PDX Meetup

April 25, 2008 11:58 PM

Portland, OR Meetup? Looking back, it's been a looong time since a Portland Meetup. Any one interested?

I did a search and turns out the last one was November 2007.

I've never done one of these things before. Any suggestions from previous meetups?

posted by fiercekitten to MetaFilter gatherings at 11:58 PM (87 comments total)

Man, it has been a dang ol' while. I'm in.

No specific suggestions—my favorite meetup joint closed a while back—but in general I'd say we do pretty well with Saturday afternoons and beer, so that might be a decent place to start.
posted by cortex at 7:39 AM on April 26, 2008

Saturday afternoons +++
Beer+++
I'm still sad the Rose and Raindrop is shut, though.
posted by dersins at 8:47 AM on April 26, 2008

I'd be up for something and I don't care where.
posted by sleepy pete at 10:30 AM on April 26, 2008

I'm in. In my world, the Horse Brass fills the hole left by the closure of the R&R, but the Brass really is a stanky smoke pit, ill-suited to general purpose gatherings. Howzabout the Green Dragon at 9th and Belmont? They rotate through an excellent selection of taps there. I've never sat on the bar side, but it looks like it'd accommodate a decent sized crowd of Mefites, should they come out.
posted by mumkin at 10:57 AM on April 26, 2008

The Horse Brass is a little smoky even for me; I've never been to the Green Dragon, but I've read decent enough things about it that I'd be willing to give it a shot. East side, yo. (FYI I can talk that way by virtue of the fact that I am so street.)
posted by dersins at 11:28 AM on April 26, 2008

as long as this isn't the weekend of the 11th, I can drive down from seattle and drink beers with youse all.

Also, dersins, you are missed in 15931.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:30 AM on April 26, 2008

Heh. I'm in Portland right now, visiting from Berkeley, if there's anything going on tonight or tomorrow.
posted by team lowkey at 12:10 PM on April 26, 2008

I'd go for the Green Dragon or the shiny new HUB.
posted by turbodog at 4:56 PM on April 26, 2008

Heh, again. I'm going to the Green Dragon tonight, actually.
posted by team lowkey at 5:12 PM on April 26, 2008

Man, I was pissed about not being able to make it to Ground Kontrol last time, but I'm 21 now, so... yeah, meetup!
posted by OverlappingElvis at 11:25 AM on April 27, 2008

I hope you had some of the Dragon's particularly delicious fries, team lowkey. It has those to recommend it as well.

This thread is going to scroll off into oblivion tomorrow, so we should at least pick a tentative date for the meetup. That'll secure some of that all-important sidebar real estate to give the event visibility. May 24 maybe? It's a Saturday, is far enough out to maximize awareness, and is post-primary, so maybe we can have the audacity to hope for a politics-free meetup.
posted by mumkin at 11:50 AM on April 27, 2008

That sounds like a pretty good plan to me, mumkin.
posted by cortex at 12:56 PM on April 27, 2008

Marked as good for me. Someone sidebar that monkey.
posted by sleepy pete at 1:34 PM on April 27, 2008

Okay. Current plan is Saturday, May 24th, starting afternoonish, at the Green Dragon.
posted by cortex at 1:58 PM on April 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

i'll see if i can adjust my plans to come down for the weekend. There are peeps I need to harrass down there anyway.
posted by mrzarquon at 4:31 PM on April 27, 2008

Oh man, then we can longboat in person.

NOT A SEX THING
posted by cortex at 4:45 PM on April 27, 2008

Damnit, didn't move fast enough. I'm flying out of PDX at 2pm. I'm in town from Wednesday May 21 PM, though.
posted by dw at 6:33 PM on April 27, 2008

Whoa. Is that highlighty thing new?
posted by dersins at 10:08 PM on April 27, 2008

I was actually thinking the same thing. I guess it's been too long since I've been to a meetup.
posted by cortex at 10:32 PM on April 27, 2008

And dw, we could try to work out a miniature pre-meetup meetup. Beer on Friday afternoon at the pub across the street from my apartment.
posted by cortex at 10:34 PM on April 27, 2008

Great! I'm in. I like the Green Dragon too, this sounds perfect to me.
posted by ugf at 11:43 PM on April 27, 2008

