Kilts and Cowboys Elite Event @ CBQ and O’Cleary’s

Yeehaw! Elite Events are so much fun. Michael and the staff at CBQ and O’Cleary’s did a fantastic job. We started the afternoon at CBQ with drinks and some BBQ. The wings were exceptional. They smoke their wings and that little hint of smoke makes the wings extra delicious. We also sampled their spicy coleslaw, fried okra, and mac-​n-​cheese. All were very tasty! The bartender made a drink called the Honey Fizz which was Gin and Honey Bee Beer that was oh so refreshing! I could definitely kick back a few of those on a warm summer night. Then after a tour of the kitchen we moved to O’Cleary’s for some chicken strips, mushrooms, whiskey bread pudding and Rueben pizza. Again, the food was delicious. The bread pudding was out of this world yummy! Following our enjoyment of food and a few more cocktails we were treated to some bowling. I really like how O’Cleary’s is set up. It would be an awesome place to hangout and watch some sports and play some games with friends. They have a nice viewing area with big leather chairs, bowling lanes, pool tables, and dart boards. There are plenty of TV’s everywhere. I especially like the big TV’s at the end of the bowling lanes so you can bowl and watch your game at the same time.
Thank you Michael, CBQ and O’Cleary’s for putting together such a fun afternoon. I cannot wait to bring friends back and enjoy these places again.

I donned a cowboy hat, Wrangler shirt and a Pabst Blue Ribbon belt buckle… and set off for a great event.
Upon arrival I saw Unilocal swag a plenty and a bevy of well attired attendees. The venue is a 2 for one type of experience. The building is split into two different restaurants — CBQ and O’Cleary’s with a common kitchen space in between.
The evenings events included service from both restaurants and a tour of the kitchen. Stellar service by the staff the entire time. Servers were well informed about each menu item as well as the libations.
We began in CBQ with three drinks:
A Bloody Mary — the first I have ever enjoyed. Kuddos to the bartender. Large chunks of salt on the rim and a strip of bacon. Note to self — do not attempt to bite into the cold bacon after consuming the cocktail (not delicious).
Gin cocktail — As a late arrival I missed this round as I was consuming my first beverage as this second one was being delivered. It seems to receive a chorus of ‘yum’s’ as they were distributed.
Beer cocktail — Delicious. My fave of the night — despite the strong showing by the Bloody Mary. I hope they add this to the menu.
CBQ Food:
Spicy Coleslaw — Wifey loved it. I saw the word ‘spicy’ and chose not to partake (not a fan of the spicy).
Rib Tips — Delicious flavor but quite a bit of effort for a small amount of meat reward.
Mac and Cheese — Nice to have a side. Not spicy. Standard bbq side dish.
BBQ Wings — I didn’t try the spicy variety but the regular heat level cowboy wings were great. Messy and tender — just the way I prefer my wings.
We enjoyed some toasts (read aloud from a great souvenir book Michael put together for the event with songs and toasts) as we hoisted our glasses in unison. After toasting and dining they were gracious enough to guide us to O’Cleary’s via the kitchen. Impressive to know that they are generating two varied menus from the kitchen.
O’Cleary’s is an Irish themed restaurant with a few bowling lanes in the restaurant. We had more drinks and more delicious food offerings on this side of the building.
Drinks:
Jameson cocktail — I’m a fan of all things Jameson as well as marchino cherries so this cocktail was a clear win!
Tequila and Bailey’s cocktail — I didn’t try this one as I am not a tequilla fan but it was enjoyed by the rest of the table.
Smithwick’s Ale — Always a fan of Smithwick’s and this was a nice ending to a delicious service of beverages.
Food:
Chicken tenders — Standard pub fare with a nice balance of breading to chicken.
Guinness Mushrooms — The nights winner. Wow. The accolades from everyone else were given before I had placed the first one in my mouth but they were completely justified. Delicious. I would head back here just for these.
Ruben Pizza –Not a mustard fan, but without the mustard this was delicious. Also a cool concept to theme a pizza after a sandwich.
Bread Pudding — This was a surprising delight to me. Bread pudding and I usually do not enjoy each others company but wow, this was good. Could it have been the alcohol inside? Perhaps. That said, I went back for several rounds.
All in all, this was a very well planned and executed event. Michael’s efforts and those of the staff and Manager of CBQ and O’Cleary’s were top notch. If this is an indicator of how other Elite events go I can’t wait to join the pack!

