Burlington, VT meetup Sept. 14?

August 28, 2009 2:27 PM

Any interest in a Burlington, VT, meetup on September 14th when cortex is here?

I know cortex is going to be in the area on Sept. 14th - jessamyn or anyone around - is there a meetup in the works in this area?

posted by garnetgirl to MetaFilter gatherings at 2:27 PM (50 comments total)

That's awesome, you and I posted at pretty much exactly the same time. We could easily come out to Burlington or someplace midway like Montpelier. There is no current meetup in the works.
posted by jessamyn at 2:30 PM on August 28

That was funny! We were both posting at the same time!

Anywhere in the middle would be fine with me. I'm not sure who else from Burlington wants to come down - I know at least one other than will probably come down with me.

Montpelier might be a good halfway point. Any suggestions for that area?
posted by garnetgirl at 2:32 PM on August 28

On a Monday night, the irish pub migh tbe a decent choice. I'll ask my MontP friends to see what they'd suggest.
posted by jessamyn at 2:39 PM on August 28

What about the Black Door Bar & Bistro? It's right on Main Street (44 Main) and has a 3rd floor room that they let community groups use. Don't know about cost or if we could just show up and mingle on both the 2nd and 3rd floors. We could look into that if people are interested in getting together. Check them out at Black Door Bar & Bistro.
posted by garnetgirl at 2:47 PM on August 28

You mean McGillicuddy's Irish Pub on Langdon St.? That's supposed to be a pretty good place I think.
posted by garnetgirl at 2:59 PM on August 28

So is that the first time a mod has closed their own thread?
posted by caddis at 3:01 PM on August 28

I'm up for pretty much anything, as long as there's beer, and have seen none of Vermont previously. I'm stoked.

Tentative plan is to crash at Jessamyn's place on the 13th; I fly out of BVT at 11:20am on the 15th, so if it makes sense and is convenient to crash somewhere closer to Burlington than Randolph the night of the 14th, that'd be cool, though I can crash at Jessamyn's again that night if there's nothing super workable.
posted by cortex at 3:02 PM on August 28

You could crash at my place - I'm about 15-20 minutes from the airport. Only problem is I'm a teacher and have to work on Tuesday - but I live only a block from the bus station and the bus goes to the airport. I ride the bus all the time and it's pretty reliable. Would that maybe work?
posted by garnetgirl at 3:09 PM on August 28

Yeah, that'd probably work just fine, garnetgirl. Thanks!
posted by cortex at 3:15 PM on August 28

So is that the first time a mod has closed their own thread?

Pretty sure I've closed my own double post before. Don't know about the fellas. I'm game for either McGillicuddy's or the Black Door and we can do the cortex handoff there. I'll ping my other Vermont pals and see who else might want to join and if they've got opinions.
posted by jessamyn at 3:16 PM on August 28

Black Door is excellent but pricey and upstairs. I like McGillicuddy's very much. One of my favourite pubs when I lived there — spent every Sunday there during the Steelers' 2005 Super Bowl season.

Plus Langdon Street Cafe is a stone's throw away and that night is open mic! Someone bring a guitar for cortex? I don't have a case for mine.
posted by terrapin at 4:11 PM on August 28

ooooh, I like that place. I have a banjomandolin he could use.
posted by jessamyn at 4:12 PM on August 28

errr... "and upstairs can be loud — and smoke drafts in from the back deck."
posted by terrapin at 4:14 PM on August 28

Open mic could be a hoot, and I'll play anything with strings on it, but those are usually not-a-dozen-people-drinking-and-shouting situations, so I'd hope there was another room in the bar where more typical meetup noisiness would take place.

Or I guess the implication is we could start at the one and then wander over to the other (with maybe a pre-emptive nip into Langdon Street to hit the signup boards when they open).
posted by cortex at 4:35 PM on August 28

Im game -- I have a bed in Montpelier that you can use. LSC is pretty rad.
posted by SirStan at 5:46 PM on August 28

Sounds like Langdon Street Cafe or McGillicuddy's are top choices. Either sounds good to me. I'll Memail around and see who else wants to join us.
posted by garnetgirl at 5:57 PM on August 28

Langdon Street would be my vote as I know the owners better and it is more casual cafe with a touch of food as well as drink. There is also a new place around the corner Three Penney Taproom. I'd go with one of those.
posted by meinvt at 6:34 PM on August 28

Might be good to go early someplace for drinks and dinner and then retire to the open mike afterwards? When I went there for music before, the place was on the quiet side so you could hear the music and there aren't really any rooms or anything where you can be noisy. I'm now partial to the Three Penny since it's the only place I've never been.
posted by jessamyn at 6:40 PM on August 28

A Monday, eh? I have to be in bed at 10 so it probably won't work for me. oh well. Have a great time!
posted by evening at 4:57 AM on August 29

Right now all signs point to me and I Could but I Won't (aka Mrs. Bango) being there. We're going to be in VT for a visit and right now our itinerary has us in Burlington on the 14th so we could easily drive over to Montpelier.

