Elite Event @ Lou Dawg’s

There’s not much I can add that hasn’t already been said about the awesometastic Elite Event at Lou Dawg’s, so I’ll summarize with the highs and not-​so-​highs:
Highs:
— FINALLY finding *actual* southern BBQ brisket in Toronto! W00t!
— FINALLY meeting Shari M!
— FINALLY getting my Unilocal lunch box which is freaking awesome!
— FINALLY getting to see my favourite Unilocalers again (I’m looking at you Susan C, Sarah L, Chris P, Danielle P, Jay G, and Kelly O)
— Meeting super fantastic new Unilocalers. I’m continuously astonished at how awesome Toronto peeps are.
— The food was seriously good — the fries, the black bean salad, and the baked beans reminded me of home, which is a really good thing.
Not-​So-​High Highs:
— Practically having to tackle the waitress at the door of the kitchen to procure said southern BBQ
— The temperature in the restaurant. I was sweating like I’d just run a 10K and I can assure you that I had not, in fact, just run a 10K! In Lou Dawg’s defense, they probably don’t normally have 100+ hungry, chatty foodies in their resto, either.
Kat always throws a seriously good party and the Lou Dawg’s event was no different. I can hardly wait for the next round!

Extremely hard to believe this has only been my 2^nd elite event. I’m still trying to get over the whole free food free booze free lunchbox thing.
@ one point in the night I was fortunate enough to chat with the owner Daryl about the restaurant. Did you know that his friend had a dog named Lou and that’s how he came up with the name?
Onto the food. The slaw was a nice fresh touch and I would assume it’s made in house (as it should be). The good thing about it was that it was not drenched and sitting in a puddle of the vinegar/​mayo juice, it was lightly tossed and I enjoyed it.
The bean salad was a nice touch too, comprised of black beans and corn then tossed in a chipotle lime dressing. Nice little app.
Onto the pulled pork. The shoulder of the pig is dry rubbed with some kick a$$ combination of spices, slow roasted for 12 hours, then smothered in the OG southern bbq sauce. It was not the best PP I have had, but it was damn good. Extremely saucy, sweet and smoky. To me nothing compares to the pulled pork you would find at the Rotary Ribfests, but in Toronto Lou’s probably takes the cake.
The beef brisket sandwich stole the show for me. Slow cooked for 14hrs, it’s as tender as jelly by the time it hits your mouth. It’s soaked in the genuine smokehouse bbq sauce and was definitely one of two highlights for me.
The other highlight was the meaty bbq beans. Essentially just baked beans tossed with the pulled pork in all it’s saucy glory. I’m a sucker for baked beans especially with breakfast, and these little black cups of love were being slayed left right center. Extremely sweet, extremely good.
The yukon gold and sweet potato fries were both very good. They were for the most part cooked through, seasoned well and huge.
So.How have I not heard of Paige Armstrong? Early in the night he dropped «What I Got» by Sublime and my jaw dropped displaying a mouth full of slaw. I also heard him drop Collective Soul’s «World I Know» and what really blew me away is that he played Clapton’s «Layla» complete with the solo! Who plays Clapton’s solos to a tee in Toronto? Amazing. Definitely complimented the night.
I can not wait for the next Elite event. Everyone I meet is always so kind, pleasant and fun to be around. I look forward to these events a month in advance.
Kat for President.

As is my custom with Elite events, I showed up at the buzzer, a little confused, and with mad low blood sugar. The place was crampacked and my eyes were overwhelmed by faces erstwhile enjoyed in pixel form.
But eff that ess, I was hungry. Clawing through the thick Elite jungle, I made my way to the bar and begged a friendly bald genie for food. He snapped his fingers and instantly (15 minutes later) I was nose-​deep into a beef brisket sandwich the size of a fetus.
I found a quiet corner and dug into the sandwich without shame. I occasionally looked up to see Susan C. break a wine glass, or Kat T. break out some P90X moves, or Sarah L. applying lotion to her soft, soft hands. Sorry to Jay whom I spotted for 12 milliseconds before he was gone. To anyone else I missed on account of my hunger, you missed a damn good sandwich.
Next time!

