A lot of the Chinese restaurants have live carp in a tank in front. You can order the cutest one for your dinner.
Thanks, Ogged.
I really don't know the area at all. We're staying in Sonoma and we've got a rental car. Any suggestions?
You're morally obligated to visit as many wineries as you can.
Also, while in SF, I cannot recommend this place for breakfast/brunch highly enough. Get the quiche and a morning bun.
Sonoma isn't exactly the Bay Area.
3 and 4 are noted (and appreciated) but let me clarify 2: I don't know any places that would be good specifically for the meet-up on Sunday in SF. Or Berkely. Or wherever's convenient for everyone.
5 - we're flying out of San Francisco on the red-eye at midnight on Sunday.
I just meant that we'll be coming from Sonoma when we drive in.
Who's "we?" w-lfs-n isn't going to be interested if you're bringing a boyfriend, you know.
Who's "we?"
heebie and geebie. You didn't know she had two heads and two personalities?
Me and Jammies. Someone's outing themselves as never having clicked over to my blog.
I vote not Zeitgeist. Depending on how many people are going to come, the Atlas Cafe on 20th and Alabama is a lovely place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Beers and delicious sandwiches and a modest outdoor area.
I offered to introduce Heebie to my rockabilly son who is too old for her, and this Jammies person mysteriously showed up. I had thought he was a cat.
Having just gone to check out Muir Woods this weekend with my father, I highly recommend it. Those are some big trees. The parking lot fills up early, but there's a convenient shuttle bus from where Highway 1 splits off of 101 by Sausalito, two bucks a person, round trip.
Muir Woods, Mount Tam, Stinson Beach, the Marin headlands -- that whole area is a walkers paradise. It would be a national park if it were out in the middle of nowhere. Although it's the wrong season for it, too many tourists now.
We should all find a deserted beach, drink 40s and pass around a joint. Also, drum circle! Come on, let's do it up NorCal style!
Jammies could still be a cat. Come out on Sunday and find out!
13, 16, and 18 all sound lovely. I feel I'm in good hands.
It would be a national park if it were out in the middle of nowhere.
Would be? (pdf) I suppose if you distinguish between the various DOI properties: National Seashore, National Monument, National Recreation Area, it's sadly not a national park.
I doubt this helps at all, but there is (was? I really hope it isn't gone) a wonderful Indian restraunt almost exactly 100 miles north of SF on the #1. It's a beautiful drive, and far enough that you almost give up and think you just imagined it before. But there it is. I actually went there on a whim once with a friend, and we almost turned back but didn't. The tandori was worth it.
Venue: ODC Dance Theater
Time: 8
Ticket price: 5
various sfSound players
===
Program: Steve Reich - Violin Phase; Elliott Carter - Tempo e Tempi; Jacob Druckman - Animus I; Chris Burns - Periodic Table; Matt Ingalls - Amplified Trio; Christopher Jones - Separate Machines.
Burns, Jones, and Ingalls will also be among the performers.
I'm just saying.
21: If you're thinking of the place near Jenner (where the Russian River meets the ocean), it's still there. Never actually eaten there, though.
Who's coming and do we need to be near transit? Because if you're serious about a hiker stop meetup, we (or you -- like I'm functional that early) should do pancakes at the Mountain Home Inn.
And re: tourism, if you're thinking of wine tasting, fuck a bunch of Napa. There are plenty of great wineries in Sonoma and they're way less annoying.
5, Sonoma qualifies just fine if you're using the 9-county definition or the "has public transit to SF" definition of Bay Area.
23: That sounds like it. It's probably only 75m or so from the city, I was coming from lower down the bay. I've eaten there a couple of times (ran into it by accident at dinner time coming down the #1 one day). It was great at the time, but this was 10 years ago now so who knows.
Sorry to say, I'll be out of town. Enjoy yourselves, hear?
"has public transit to SF"
This covers too much terrain, I think.
