Vancouver meetup?

November 5, 2006 2:16 AM

Vancouver (BC) meetup in the moderately near future? Plenty of time to plan, and initiating it is the only way I can make sure I'm going to be there. Need to commune with fellow geeks. Must be able to speak coherently in presence of female. That said, all welcome! Former Seattleite, so anyone wishing to road-trip with enough notice is encouraged!!
posted by mireille to MetaFilter gatherings at 2:16 AM (19 comments total)

Hola, mirelle! I'm in Vancouver, as are others. Everyone's nice, that I've met so far. What's your time like? Where have you been? The Bughouse Five's playing the Railway this coming Friday (roots/blues/-rockabilly-but don't call 'em that!). They're always worth seeing, and the Rail's got good beer, nice people, and is open late.
posted by Zack_Replica at 3:35 AM on November 5, 2006

The Railway is the best, nay only, choice.
posted by docgonzo at 11:11 AM on November 5, 2006

There was just a Van meetup a few weeks ago at the Black Frog.

I'd like to get to a meetup eventually, but so far they've either run on evenings when I already have plans or there's live music going on at the venue, which kinda makes it hard to talk or listen, at least for me. If I want to go to a show, I'll go to a show. If I want to drink and talk, I don't want a loud place.
posted by solid-one-love at 11:45 AM on November 5, 2006

I'm pretty new to MetaFilter (and Vancouver) but I'd love to come to a meetup.
The Railway Club is guaranteed to have live music but there is a whole back room area where it's much quieter.
posted by PercussivePaul at 2:27 PM on November 5, 2006

I'm in---friday would work for me. Or the weekend.
posted by stray at 3:05 PM on November 5, 2006

I'd suggest the bars on Main (but IANAHipster) are where you want to go if you want the magic combo of good (but quiet) background music, good food and good beer - although my suggestions were nixed last time. As it turned out, I couldn't make it (yet again) due to work commitments, but I'm free next weekend.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:52 PM on November 5, 2006

I've just (fairly) recently near Main, but havn't explored the bars in the area--what are the nice ones?
posted by stray at 8:49 PM on November 5, 2006

^moved
posted by stray at 8:50 PM on November 5, 2006

Well, they're mainly bar/restaurants, but they're pretty much my favorite ones in the city....starting from Main and Terminal, there's

* The Whip (6th) - used to be a very artsy, dark, gloomy bar, with borderline surly serving staff, has since been renovated slightly, and now has a slightly more welcoming atmosphere, with the pros that the food is now 3 times as good ( and 1.5 times as expensive ), the staff now have more of the regulation Canadian friendliness, and the con that it's lost something of it's, for me, unique charm.

* Foundation (7th ish) - A vegetarian bar/restaurant, which wears its granola ideals firmly on its sleeves, and on its walls, in the form of inspirational quotes. The food's cheap, tasty, and very filling, and they seem to have a not entirely incongrous love of old-skool hip-hop, especially on friday evenings

* Habit (11th) - Retro 70's decor, stupidly good spicy wings, and all the food is gorgeous. They're very keen on you ordering multiple dishes as a group, and sharing, and go so far as to look at you questioningly if you want to have dishes exclusively to yourself. They also have really nice imported Czech beer - I think it's run/owned by a Brits and Czechs.

* Five Point (15th) - The pubbiest of the three, with a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. The seared tuna bites are phenomenal, and they often have open mic nights/ live music.

* The Reef ( I forget ) - A Jamaican restaurant. I can't remember exactly what I had when I went, but I remember their bread/dumplings which came with the meal. I think they were either fried or deep fried, were unashamedly and gloriously unhealthy, and reminded me of TimBits, but much, much better.

All recommended, anyhow. You'll probably feel like you've stumbled onto a group of extras from Ghost World at times, but that's all part of Main St's charm.

Black rimmed glasses, white belt, Chuck Taylors and carefully affected bedhead entirely optional, but useful for blending in with the natives.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 2:29 AM on November 6, 2006

Mostly I kinda think Main is ass, I'm more of a downtown type. However The Whip is pretty good. The food is alright, and the beer is actually quite good.

As for meetup locations, I'd like something within drunken stagger distance, so I vote for the Railway club as well.
posted by mock at 2:33 AM on November 6, 2006

I'm very much downtown, but can go anywhere TransLink will take me. It's looking like I'm only available on Fridays, and this one happens to be a no-go.

Any other timing recommendations?
posted by mireille at 11:54 AM on November 6, 2006

I would suggest you demand a time and place that works for you, and see how many people want to show up.
posted by mock at 7:01 PM on November 6, 2006

FWIW, I'm going to be at the Rail on Friday regardless of a meetup there or not, as Elizard's in town for a short while and there's a bunch of people getting together there to drink and watch the band. Anyone who wants to come is welcome, and I'm sure we'll end up closing the place and ending up with hangovers.
*seconds mock's comment*
posted by Zack_Replica at 9:20 AM on November 7, 2006

Agreed, mock. Let's settle a date first, then the willing participants can discuss time/location.

We've got Friday November 17th as an option, or else December 1st (the Friday in-between is out as I'm headed "home" for US Thanksgiving).

All those wishing to join in-- pick one, and the date with the most available participants wins.
posted by mireille at 1:27 AM on November 8, 2006

Well since I'll be in Tokyo on December 1st, I choose November 17th.
posted by mock at 2:22 AM on November 8, 2006

I'll 3rd the 17th...
posted by Jon Mitchell at 4:00 PM on November 8, 2006

Does it have to be a Friday?
posted by timeistight at 4:39 PM on November 8, 2006

Oh, I see... well the 17th would be better for me.
posted by timeistight at 4:52 PM on November 8, 2006

Hmm. Apologies, but just checked the finances. Starting new job on Tuesday and won't have funds for an outing until early December. Saturdays are out for me because I work a second job.

Would later in December work for anyone? If not, feel free to go ahead with the 17th and I'll try again later in the year.
posted by mireille at 12:28 PM on November 9, 2006