There’s no party like a Unilocal party! :)
Kat, great job organizing!
If it’s 3 am and I want pulled pork, I know where to go!
The sandwiches were a whole new kind of messy delicious.
I skipped out on the bean salad to have more of those sweet and smokey lil’ sandwiches.
The sweet potato fries were addictive. I followed them around for a bit.
It was crowded… but that made it easy to strike up a conversation as you both reached for the same sandwich!
See food! Grab! Mine! Mouth! Mmm.
Looking forward to the next event!

Walking into Lou Dawg’s on Tuesday night, I knew the moment the smoky aroma hit my nostrils that my pseudo-​vegetarianism wasn’t going to last long. And, within 20 minutes of my arrival my premonition proved correct.
I started with the bean salad and coleslaw; both good. But the eating started in earnest when the miniature pulled pork sandwiches began coming out of the kitchen. This was my first experience with pulled pork and it was pretty awesome. By the end of the night I think I had eaten about 5. The baked beans were also super tasty.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to try the fries everyone’s raving about. They always seemed to be just out of reach behind a wall of hungry people. I suppose it’s my own fault for not being pushy enough…
Despite a lack of alcohol (sadly I don’t drink) to lubricate my socializing I met a bunch of cool Unilocalers thanks to Karl R. And, now I think I get what this Elite thing is all about.

When I first walked in I was a little shocked to see how packed the place was… It was actually a little too out-​of-​control trying to sandwich in between everyone in order to get to the bar. It was as if the bar was a Unilocaler magnet. Someone should have grabbed the food and moved it to the front in order to make people follow… Like you do with cats.
Food was great. Especially the sandwiches. The whole place smelled like a giant bag of Hickory Sticks when I first walked in. I also had some sort of jalapeño muffin or something? Wasn’t too happy when they ran out of beer though. I am not much of a wine drinker so I never really got to take advantage of the «free drinks» aspect.
Was nice to see some familiar faces and meet some new people as well. Things definitely got more comfortable after a few drinks and a little more elbow room. Can’t wait for the next one!

Wow. Once I discovered Jay + Elliott had been tossing back drinks since lunch hour, I knew it was going to be one juicy + messy night. Katrina, I don’t know how you do it. Ha ha ha.
These parties truly get better each time — so much so that I feel sorry for anyone left out of the Elite madness. SUCKERS.
Yes, yes, and yes, it was loud and crowded, but that added to the charm and excitement of being there. And though I embarrassed myself on a number of occasions, which will remain unmentioned, I still feel all right.
Food was all right. I have high standards for my barbecue, and though I definitely like my bbq sauce sweet, their concoction was of candy-​like proportions. However, my mind exploded just a tiny bit with the southern ‘slaw. Give a pot of that to momma! Now!
Props to everyone in attendance. You make this girl proud.

I briefly kicked free of a tangle of lesson plans, readings, and assignments to come down to Lou Dawg’s on a chilly Tuesday night. The snow was gorgeous — big pillow-​fight flakes.
Forget the snow. What a party! Yes, it was packed, yes it was hot, but the drinks were cold and the food was great. I think it was even improved by our hungry-​eyed strategizing. What’s coming out of the kitchen? Coleslaw! Get one for me! Pulled pork? Get out of my way.
The po’boy was the highlight, but the coleslaw (ooooh, perfect with mayo and raisins and goodness) and the fries were close behind. There was even live music! Really superb work, Kat.

Fantastic event!
I must say, a bit loud and crowded, but that’s not a bad thing.
I got a little scared though when I recognized the girl working behind the bar as one of the waitresses from WBurger Bar (not the one I wrote about, luckily). She turned out to be pretty damn cool though.
Another note.
All you ladies were in fine form last night. Maybe it was the free beer, but I’d have snuggled with all of you (preferably at the same time).
I didn’t have too much food, but the chipotle mayo was AWESOME. The pulled pork sandwich I had was a touch on the bland side, but then, I prefer blazing hot.
All in all, a great time.

I’m still dreaming about the pulled pork
FOOD
omg…all I can say is «pulled pork get in my beeeeeelly». All I can remember from the night was platters upon platters of food coming my way. There was an exuberant amount of food and good food if I may add.
DRINKS
Since I’ve been fighting a cough for the past month and a half, I didn’t think drinking would be wise. But with the great encouragement from Connie T, Elliot L and…(dammit…too much to drink) someone else, I was able to taste the Vodka slime and the red wine. The vodka slime tasted like water (I guess I had it after 7:30) but I really liked the red wine. It had a fine after taste («the tannin» as I was told by Rakesh B.) which was not overpowering and the wine itself wasn’t too dry.
ENVIRONMENT
The crowd was absolutely amazing. Every Unilocaler I met was so funny and charming.
Although it felt like a sauna near the kitchen and I was dripping in sweat (yes guys… that was sweat you felt when you bumped into me), the company made up for it.
And Paige Armstrong! loved him. I loved the live music and his set list. Book him again Kat!
And to no fault of anyone’s, it was a bit loud and I could barely hear the person in front of me. But it didn’t matter b/​c we were all eating and drinking merrily anyways!