This covers too much terrain, I think.
Advantage, Houston!
24: I agree Sonoma is better than Napa for wine tasting. Most people like Pinot better than Cab too.
Hway 1 between Bodega Bay and Jenner is gorgeous, dunno if Heebie wants to stay way up there, but there have got to be some good restaurants in there too. Probably be less crowded and more mellow than down in Marin too.
The Tourist Club would be AWE-SOME, but I don't know how they feel about large non-member groups (anyone here a member?). Could we guarantee seating by phoning in advance, or not so much? We'd definitely need reservations for the Mountain Home on a Sunday too.
And I wasn't *quite* serious in 16, but when I think about it...is packing a big picnic a possibility?
23, 26: yeah, it's called the "Sizzling Tandoor" I think. Drove by it, remarked on ethnic restaurant in tiny town, never ate there.
So no takers on the concert in 22?
The ODC theater is near the place rhymeswithmaria suggested.
I'm down with ODC.
(Yeah, you know me.)
We could meet up at rhymeswithmaria's suggested place at, say, 4:30, and then those who wanted to go to the concert could depart around 7:00 ish and anyone who wanted to get dinner could get dinner.
Is there a handle on how many people we're talking about? Atlas cafe will be nice for a smallish group, but if it's more than about 6 I'd probably recant my recommendation and say we ought to go somewhere with more space.
I've gotten the impression that so far Magpie, Marcus, Ben, Maria, Josh, and me and Jammies have expressed interest? So it could be over 6 pretty easily.
I believe that cats are not included in the official meetup stats.
We'll then just have to SEE what the headcount is when we're there, WON'T WE! You can't out Jammies's species that easily.
Li Po! Li Po!
Heebie LOVES Li Po!
My love for Lithium ion Polymer batteries is well documented.
Because I'm all about having THE BIGGEST CARBON FOOTPRINT IN THE LOWER 48 (and also b/c I would love to meet heebie), I've suggested to Mr. B. that if, y'know, he wanted to go up to the bay area this weekend and take PK to the Exploratirum, that might be kinda cool. We'll see.
The Exploratorium RULES. Maybe we should have the meeetup there instead.
An Unfogged meetup at the Exploratorium would actually be hilarious.
Unfogged commenters + Tactile Dome = completely awesome or completely skeezy, I'm not sure which.
completely awesome or completely skeezy,
Didn't catherine suggest it could be both?
OT, but here's one for you swimmer boys: this British swimmer has become the first to swim at the North Pole. 19 minutes in 29-degree (F) water...in a speedo. It's not just the Artctic ice that's shrinking.
I'd be down for the Exploratorium!
If we go to the Exploratorium, I am so very licking Ogged's face in the Tactile Dome.
JMcQ, I'll agree not to move to your state if you agree not to muck up a perfectly civil Bay Area meetup thread with your swimming nonsense.
Oops. That should be Artctictktc.
New meetup location: the polar bear enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. In speedos!
If we want to go to the explo, I should be able to get some number of us on the guest list, since I used to work there.
At the risk of making things complicated, we could have a combo Exploratorium/Atlas/ODC thing, where we start at the Exploratorium earlier in the day, move on to Atlas late afternoon and then ODC after. People can join up or leave as time and interest dictate.
Mmmm, I would worry that this would mean that there'd never be a real critical mass and it would be impossible to actually hook up with people?
We'd have to be prepared to hunker down and cooperate. But we could pull it off.
We could have designated meeting times/places for each stop, though that assumes people will be on time, which may not be such a safe assumption.
If things start at the Exploratorium, it renders the Atlas Cafe part of the day pretty optional. There are several outdoor beer/food establishments near there, though they are in the dreaded and much despised Marina District.
I confess that I have a vagenda here (and keep in mind I don't even know if I'm coming to this thing) because my swanky gay friends live in the Marina District and I'm hoping to force them to let us stay there.
