTED to take a tray home so that I would have an amazing breakfast the next morning. However, the funny thing about trays is that no matter how you carry them, you always end up looking like a waiter. So, as I tried to make my way out of the building, people kept coming up and grabbing sandwiches off my tray, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them those were MY sandwiches. I think I lost about half the sandwiches on the tray to people thinking I was a waiter. I also did not receive a single tip. The tacos from Velvet Taco were pretty good too although all I remember was the strong taste of blue cheese and perhaps… pork? So, uh, if you like blue cheese and pork, then you probably would’ve liked the tacos.

My 1^st Unilocal Event, and I’m glad I made it out! Life in Deep Ellum, what an awesome venue to host the event. Beautiful artwork, awesome food and drinks, and free swag. What more could you ask for an event such as this.
One item stands out from the rest… Whiskey Cake. This stuff is slap your momma good. Seriously. Whiskey Cake. Visit the resaurant and get the cake!
Other notables were Velvet Taco, Phở is for lovers, and Fruitealicious. Exploding boba seems to be new fad now.
Great job Frances and the rest of the Unilocal team! Pat yourselves on the back, you deserve it for a job well done.

I have been waiting for someone to do a fun event that ISN’T 80’s themed for a long time now! This was absolutely perfect, and I enjoyed every minute of it! Life in Deep Ellum was a great spot for it… nice, roomy, and decorated really well. The Unilocal swag was super nifty, too! I love that I have some new Unilocal shotglasses! Speaking of which, I dug how spaced out the drink vendors were… made for easy acquisition of a drink. I have a soft spot for Deep Eddy and Crispin. Yummy!
The Phở was pretty good, I must admit! I had only tried one other bahn mi place prior to this… so nice to try something new. And Velvet Taco… ohhh, Velvet Taco! The pulled pork and blue cheese was out of this world good!
The music was bangin’…I loved dancing to some Kriss Kross on the dance floor! The DJ knew how to pick those pop/​hip/​hop tunes! I would have liked to have heard a little more rock mixed in, though. The 90’s would just not be the 90’s without some Green Day or Stone Temple Pilots!
The highlight of the night was my haircut with Live Hair Studios. I had been toying with the idea of getting some bangs for quite some time, but I was too nervous to do it. Thanks to some encouragement from Guyton S and Kristie A, I decided to bite the bullet and go through with it. So glad I did… it turned out beautiful, and I almost cried when it was all over! So a HUGE thank you to them for giving me the bangs I dreamed about having, and making it look awesome!
To Frances: You keep outdoing yourself, girl! Thank you to her and all the sponsors for making it a night to remember!

This was my first Unilocal event and it was pretty cool. The space was pretty neat and there was lots of parking around (although apparently DO NOT park in Mark Cuban’s spot accross the street, you will be towed!)
The music was bumpin’ and the guys on stage kept people dancing although they started playing songs from the 2000’s which was no bueuno. Also, no grungey 90’s jams which would have been nice. Also, I think the description said that there would be «old school» Nintendo on a big screen, all I saw was Wii bowling which is sorta lame, everyone’s grandma has played that by now and the screen wasn’t that big. The photo thing was cool but what was the giant Wallflowers tape thing? I liked getting my hair colored with their little doohickies (although I thought «getting banged» would be them teasing up our bangs 90’s style, but I was mistaken.) There was cool free Unilocal stuff but the table was manned by these people from a dance studio and I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to talk to them to get the free stuff– after a couple drinks I was emboldended and grabbed some temporary tattoos and stuff but the shot glasses were long gone.
The food tasted alright but once I had my taco and bahn mi bite I was a little bored, more food choices would have been nice because I didn’t really feel compelled to revisit the existing stations. Also, the taco was a little hard to eat standing with a drink in your hand, more seating would have REALLY helped. Also, not that I expect everywhere to be gluten-​free friendly but there wasn’t really anything my BF could eat so that sucked a little for him. He ate the stuff off the bahn mi and then I put his bread on top of my bite and made a little sandwhich, not bad. I did think the Whiskey Cake was really good! I I didn’t mind this so much but the folks I was with complained that the lemonade they used with the vodka was really cheap and not a great way to advertise one’s product. It didn’t bother me cos it was free!
Overall, it was def fun and free (aside from tipping and I did give a donation at the door) but it could have been even better.