I can describe this event in 5 words. Yum yum yum yum yum!
Holy geeeze how good was the food?! Like crazy good. I don’t think I would have ever stumbled into Lou Dawgs, but now? I shall be back. Smokey grill style food isn’t usually my thing, but me oh my the night was filled with many a tasty treat! I didn’t get to try the pulled pork, but the chicken burger and the fish burger filled my tummy with spicy delicious happiness! And the dips! What were those dips?! They were mucho yummy with the fries!
Now this wont be a problem for a long, but I loved that they had black cheery pop here! It’s my favorite! Yay!
Now to the attendees. As usual I met you all at the door and wow so many new friendly faces! Welcome! I look forward to more events with all you! Look at us grow you guys! As always it was lovey to see those familiar faces too :)
If this event was any indication, 2010 shall be a great Unilocal year! Oh and I’ll be legal by the next event. Watch out world!

Okay seriously? How FUN was last night!!!
5 stars for the company and the overall great night organized by Kat.
I would give the food higher stars, except that I didnt get ANY! Well, I got some fries and dip (awesome), and a couple cornbread muffins (pretty good). Next time I’m going to have to get aggressive and hang out by the kitchen if I don’t want to get completely trashed on free booze (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).
All in all it was a great night, and Lou Dawgs definitely deserves a repeat visit for a more thorough food review.

Awesome, awesome event with the most amount of Unilocalers yet! I don’t think I even got to speak to half of the people there but it was a great night regardless.
Great music, amazing staff and service, great food (Jay how good was the brisket?), what more can you ask for? Thanks again to Kat as always for getting everyone together! I look forward to meeting even more of the new Elites next time!
P. S. Susan I was told it was Vodka «Slimes» but then again if Jay had been drinking since noon he coulda said anything and I would’ve believed him.

So yes, I was completely in the bag but no not nearly as bad as the last elite event… trust me, that’s a good thing.
I’ve gotta say the turn out to this event seems astronomical in comparison to earlier elite events and it’s great. You get a good feel for the community and the variety of characters. Great meeting a lot of new faces and look forward to seeing your reviews and meeting you all at a lot more UYEs.
I never thought I would find myself in a BBQ pit outside of Texas but here I was and I was pleasantly surprised. This elite event didn’t only have the best tasting food so far but actually served up enough grub so everyone was able to get their fill and then some. Great job organizing the volume of food Kat!
The drinks were great. The vodka slime was tasty but they ran out an hour or so in? Same thing goes for the beer… or they were lying to me. They wouldn’t do that though. Although they ran out, there were still libations a plenty, mix that with a great group of people and you can’t go wrong.
My favorite parts:
— Lots of food… and tasty too! those tiny sandwiches were just what the doctor ordered
— Atmosphere was fun and welcomed conversation (no chairs is good!)
— Sarah L giving Tara G a corsage
— Servers were charming
— Bijan I’ll say we’re still batting at 100.
Another great night in Unilocal-​land. Fantastic to see familiar faces and as equally fantastic to meet new ones. I look forward to these every month!

Meat — GOOD
Drinks — GOOD
People — GOOD
What’s not to love?!
As always, my girl Kat out did herself in planning a super fun filled night! In fact… I have never been to event that Kat hosted (or was at) that wasn’t kick ass!!!
The pulled pork and I bonded. At one point when they came out, Dale M, Andre G and I were standing around in a circle trying not to wear our delicious meat. I really liked the baked beans with pulled pork, too.
I will be back — adding this to my list of places to take my shwa parents to because it has a) meat, b) potatoes (aka fries) and c) isn’t fancy so my mom can wear her Nascar shirt and feel comfortable.
Was so great to «meat» so many new Unilocalers and others that I had never had the opportunity to «meat» INL before (Carmen M, Dave R, Katrina L, Elaine Y, Kelly O, Bijan V, and Bryan G).
Can’t wait for next month’s event!!!