Because of course they really desperately need PK breaking as many of their fussy tchotchkes as possible.
Well, Heebie and Jammies should go to the Exploratorium and the Tactile Dome whether the Unfoggedtariat tags along or not. I think it sounds like a blast, but I'd hate for it to torpedo the whole meetup if some people find the idea too m-fun.
If Atlas is too crowded there's a divier-but-still-with-patio called Jay'n Bee (atrocious apostrophe theirs, not mine) just down the street.
Also, they serve acceptable mexican food.
Is there really someone not in love with the exploratorium idea? Speak up, haters.
Not an objection by any means but a caveat: it will be seething with people (this is the busiest season) and will make it difficult to interact as a largish group. That said, it's still hella fun.
I would object, but I won't be attending, so it doesn't matter.
{10th attempt to use self-deprecating humor to lighten the image of making a drunken ass of myself at the last meetup} Does the Exploratorium serve beer? {/10th attempt to use self-deprecating humor to lighten the image of making a drunken ass of myself at the last meetup}
Excellent! I, the wife, and the (now fully healed) baby vote for the Exploratorium, since it's on our must-do list for this trip and it would be an excellent space for a gathering. I make a second motion to adjourn to Berkeley after the Exploratorium closes. A lot of us, I gather, will be adjourning in that direction anyway.
Excellent! I, the wife, and the (now fully healed) baby vote for the Exploratorium, since it's on our must-do list for this trip and it would be an excellent space for a gathering. I make a second motion to adjourn to Berkeley after the Exploratorium closes. A lot of us, I gather, will be adjourning that way anyway.
re 69: I saw Froz at a party last night, and he wasn't a drunken ass. Disappointing, but I still have hopes for the meetup.
Froz wasn't an ass at the meetup, he was just thoroughly, entertainingly sloshed.
Froz was so not an ass. He was the picture of charming southern drunken gentlemanliness.
I vote for the rolling pub crawl. That way the non- or anti-fun people don't have to have m-fun, and they can just meet us at whatever bar or such later.
I am voting b/c Mr. B. just said yeah sure, let's do it. However, we currently lack a place to stay--Mr. w-lfs-n's roommates seem to me not exactly the type to want a whole family crashing at their place, and my Laguna friends are going to be Out Of Town and have rudely declined to simply leave the key under the mat, pleading that there is "not enough time to childproof the apartment beforehand." Hopefully my San Jose friend will come through. Otherwise we'll just show up at Ogged's doorstep on Friday at midnight. Oh, and due to his work stuff we really can only do Fun Stuff on Saturday.
Do NOT plan around us, though, since we're the horning-in out-of-towners and I won't be heartbroken if we can't make it and are forced not to make the six hour drive.
OK, so what time will we meet at the Exploratorium, and what time at as-yet-unspecified Marina Chet hangout?
How about 3:00 for the exploratorium and 6:00 for the hangout? I just pulled those numbers out of thin air, though.
san francisco was WAY WAY colder than i was expecting. i had to buy a touristy sweatshirt on fisherman's wharf to stay warm for the last half of the trip. people ain't lying when they talk about how cold it is in there in the summer.
3 might be a little on the late side.
rhymeswithmaria: Suggestions on Marina hangouts?
Heebie: In SF proper or at your brother's place? The latter will likely get warmer, the former won't.
Christ. If dealing with my roommate hadn't thrown all of my vacation plans to hell, I woulda been in the Bay Area for this. And an all-paid mountain getaway (with 30-40 Mormon relatives, so, a mixed blessing). Fuckity-fuck. I'm not even going to read the meetup writeup I'm so mad I can't be there.
2:00 for the Exploratorium? 5:00 for drinks or food?
Yeah, the weather site said Sonoma would be in the 80's, and San Francisco would be in the 60's. Yikes!
Sounds good to me, but I sure do wish other people would chime in -- the Little Hippie U. grad in me would prefer to see more of a consensus-based decision on this. Talking stick, anyone?