Elite events are awesome — there is just no denying it. Michael did a great job partnering with CBQ and O’Cleary’s to host a fun filled afternoon. The two new restaurants are HUGE and have an absolutely beautiful outdoor patio area right in the heart of legends; a spot that I look forward to hanging out at during the summer.
The actual event was a blast! Michael, decked head to toe in cowboy gear, welcomed us with balloons, Unilocal swag, and the ever famous photo booth. The order of events went something like this:
1) We mingled, ate and drank at CBQ
2) Read some cowboy poetry (thanks to Michael’s great event book)
3) The manager of the property took us on a full kitchen tour of the large kitchen that connects and serves both restaurants
4) Mingled, ate and drank at O’Cleary’s
5) Sang Irish songs (again, thanks to Michael’s fun event book)
6) Bowled, played darts, and enjoyed the patio
A great event and definitely a wonderful way to showcase all that the property has to offer!
Now onto the food and drink… As we sat down at CBQ, we were each brought a fabulous CBQ bloody complete with thick slices of well cooked bacon — yum! The second drink offering, a gin, whisky and ginger ale cocktail was also excellent. By far, the best drink served was the gin fizz with honey beer, crafted and presented by the bar tender, himself. The food was decent — breaded rib tips (kind of weird that they were breaded and fried), fried okra (eh — kind of soggy), mac and cheese, and smoked wings. The best part of the food on the CBQ side was the smoked wings as they had nice smoked flavor. It would be awesome if they would finish this guys on the grill to cook off some of the fat and crisp up the skin. Also, the cry baby sauce could use a little more cry and a little less baby…
The food on the O’Cleary’s side was about the same — decent bar food. We were offered breaded chicken strips (which were a little too heavily battered for my liking), fried mushrooms (also too much batter), banana bread pudding (OMG, don’t miss this!), and a ruben pizza which had a really nice flavor and crisp crust. The drinks on this side were a bourbon manhattan, a shot of Guinness with patron XO, and an irish beer. The drinks were okay, but I liked the cocktails offered on the CBQ side better. The best part about O’Cleary’s was the bread pudding — seriously, if you go to these restaurants, don’t miss this bourbon buttered, crystalized sugar coated, fluffy, flavorful dessert! I think my table went back for thirds on this one!
After the event was over, we were graciously offered to stay and bowl on the house. We took them up on their offer and had a great time testing out the brand new bowling shoes and shiny lanes. As we were winding down, the place was starting to fill up with customers. We look forward to coming back to enjoy a happy hour on the patio and play some darts. And of course, indulge in some more bread pudding!

This was my second Elite Event — my first was as a +1, this time, I got my very own shiny invitation, and was able to bring my hubby as my +1!
The event was really a two-​for-​one — CBQ and O’Cleary’s are side-​by-​side, attached by a shared kitchen with a really amazing patio area and huge outdoor bar with TV screens and a fire table. Both restaurants are huge, with lots of TVs everywhere.
First for the event was CBQ. We were greeted with delicious Bloody Marys with a lime wedge, a salted rim, and a nice thick piece of bacon. I have pretty high standards for Bloody Marys, and this one met my standards! Next was a cocktail of gin, whiskey and ginger ale. I don’t love any of those three ingredients, but together they made a pretty tasty and refreshing cocktail! Third, the bartender had a treat for us — he wanted us to try a beer cocktail that they were thinking of putting on the menu. It included beer, gin, simple syrup and lemon juice. It was also delicious and got thumbs up from the whole crowd — look for it on the menu in the future!
The food: Spicy coleslaw — it had a good flavor, but tasted like it was straight out of a bag, with too much sauce. Fried rib tips — not really my thing, pretty thick on the breading — especially when compared to the small amount of meat on each bone. The gouda mac and cheese was good. They served two different types of wings — cowboy wings and crybaby wings. They both were dry, which I like, and had a nice smokey flavor. Sadly, the crybaby wings were supposed to be flavored with habanero, but I didn’t taste a hint of heat. Also, they bring BBQ sauce to the table, and the one labeled «spicy» was not. They did have a few very flavorful sauces, though!
I’ll be honest — bar food is not really my thing, so I might not be the best one to review these items. I didn’t look at the menu, but I did hear that their menu is very extensive, and I’m sure they have other items I would enjoy more!
After hanging out at CBQ, we were taken on a tour of the kitchen on the way over to O’Cleary’s. The kitchen was spotless and well organized, with the staff calmly cooking and delivering food.
We made our way through, and I immediately fell in love with O’Cleary’s. Six bowling lanes, darts and pool tables! We took our seats, and the alcohol assault continued. First was a Jameson Manhatten, which was not super popular at our table, but I enjoyed it! Next was a Baby Guinness shot — I can’t remember what was in it. It was a little sweet, but good flavor! Finally, we had a yummy red Irish beer. The food at O’Cleary’s was chicken fingers (again, too much breading for my taste), a ruben pizza, and whiskey bread pudding. The ruben pizza was so delicious, and the bread pudding was amazing! Our table went back for thirds of each!
Activities: We read some cowboy poetry at CBQ’s, then sang some Irish drinking songs at O’Cleary’s. Also, the staff at O’Cleary’s was nice enough to let us enjoy their activities. We bowled, we played darts, we had a spectacular time!
While I wasn’t blown away by much of the food, I would give each place another try, and select some new menu items. I love all of the fun activities at O’Cleary’s, and think it would be a great place to come back to with a group of friends. I also really love the outside patio area — I can picture myself spending some time there with good friends.
Thank you so much to the staff at CBQ and O’Cleary’s! They were super friendly and very knowledgable about all of the menu items. And thank you to Michael T. for putting together such a great event!