The air was filled with hickory smoked meat,
As you walked through the doors, where Kate M was there to greet.
Let me run down the highlights, starting with the food,
Oh sweet beef brisket, you were so eff’n goooood.
Chipotle mayo and fries, this is a girl’s dream come true.
Is it too soon in our relationship to say I love you?
Without Darryl and co. we’d surely be doomed
But fear not, there’s Paige Armstrong, rocking the room.
And of course there’s the Unilocalers, bringing their A-​game.
Led by Kat F; you are one saucy dame!
Though the bar ran short of its free Vodka Slime
Hmm… give me a second while I think up a rhyme…
Oh well, overall it was a pretty awesome night.
Now it’s back to thinking of the brisket, and my very first bite.

The sheer size of the latest Elite event makes me feel like a mother seeing her baby get older; I’m proud to see Unilocal a’ growing so fast but I kind of long for the days of its infancy when Unilocal Toronto was still small and cute.
Seriously, this was the most crowded Elite event thus far. Even without a head count, I could tell from the accumulation of body heat, increased chatter level, and food and drink that disappeared quicker than a meth addict’s high.
HIGHLIGHTS
Despite some sticky fingers from the incredibly saucy and delicious pulled pork po’ boy, I was undeterred and shook a lot of new hands that night (Kevin «the next Miriam» L, Will «hire him to read a phonebook to you» E, Andrea «ROTD» L, and a mysterious urban pirate, to name a few).
I FINALLY got to meet Elaine Y, and Tara G, and Jennifer «got floss?» L (Thank goodness. I was beginning to think she was the fake identity of another Unilocaler).
Seeing my core fleet of Elites and the ever-​adorable Miriam W; I heart you guys!
Free booze: With two gulps, I was able to pound back the vodka slide served in a dental rinse cup. (It is vodka «slide» and not vodka «slime,» right?) And the sample beer on tap helped me wash down the ‘cue.
The music: Paige Armstrong enhanced the Southern BBQ vibe without being too obtrusive
The special one-​on-​one moment I had with an entire basket of fries hot out of the fryer while nobody else was around was like 7 minutes in heaven, with chipotle mayo as lube.
LOWLIGHTS
Hearing my wine glass go crash off the long skinny table
Some minor hearing and voice loss
Where the hell was Greg C?
Thanks, Kat F. for organizing yet another kickass Elite event! (But damn you for making Unilocal Toronto get bigger and bigger!)

My fourth elite event and probably my favorite so far, if not for the food/​drink but I’m feeling more comfy around the Unilocal bunch. And Kat always manages to bring a non-​elite as her Plus One who adds something great to an already great mix. Last month it was August (*eye flutter*) this month it was Mitch. Or Mike. Or Mark. Well he had an M name and he was kind of tall and a pretty swell guy.
Neil was missed but Kate (Susan C., is it legal to flutter my eyes at her?) and a woman whose name I didn’t catch filled in okay. Nothing beats Neil, however. Nothing.
The food at Lou Dawg’s was a great tease. You got to sample their offering and they left you wanting to come back for more. The staff was friendly and alert. It was never a problem getting their attention at the bar.

As usual, YAAYE (Yet Another Amazing Unilocal Event). I had a ton of fun tonight. Great venue, amazing food, and awesome people. Not the type of place I’d visit on my own but I’m glad I had a chance to sample the goods.
The staff was really great and seemed pretty in to the whole event. The mini fish sandwiches with the spicy mayo were really tasty and this place may have some of the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever tasted.
The live music really helped to round out the event nicely.
Can’t wait for next month. Good job Kat!

I’m sorry I can’t hear you right now. Yes, I can see your lips moving. I can sort of make out you trying to get my attention. I’m sure that you have something important that you’re attempting to communicate. I’m sorry. I’m not paying attention. You are not a pulled pork sandwich.
The place was packed. The drinks were flowing until the taps literally ran dry. The people were awesome… and the food?
About twenty minutes into the event… these amazing angels came out from behind the doors holding majestic plates of delicious shredded bbq’d pork on buns. I have no idea what the «pulled» in «pulled pork» refers to, but I can only assume that it means that it was pulled from heaven.
Wonderfully planned. Well attended. Perfect.
Hello 2010.