Frances does it again… ANOTHER amazing party. Every time I think they can’t get any better, the bar gets raised yet again!
Slamming jams from the DJ were a fun way to get things started and I enjoyed the dance exhibitions from Dallas PowerHouse. Talk about getting a groove on!!!
Drinks were amazing… I’m so glad I brought my partner-​in-​crime so I didn’t have to worry about driving. Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka and Crispin cider are two of my favorites. My companion quite enjoyed the St. Arnold’s. Neither of us quite made it to the rum (as that would have completely done me in!) but others said it was great.
The food. OMG. The food. I was practically stalking the Phở Is For Lovers table. The bahn mi samples were as close to Saigon as I’ve found in DFW and I know where I’ll be going for my next fix. I seriously wanted to sneak a few out in my purse! The street tacos from Velvet Taco were doing a dance of their own on my tongue — the pork was melt-​in-​your-​mouth tender and the inventive additions make me want to seek their restaurant out soon! And the Whisky Cake. Oh, that damned cake was just orgasmic. It would make a good substitute for other carnal pleasures if it ever came to that. OMG. Amazingness all around.
We loved the photo booth and I’m so going to check out FotoFavor for my next event. I loved the ability to take more than one pose and can’t wait to friend them on Facebook to see what else they have to offer!
We didn’t check out the Wii, Live Hair Group, or the bubbletea. There was almost too much to take in to absorb it all (and really, isn’t that the mark of a GREAT party)?
One thing DID disappoint me a bit… and I’m probably giving myself away by saying it here, but it needs to be said. Unilocalers… be courteous. Use trash cans. Many people were just piling their used cups and plates on the tables when they were done with their sampling. For those of us standing at the tables, it meant we had to have your trash in front of us — and a couple of times FALLING on us. Yes, people were actually piling plates on top of plates or cups. And it was obscuring all the nice promo materials that Frances and our sponsors had put out. I felt really bad when I saw Frances dragging a trash can through the joint trying to clear off tables and refresh all the promo materials. Definitely NOT what I’ve come to expect from the Unilocal community and I was a bit sad to see us causing extra work at a free party. Tsk tsk.
But other than that, amazing party, Amazing sponsors. And amazing people as always. Now I’m inspired to get to work and catch up on my reviews so that I hopefully can enjoy these parties again in 2012!!!

Wonderful wonderful event! The 90s music, dance floor, and dance crew were really fun. Great moves. I had never been to that venue before. Life in Deep Ellum seems like a cool place to host events because it’s so open and there are cool artworks around.
The food was amazing. My favorite was the Whiskey Cake! So so so good. I would be ashamed to admit how many times I went back to get more. Phở is for lovers had great bahn mi samples, and the velvet taco had great stuff too! I found myself stuffing my face all evening — one of the few times that I chose eating over drinking.
The only negative, however, is that there needed to be more vegetarian options, especially since my plus one does not eat meat. I’m guessing that was up to the vendors though. What can you do? Anyhow, fantastic, fun event!
Thank you, Frances, for putting this together!

This was certainly an impressive event! I am not going to itemize all of the wonderful details as the previous reviews have covered them quite nicely. Let’s just say that a cool, quirky venue with space enough to dance and a fly DJ + catering by some of the areas hottest restaurants + free sweet tea vodka = a fantastic way to spend any Saturday night. I really applaud Frances and the Unilocal team in assembling such a fantastic collection of vendors.
As a completely satisfied attendee of this free event, I would like to offer a pair of suggestions, however. I have been to several of the themed events and only a small percentage of Unilocalers actually dress in the suggested style. Perhaps that could be a requirement? Maybe a contest with a cash prize might inspire more active participation? The 90s was the easiest possible era to copy yet didn’t really see much love fashion-​wise on Saturday (Although kudos to the «American Gladiator» for the most creative way to celebrate the decade)
Secondly, it would be nice to have some activity that encourages us to get to know our fellow Unilocalers better. Some sort of games perhaps or name tags that act as conversations starters such as «Ask me where to get the best taco?» etc.
All in all, I congratulate the organizers and vendors on a job well-​done. We certainly look forward to the next event.

This was my first Unilocal event as Unilocal elite and I had a great time!
I arrived at 7 and was excited that there was ample parking. When I don’t have to hunt and pay for parking I am a pretty happy girl.
I liked the theme of the 90’s but think they were playing a bit more 80’s than 90’s as far as music goes… but I like the 80’s.
All the different vendors were so cool. We had our picture taken at the photo book with props (such a fun party idea), I got my hair colored pink (correction: my dark hair colored pink and it showed), and ate and drank until my heart was content (the hard cider was pretty good stuff).
As far as food goes Velvet taco left me wanting to try more. I am not the biggest fan of Mexican food but these tacos were good. I am also excited to try out Live Hair Group, too. I didn’t catch her name but just when talking about the place the girl immediately noticed my curly hair and that not just anyone can cut it. Music to my ears… it’s so true.
Great party and I look forward to more event from Unilocal!I would love an 80’s party!