Ah, Green Dragon. Good call. See you all then.
posted by not_the_water at 12:56 AM on April 28, 2008

Sounds fun. Wonder if Green Dragon is serving their absinthe now? I was told it "wasn't ready yet" last time I went in a few months ago.
posted by medeine at 7:30 AM on April 28, 2008

Mmmm...I love the Tuscan Bread Salad at the Green Dragon. Most excellent choice. And we can get our foosball on. I do believe that the 24th will work for me. I shall check with my social secretary (aka wife) and find out.
posted by afflatus at 8:41 AM on April 28, 2008

I'm aiming to be there. Look forward to meeting folks.
posted by msalt at 12:04 PM on April 28, 2008

I would like to attend. So I'm gonna!
posted by rokabiri at 3:05 PM on April 30, 2008

I'm not at all sure what the future holds, but Ground Kontrol was a hoot, so yeah.
posted by Nabubrush at 8:56 PM on May 6, 2008

I don't think I can join but if I can I will because the Green Dragon is my favorite haunt right now. It hits so many buttons.
posted by amanda at 1:05 PM on May 10, 2008

I just booked my hotel room (mini vacation for me) for the night of the 24th. I'll be driving down early in the day, and hanging out all saturday / sunday.
posted by mrzarquon at 12:13 PM on May 12, 2008

what part of town you staying in, mrzarquon?
posted by dersins at 12:33 PM on May 12, 2008

I'm staying up by the convention center. Really because the hotel rooms are cheap, and its just inside the free ride zone on the red line.
posted by mrzarquon at 2:36 PM on May 12, 2008

Ooh-- a reasonable drunken stumble from one of my favorite divey bars. You in the Holiday Inn?
posted by dersins at 3:37 PM on May 12, 2008

Red Lion actually. Big ole convention center hotel, so its pretty empty on weekends. Free wifi, and my last job used to put me up there (and it was a lot nicer than the la quinta).
posted by mrzarquon at 5:07 PM on May 12, 2008

(also, i found the 5th quadrant to be quite enjoyable also)
posted by mrzarquon at 5:13 PM on May 12, 2008

Sign me up!

(for the meetup, not Red Lion. Although I'm sure it is a fine establishment.)
posted by click at 12:20 AM on May 13, 2008

Danke to mumkin for pointing this out. Bunnycakes and I are moving to PDX around the 23rd, would like to say hola.
posted by bhance at 8:50 AM on May 14, 2008

Awesome! Definitely come by.
posted by cortex at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2008

More people! Huzzah!
posted by dersins at 9:26 AM on May 14, 2008

Sweet jeebus the place is like 4 blocks from our house, too. We can stumble home!
posted by bhance at 9:39 AM on May 14, 2008

Huh. I can probably make this. I'm glad I stumbled on this through that Comcast post in the green.
posted by Caduceus at 12:07 PM on May 14, 2008

About fucking time people.
posted by alan at 1:36 PM on May 14, 2008

Oh, hey, is your friend Alex going to be able to make it?
posted by cortex at 1:38 PM on May 14, 2008

Nope, Alex can't make it. He'll be hanging out with Alana.
posted by alan at 12:05 AM on May 15, 2008

I'll be there. Not sure I'm that experienced with longboating, but I do appreciate vikings.
posted by Secretariat at 7:55 AM on May 16, 2008

Nuts, it turns out that I'm going to be in Eugene for a show on the 24th. Cortex, if you do the pre-meetup meetup with dw, could you drop me a line? I think I can wrangle some time on Friday before I drive down to Eugene.
posted by afflatus at 11:23 AM on May 16, 2008

How does one define afternoonish? My house is perilously close to the Green Dragon (yay!) but the 24th is moving into said house day (boo!), so I will definitely need a beer (yay!) but may not be able to get away (boo!) depending on the timing.
posted by turbodog at 5:09 PM on May 20, 2008

I think of afternoonish as "starting about 4 or so". Others should probably chime in here with other definitions, because firming it up is probably a good idea.
posted by cortex at 5:16 PM on May 20, 2008

4pm works for me. gives me plenty of time to sleep in, drive myself down there, and harass other locals i know in the area.
posted by mrzarquon at 6:20 PM on May 20, 2008

4 sounds good to me. Of course, that won't stop me from being late, but still....
posted by dersins at 9:36 PM on May 20, 2008

What dersins said.
posted by mumkin at 10:48 AM on May 21, 2008

How do you guys generally recognize each other at these things. This will be my first. And, you know, I don't know you guys that well, so I'm a little nervous.
posted by Caduceus at 8:19 PM on May 21, 2008

We're a big group of internet nerds. It's usually pretty obvious. Plus, there'll probably be at least one person wearing a metafilter t-shirt.