I agree; hopefully as people come online, they'll pipe up if this works for them or not.
There are two Marina places I can think of with outdoor seating, however much that matters: Liverpool Lil's on Lombard and Lyon and the Grove on Chestnut and Avila. Liverpool Lil's is extremeley uncool, pub type vibe, but has food and drink. The Grove is rustic and cute, doesn't have a ton of room, but also has food and drink (more of a coffeeshop, but has beer + wine). I'd hate to be the final voice on the drinks place. There are tons more places on Chestnut and Union Streets that I don't know much about because I was a poor museum employee. Does anyone else know the area and have ideas?
The only place I really know of in that area (besides the Peet's) is Betelnut, which has great food and a sidewalk-side bar but is a bit Chet-sceney and a little pricey.
Who's still in at this point? Is it just you, me, Heebie, Jammies and Josh? Maybe this post should be bumped?
I think Marcus said he was in, at some point. And Neil. And maybe Froz? And Bitch is a "maybe", but I'm hoping she's a yes.
And Ben and Ogged have been conspicuously silent. But I'm very curious to meet both of them, so maybe someone can apply a little peer pressure their way?
I won't be at this one, I'm afraid, but Ben should be easy to entice, IYKWIM.
I've been confused ever since this apparently started involving the exploratorium and the marina.
I've been confused ever since this apparently started involving the exploratorium and the marina.
Confused in a bad way? I think you mean intrigued.
What's confusing about the Exploratorium? Besides, it's not like you've been in here making alternative suggestions, now, have you?
i had to buy a touristy sweatshirt on fisherman's wharf to stay warm for the last half of the trip.
And the kicker is, the same guys who make those sweatshirts also sll "Sunny California" tees.
I've heard good things about Betelnut. I've been wanting to go there, so I'd be down with it even if it is sceney.
Liverpool Lil's is extremely cramped; I recommend against it. Although the sweetbread is really good. Extremely unfortunately (I have an Uncle who lives on Filbert so I could easily crawl 'home' in any state) I can't make it this time.
There's a fairly down-to-earth sports bar with pool tables and lots of room on the corner of Baker and Lombard. Pool tables, 49er motif, sticky floor, called "Final Four" or something. It's got more space but it is a sports bar and some find that... well... boring.
My main reason for not coming, of course, is that Ogged would probably throw chairs at me, try to poison me with Iranian food, and run down the street yelling at me. The he'd call in his hitman Jake to steal my wallet and phone and crank call my wife. I'm not falling for that again.
We had your best interests at heart, froz. And I swear your wallet only had twenty bucks in it when I "found" it. Would I lie to you?
Yeouch. Is this thing falling apart? I'm still up for it, but is there any kind of consensus on what to do / where to go? I'm kind of distracted dealing with a whole bunch of major personal decisions right now, so I am more in the follower mode at the moment...
It's not falling apart as far as Jammies and I are concerned. We're here in Sonoma and intending to show up somewhere at 2:00 or 3:00 tomorrow afternoon.
And Froz, Ogged's not coming, and I love drunk people. So come!
I exchanged phone numbers with Magpie, so I'll be in communication if you guys change plans. But in the absence of any other info, we'll be at the Exploratorium at 2:00 tomorrow.
98 heebie just shoot on over to Boston by Thursday, we will put this back together.
I thought we were all meeting in Fargo again. WTF?!
I am only meeting in Fargo insofar as I am Fargo, and Fargo, in it's multiplicity, is an emanation of my executive will. This should be perfectly clear from the long-established principle of the Unitary Tweety.
* BZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRTTT *
Welcome aboard!
Misplaced apostrophes textually indicate the fiery tears of God.
It bugs the holy living shit out of me, Ben, you know that, right? I blame the drug use.
In case anyone else is showing up, it's 2:45 and we're heading inside the Exploratorium...