Dawn H’s ROTDC @ Blue Ox BBQ

Oh, definitely a night to remember! Really good food, awesome people, good drinks — success! Sure, Mother Nature sprinkled on us a few times, but it was just warm enough outside that it felt like a cooling mister. We didn’t budge from our patio table. Unilocalers are tough like that! And, some Unilocalers, like myself for once, are very lucky! — Explanation to follow.
For my first time hosting an ROTDC I WAS going to buy everyone their first drink (I knew it was $ 3 PBR and $ 3 other draft night; momma didn’t raise no dummy). As a momentum of the occasion I WAS going to buy all that attended a Blue Ox koozie that Chase usually gives away with the purchase of a Mexican Coke… but, I did neither of these things. Turns out, the Buzz Mill taps a full keg at 7pm every Thursday and pours for free until it runs out!!! And Nick (our pit master for the evening) generously gave everyone in our group a koozie free of charge. Did I say lucky? Blahh ha ha ha ha! All of my master plan. Shhh, don’t tell… ;) I HAD also planned on buying a beef rib or two for the table to share, but… well, actually I did. But still, lucky again! SO LUCKY to get the last two beef ribs of the day! At over a pound each, the ribs took over almost and entire tray! HUGE! I mean pre-​historic yabba daba do huge! YUM-​MY! OMFoogasm good! I did indeed share; however, I was certain the tray never left my sight. ;)
In addition to all the other goodie stuffs, the owner of Blue OX, Chase, offered up plates with choice of three meats (beef rib not included; actually trays, but whatever!) with 2 sides so that everyone could get a sampling of several items. All you can eat white bread, pickles, onions, and sauce self-​serve. In the end, I think everyone left happy and full.
Thanks to everyone for coming! James and Nina, Carmella, Errol, An, Brandon and Kym, and new comer Roy… oh, I almost forgot Rob my hubster! So great to hang out with everyone! Conversations flowed from one topic to the next — some shocking, borderline scandalous — others so funny my gut hurt the next day… not just from too much Q, but from laughing so damn hard!
And, thanks to everyone for the stellar reviews. I guess it didn’t suck. Maybe I’ll do this again sometime soon! I’ll let ya know! Xoxo!

What a fun night thanks to Dawn’s ROTDC! Nina and James were the early arrivers with Carmela shortly second. We started out on a normal six top picnic table but quickly outgrew that. We took over ½ of one of the long tables. I think about 10 people in total showed up to enjoy the smoky goodness of Blue OX. Dawn is such a big fan of the beef ribs, she bought 2 for the table to share and blue OX also gave us all koozies. As the night went on it ended up with Dawn, Carmela, Brandon Kym and myself hanging out and making each other laugh until the tears rolled down our cheeks. Great night…

Thanks, Dawn for organizing this ROTDC event! And thanks Errol for the invite.
This was my first ROTDC. I learned that YRLTA ( Unilocalers really love their acronyms). And that Mac n’ Cheese can be delicious when the cheese is just enough to coat the macaroni but not too much to clump them together. Beer holders are called Koozies. Strangers can be intimidating but it’s always a lot easier to meet them when they’re a Unilocal stranger.
I appreciate meeting a good crowd of people who can come out and display the same level of spirit for food, friends and culture in real life as they have in their online reviews. A night spent with people who aren’t just sitting through the motions is always a blessing.

So glad I got a sitter and came out. Good times, better people, free good beer, yummy ‘cue, fun atmosphere. Thank you Dawn H for making it happen, but most of all for that delish beef rib!!! A memorable night. Great to catch up with you Carmela, and trade a few recs with you Errol, and always great to hang out with Dawn H and Rob M. Brandon and Kim good to meet you. Hope to see y’all again soon. Today I am eating salad to repent for my meat and beer sins last night, but it was so worth it!