I have to be honest and tell you that I just about dropped dead when I received the invite to this. This was, for me, the equivalent of being invite to Prom by the star football player in High School (which I can assure you, I know NOTHING about, I couldn’t get a date with ANY guy in my high school, let alone a popular one) so I was really, really excited for this party!
I did feel like I was a good decade older than 99% of the other attendees but one of the first things I did was let the FABULOUS Live Hair Group stylist give me bangs. I haven’t really changed my hairstyle in YEARS and he did an AMAZING job. The girl before me getting her bangs done was really nervous but she looked absolutely STUNNING when she was done (she was gorgeous to begin with, but he did an absolutely stellar job with her bangs!)
The DJ spinning the 90’s tunes was excellent. It was so much fun to spend a night listening to music that I knew all the words to (refer back to my comment about being OLD). People danced and Dallas PowerHouse had dancers there, as well and they were all very talented. The furniture from CORT was very stylish, functional and comfortable.
And the food. Oh my WORD, the food! And the DRINKS! If I hadn’t had to drive home, I probably would have sampled more of the drinks but there was Sweet Tea Vodka, just plain vodka, Rum, and several hard ciders. And they were mixing the Sweet Tea Vodka with Lemonade, which was divine. There were Bahn Mi sandwich slices from Phở is for Lovers, which I will be tracking down in the VERY near future as I was impressed with their Bahn Mi and am always on the hunt for tasty Vietnamese eggrolls. Velvet Taco had an amazing pulled pork taco with a pineapple habenero salsa that was spicy but not over the top and the flavors really work well together. So, I’ll be tracking down Velvet Taco soon, as well. Top all that deliciousness off with a taste of Whiskey Cake… had I known how delicious the Whiskey Cake is when my office-​mates and I had gone there for lunch a few weeks ago, I would have skipped ordering food and just had cake!
There were a couple of things I just didn’t get to… there was some bubble tea that I meant to try but there was always a long line at that table. I watched a little bit of the Wii play that was going on and it looked like people were really having fun with the photographers (seriously, when you have men fighting over the feather boas, you can be sure hijinks are ensuing! Facebook pictures that may be regretted coming soon! *grin)
Lastly, I need to talk about the venue — Life in Deep Ellum. It was a good size for this event, parking was a little dicey but I found a spot pretty easily (though not in their lot, but to be fair, I don’t think they have big things like this going on every week), it was very straightforward and no-​nonsense and I am hoping to go back there for a less crowded event at some point.
There was some awesome SWAG (can you say Unilocal shot glass? Oh yeah!) and I added to my reusable tote bag collection (I love reusable tote bags!)
To sum it up, if Unilocal Elite parties are anything like this, I will be doing everything short of selling my soul to become Elite. The event was fun, the music was awesome, the food fabulous and the drinks were outstanding. Very happy that I was given the opportunity to attend!

My first Unilocal event outside of Houston. I rsvp’d for this event when I saw that it was the same weekend I’d be in town. Conveniently, it was just a few minutes away from the Omni hotel where I was staying. Overall, the event wasn’t bad. A little confusing at first about where to go but after 10 min, we were circling the whole place for seconds… or thirds ;) I tried conversing with the Dallas Unilocalers but the people I spoke to weren’t as friendly. We didn’t end up staying long but I’m glad I stopped by.
Great event Frances! You did a hell of a job putting this event together! You hard work showed this evening and Dallas Unilocalers seemed very pleased.
Phở is for lovers! That special banh mi was off the chain. I kept coming back
Velvet tacos: tongue boner! Can I say that on here? :)
Fruitalicious: you are so friendly!!! I loved the boba poppers.
St. Arnolds: I just thank you for the Lawnmower. My favorite.

THE THEME:
It was a 90’s themed party, right? We’re quirky Unilocalers, right? So WHERE WERE ALL THE 90’S OUTFITS? I was definitely disappointed that only about 20 people showed up dressed out but kuddos to those who did because the outfits were fresh ta def!
DANCE MANIA:
Attire aside, the music was great. The DJ played everything from Kris Kross to a snippet of Snoop Dog! Everybody seemed to be in a dancing mood so I felt like I was starring in my own scene from the original «House Party»! The dance crew entertained the whole night and those people had range. They did a flawless tootsie roll, the Humpty Dance, the running man, AND the wobble before the night was over.
FOOD
That Phở food was not cool. The tacos were tasty. The ciders were fantastic! The star of the whole night, however, was the whisky cake! I will never buy another cake again unless it comes from there! That cake was shockingly good. I will definitely be paying them a visit and I’m pretty sure there will be dreams of this cake in my near future.
FAVORS
Loved the «photo» booth and the fact that there was no waiting. They let you take 3 photos at a time and they brought props. What more could I ask for?
Overall, it was a great party. There was lots of fun and no hidden costs.