May 17, 2014 Saturday — lunch & dinner 3 PM
2 adults
Atmosphere — 5 stars
Food — 5 stars
Service — 5 stars
Background — Like the location says it is an Elite event. This one is a double location, with three events.
Atmosphere — Not much has changed from when it was Cadillac Ranch, the mechanical bull is gone. Which I am not hear broken about. CBQ still has a western feel with the acoustic guitars. O’Cleary’s is an Irish bar that has several pool tables, dart boards and 6 bowling lane. Because O’Cleary’s serves food there is no smoking which is plus for me.
Food
Drinks — The drinks did end tonight. Two of the drinks stood out, one from each location. The first was a beer cocktail at CBQ made for the event as a test run. I love beer and using it as part of a cocktail was new to me. They used High Sierra’s Buzzy Bee for the beer in the Honey Fizz, a light refreshing summer drink. The other drink was at a shot at O’Cleary’s. It was called a Baby Guinness, which was a mix of Patron XO and Bailey’s, it was very smooth.
Each place has their own bars but share a kitchen. As we moved from one location to the other we got a tour of the kitchen. We also found out if you want something from the other location they will accommodate you.
CBQ — Spicy coleslaw, fried okra, deep fried battered beef tips. But the wings were my favorite. They have smoker that they took us to seen the kitchen and their head chef told that the wings get 4 hours of smoke and you can taste it every bite. I want to go back and get a big basket of those wings.
O’Cleary’s — Chicken tenders, breaded mushrooms with an aioli sauce that was amazing. Rueben Pizza. A whiskey bread pudding, I had to go back for more. The bottom was soft and top was crispy as if they had brûléed it.
Service — They were on their game. The staff was able to answer our question and made us feel very comfortable. Sometime you lose that in big group settings.
Bowling — I almost for about this. After all the great food and drinks we went bowling one of the six lanes they had. Clearly not the Bowling Stadium, this is not the serious league stuff either. Each pair of lanes has its own TV by the pins. To add to some of the fun is the small color lights that change colors between the lanes. Like every bowling alley they have balls, easy to find your weight. Each one is colored to the weight, and I think they set up the balls every night so the light ones are on the left (looking from the lanes) and the heavier ones to the right.
Future — Smoked Wings at CBQ!
Thanks to the staff at both locations. And a very special thanks to Michael for putting on another great event. Another Elite event meeting some great people for the first time!

The entire event was amazing from the minute we walked in till the time we walked out!
For starters, the décor really set the tone and mood of the event to be fun and quirky. Michael had our section decked out with « Unilocal Swag» like balloons, key chain bottle openers, Unilocal pins, Unilocal mints, and even a Unilocal Photo backdrop! Made it seem official and super fancy the second you lay eyes on it! One of the best part is it was a themed party so people were dressed in «Irish Cowboys» getup and the tables had adorable packets of Irish drinking songs and sayings!
Beginning at CBQ, this event included drinks, 2 sets of buffet style appetizers, a really neat behind the scenes tour of the kitchen, then we went into O’Cleary’s and there was more food and drinks, along with singing Irish Drinking Songs, bowling, the time was absolutely spent having great laughs meeting new friends!
Summary of the food at the Event:
CBQ– had amazing drinks made by creative bartenders, creamy and delicious Mac and Cheese, and yummy chicken wings.
O’Cleary’s– totally separate menu and perhaps a little better… there was chicken tenders, mushroom that had cream cheese inside then deep fried in batter, as well as Ruben Pizza and more importantly… there was Whiskey bread pudding! When everyone had a taste at that, there was booming applause, literally! Both restaurants had impeccable service, and it was a pleasure to be served by both staff.
At the end of the event, as we were walking out the door, we got «goodies»: mason jars filled with coupons and special offers for future visits! Wow, what a privilege it was to be there and to be among people who share one thing in common: the love of great food and communal experience! I was completely impressed, and happy to build a new network of people in the Unilocal community and can’t wait till the next Unilocal event!