What kind of event was this you ask? This is the kind of event where everyone around you knows they are having way less fun than you are and they only wish they could join your table!
Blue Ox BBQ was kind enough to offer us a $ 12.00 3 meat plate that came with two sides! As always this BBQ is amazing and they even gave our Unilocal group free koosies!
The buzzmill served up a free Goose Island keg starting at 7 p.m. and I think we can all agree that we all had our fair share of it! The band was good and even though it drizzled off and on it was a great time!
Who showed?
Errol made a cameo and this time I actually got to say hi to him and chat for a bit. Even Errol’s mug came along for a good time! Dawn of course, the hostess with the mostess and her husband Rob who are two of the coolest people! James H and his lovely wife Nina who are always a pleasure to chat with (thanks for letting me photo bomb you :-) Then there is the infamous Brandon C. who will make you laugh until it hurts and Kim! I am embarrassed to admit that I forgot the other gentleman’s name who was there!
What I learned about my fellow ROTDC Unilocalers:
1. Don’t trust Dawn with a bee bee gun (Good tip Rob)
2. Brandon will think you are stalking him if you like all of his check ins (who knows maybe you are)
3. Errol has a facebook page dedicated to his coffee mug and it’s travels to new places around town (Pretty cool like the traveling gnome of coffee mugs)
4. Conversations at the end of night and after a few rounds of beers will make you laugh until you cry but, will also make you wonder how we got there lol!
5. Apparently I have achieved a new nickname from Brandon.
This was the best non-​elite event that I have been to! Dawn you did an amazing job and thanks for all the laughs everyone!

Lately it feels like we’re taking over the Unilocal calendar with all these UYEs and ROTDCs, but they’ve been wonderful reasons just to hang out with my a few of my favorite Unilocalers like Dawn H, Rob M, and Errol M, and of course the lovely Nina H.
Dawn H organized this latest venture complete with a deal on BBQ, a Blue Ox koozie, and a beer keg for everyone at the Buzzmill. :P Ok, maybe not the last one, but planning the event on the night that they provide free beer was a nice touch.
She also gets some big thanks for buying a couple of the brontosaurus ribs for the group. I took several videos of the behemoth ribs, but only one made it to this event page due to a couple mishaps. The first being that I didn’t know they had to be taken from the Unilocal app directly, and the second being that I submitted it to the wrong business listing — luckily, the Unilocal app does support a delete video option. But as for the ribs themselves, they were awesomely tender and turned out to be the best meat I tried that night — the pork rib came in close second.
It was cool seeing Carmela again since I’m always liking her check-​ins and we share a love for another BBQ truck in South Austin. I hadn’t met Brandon C or Kym S prior to the event, but they were fun to talk to. And I also got to briefly meet some other Unilocalers like An N and Roy R too. All in all it was a great turnout and one heckuva celebration!

So with moves like Jagger, Dawn arranged Blue Ox to offer us three meats & two sides for $ 12.99, with a free koozie for the free Thursday night beer Buzz Mill was kegging for the house. And in the trailer line An N & I were talking to Chelsea, who had just moved to Austin for UT Law, and was wondering who we were and how our table had scored a BBQ deal. Power of the Unilocal.I also heard Harry Potter was there with Lady Gaga in invisible cloaks of beef ribs, but no one could see them to substantiate it.
But it’s all good with ROTDCs, because when you get a bunch of Unilocalers together with food & booze & clever chatter, you’re gonna have a good time. I had just seen James & Nina four days earlier at their Soto ROTDC, and here we were again with Dawn & Rob beefing it up. If nothing else, you do eat well at these things.
Hadn’t seen Brandon & Kym in a while, it was Roy & An’s first ROTDC event, and always a pleasure to catch Carmela not checking-​in to Getaway. Nick inside the Blue Ox trailer was slammed but great about it, and the live band & intermittent rain bursts were unexpected fun bonuses. Even #errolsmug got a cameo shot because Buzz Mill is a legit ²⁴⁄₇ coffeehouse, and they take their coffee here seriously too. A quick postlube with An at Lick, and what we have for the books is another stellar Thursday, one more Unilocal adventure in real life. Review of the Day, in Celebration form.