ANother tried and true technique is to ask groups of internet-nerdy people whether they are "friends of Matt Haughey."
posted by dersins at 8:52 PM on May 21, 2008

I call "not wearing the tshirt" as I was the tshirt guy at the last two seattle meetups.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:32 PM on May 21, 2008

Meetup Bootstrap Protocol should definitely involve informing the bar staff. I've read too many failed meetup threads where folks passed in the night because no one told the house what was going on and everybody played it as cool as lesbian sheep. Not that there's much risk of us being covert... at 4 in the afternoon, I reckon the Green Dragon will be fairly sparsely occupied. If it would help, though, I could probably scrounge up some "Hello, My Name Is ________" name tags to amp the "I'm meeting random Internet people" vibe.
posted by mumkin at 10:56 PM on May 21, 2008

It's usually really easy to spot everyone. You'll be with a guy who looks like Jesus, sitting at a long table, possibly all to one side.

Telling the bartender helps a lot as well.
posted by sleepy pete at 11:06 PM on May 21, 2008

OK, cortex and I have agreed to a super bonus pre-meetup meetup on Friday, 6:30 pm, at the Market Street Pub.

I think. I can't seem to find that message.
posted by dw at 7:47 AM on May 22, 2008

We're a big group of internet nerds

Since the Green Dragon has become Mecca to local beer nerds, local internet nerds will blend in pretty well except for skewing slightly younger.

If no MeFi shirt is available, I recommend loudly mentioning Twitter every few minutes. Under no circumstances say "Westvleteren".
posted by turbodog at 2:49 PM on May 23, 2008

I may well be wearing my mefi t-shirt. If not, I'll still look like me.

In a bizarre twist, my band got invited by a booker this last week to play a set at the Green Dragon at about 9pm that night. No idea what that'll be like, I think we're the only ones playing and we have to bring our own PA to boot apparently, but, uh, heads up.
posted by cortex at 2:59 PM on May 23, 2008

I categorically refuse to discuss Twitter.
posted by dersins at 2:59 PM on May 23, 2008

That post about Twitter refusing to enforce its TOS on the blue yesterday made me glad I never got involved with it.
posted by Caduceus at 3:33 PM on May 23, 2008

In Europe they call it "Twittre".
posted by cortex at 3:45 PM on May 23, 2008

I'm here at the bar in a blue hawaiin shirt and a really tall glass of pilsner
posted by mrzarquon at 4:05 PM on May 24, 2008

OH MY GOD I'M HEADING OVER RIGHT NOW WOO
posted by cortex at 4:12 PM on May 24, 2008

Great meetup, everyone!
posted by OverlappingElvis at 7:55 PM on May 24, 2008

So great, in fact, that I'm coming back for more. With live music this time.
posted by mumkin at 9:10 PM on May 24, 2008

I was there too early and no-one was there so I left.

*bangs head on wall*

I should have read further down.
posted by fiercekitten at 10:14 PM on May 24, 2008

That was fun, all. We'll have to do it again sometime.

And Cortex put on a nice show with his band.
posted by Caduceus at 11:12 PM on May 24, 2008

Oh, mrzarquan, I expect those pictures on a flickr or some useful equivalent.
posted by Caduceus at 11:14 PM on May 24, 2008

Fun meeting and chatting with folks. Say more about Cortex's band. We had to leave long before they started. Any upcoming gigs?
posted by msalt at 12:34 AM on May 25, 2008

That was very entertaining. As I am quite hung over, I will be going back to bed now.
posted by dersins at 9:02 AM on May 25, 2008

msalt: the band is The Harvey Girls, and after the PA got sorted out it was a great show. Actually, it was pretty fine beforehand, but in a less intelligible kind of way. It looks like MySpace is your better bet for an updated gig list. I forget who was where, when, but your time at the meetup may not have overlapped with that of melissa may and sleepy pete, the band's founding members.

A great pleasure meeting everyone. What with comings and goings we must have had about 20 folks show, yes? Almost all of whom, it was noted, were bespectacled and bearded, as gender allowed. I shudder to think it, but shortly, the unflinching lenses of mrzarquon, rockabiri and cortex will reveal all. Metafilter.com: Anything for $5.
posted by mumkin at 9:44 AM on May 25, 2008

I have survived. Photos will go up this evening when I get back to seattle, when I can relax on the couch.

Also, not hungover. And many thanks to cortex's friend who dropped me off at the hotel, as that made the evening much nicer.

How much does it cost to hang out with a bunch of mefites for 8 hours? about $60, same as in town.

Also, it appears there may have to be a regional mefite pinball tournament.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:08 AM on May 25, 2008

bhance- i forgot to mention, there is a really great lebanese place on grand, just walk out from belmont and take a right, it is just south of burnside IIRC. You can tell its the right one because there are people outside.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:13 AM on May 25, 2008

fiercekitten, no!

Yeah, that was a great time, folks. Let's do it again soon. It was a pleasure meeting a bunch of new folks.
posted by cortex at 10:18 AM on May 25, 2008

That's Nicholas' Restaurant that mrzarquon's talking about, bhance. Yum.
posted by mumkin at 10:23 AM on May 25, 2008

Fun meetup- good to meet you all. We will have to do these more often.

Nicholas' is near the Green Dragon? I forsee a really good hummus and beer night in my future. I've only had leftovers, but they were great.
posted by Secretariat at 10:30 AM on May 25, 2008

It was great to meet everyone! Thanks mrzarquon and mumkin for the Lebanese tip... Thanks to everyone for Portland advice. bhance and I are hearting the PDX! :)
posted by bunnycakes at 10:57 AM on May 25, 2008

My photos are up.
posted by cortex at 11:52 AM on May 25, 2008

It was a good time. I think next time we're asked to do a last minute show at a place that there's a meetup, we should say no, if only because I was too busy running around to really talk to many of the people there.

Welcome to Portland, bunnycakes and bhance.
posted by sleepy pete at 12:12 PM on May 25, 2008

Nicholas' Restaurant -- good but ridiculously crowded, and arguably overrated. Also, a pretty fair hike from Green Dragon (maybe 2 miles).

Two well-loved alternatives for similar food:
Yahala's, 8005 SE Stark and Aladdin's Restaurant, actually a quirky, atmosphere-free Syrian restaurant way out in Northeast at 6316 NE 33rd Ave but convenient to The Kennedy School, 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. which is also worth a visit (hint: Margarita w the fresh squeezed lime juice, rocks no salt.)

Damn, I'm hungry. Let's do a Lebanese food and bar-hopping meetup!
posted by msalt at 1:11 PM on May 25, 2008

Blast! I wasn't able to make it. I'm glad you guys had a great time.
(Secretly holding out for another free drinks and free arcade games meetup.)
posted by click at 2:10 PM on May 25, 2008

Nicholas' is actually just half a mile from the Green Dragon, and I will defend the deliciousness of their za'atar and shatta pizzas against all-comers. However, Aladdin's Café?! Good god man, I had no idea that there was a Syrian place tucked into that rundown Foodvilla. WTF? Thanks for the tip, I'm so there.
posted by mumkin at 2:24 PM on May 25, 2008

Unfortunately, because of my stubborn refusal to use the flash, the few photos I took look like nothing more than grey smears. Woooops.

You guys are a real swell bunch. I'm glad I had the chance to meet you all!
posted by rokabiri at 5:28 PM on May 25, 2008

Glad to meet all you folks, I am back up here in Seattle, photos are slowing uploading to flickr as I type. Just raw -> jpeg from my camera, didn't play around with retouching them yet.
posted by mrzarquon at 7:15 PM on May 25, 2008

Ze Photos, they are uploaded.
posted by mrzarquon at 7:59 PM on May 25, 2008

By the way, I listened to some of The Harvey Girls and really like it. (I"m a Shins, Magnetic Fields, Robyn Hitchcock fan so it's right up my alley.)
posted by msalt at 9:42 AM on May 27, 2008

You are not wrong about Aladdin's, msalt. For the Yum.
posted by mumkin at 9:37 PM on May 30, 2008