I never spent much time in Montpelier even when I lived in that part of the world (and that was five or six years ago) so I leave the decision making as to where left to those better suited to the task.
posted by Bango Skank at 7:47 AM on August 29

That sounds like a lot of fun. I'll try to show up if I'm free.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 2:50 PM on August 29

Thanks to garnetgirl and jessamyn for suggesting this, I expect to make it, and I will buy all of you at least one bear. Errr... beer.
posted by vers at 3:10 PM on August 29

McGillicuddy's will probably be full of Monday Night Football (and you'd probably better be a Patriots fan).
LSC seems like an obvious place for a MeFi meetup (+ there's free WiFi).
It would normally be convenient for me since I work 2 blocks away, but I'll be coming back from Canada on the 14th.
posted by MtDewd at 1:50 PM on September 2

I guess we need to narrow this down to location and time. Did I mention mathowie is going to be attending? My feelings

- open mike would be awesome but will be one of those "shhhh the guy is playing" things and might be better for later
- is Three Penny okay for food?
- Who wants to call it?
posted by jessamyn at 4:09 PM on September 8

I'm in.

That'll teach you to publicize these things.
posted by FauxScot at 7:53 PM on September 8

Me and I Could But I Won't will definitely be there!

What's the general consensus about non-Mefites attending meet-ups? A good friend of mine who I will be visiting in the area expressed an interest in showing up to the LSC part of the evening if not the whole event. He has never heard of Metafilter but is a generally awesome dude anyway.

I just looked at the Three Penny site linked to above and I didn't see many details about food offerings so once again I will defer to the folks with more local knowledge.
posted by Bango Skank at 11:10 AM on September 9

Non-mefites are always welcome, please bring him along.
posted by jessamyn at 11:12 AM on September 9

I don't know about the Monday night football crowd, but McGillicuddy's sounds good for food (maybe 6:30 or 7ish?), and it's close to LSC for open mike later. I'm open to whatever. It will be great fun to see everyone!
posted by garnetgirl at 2:50 PM on September 9

As much as I adore McGillicuddy's I must agree that first Monday Night Football of the year AND the Patriots playing AND the game starting at 7pm and not the usual 9pm may make for a challenging meetup.

I have never been to the Three Penny Taproom. They say they serve tapas all night.

I agree with jessamyn about LSC and not wanting to be rude to the performers. Open mic starts at 7, and the last slot is 10:30.

Food places in Montpelier are pretty good, but often times pricey. Sarducci's is good Italian and wood-fired pizzas, but seems to be crowded every night. Pizzas are good and relatively affordable, but everything else is a bit steep. Service isn't that good.

The aforementioned Black Door is too rich for my blood. Plus the small footprint and brick walls make it a tough place for conversation.

Restaurant Phoebe is very good, but again very pricey.

Village Pizza is a dive, but may be an option. Not sure about their beer selection.

Royal Thai Orchid is a fave place of mine. Reasonably priced, good food, and the beer list is the usual found in a Thai place. Likely to have room for all of us as the big round table in the back.

Positive Pie II would be a good choice too. Awesome pizza, and a good selection of beer. Brick walls do make for awkward chat, but on a Monday night it shouldn't be an issue.

Someone please make the call so turtlegirl and I know where to meet you all. We won't be staying late though as we both have busy days on Tuesday and need to get ready for the Tunbridge Fair.

Eideteker threatened to drive up and stay with us so he could attend, but I haven't heard more. What's the word, bro?
posted by terrapin at 9:00 AM on September 10

Main Street Bar & Grill (NECI place) is okay, but it is closed on Mondays.
posted by terrapin at 9:01 AM on September 10

Why don't we carve out space at the Three Penny and then motor over to the LSC? 6-6:30? Time for a beer and some food and then if people are all-fired to go to LSC [which also has beer and food] they can head or stay at the Three Penny. They're all real close near each other.
posted by jessamyn at 9:38 AM on September 10

I just want food I can't get in the Caribbean. And good conversations, or at least interesting ones. And a chance for Mr. I could but I won't (aka Bango Skank) to meet his friends from the internets. And we'll be on vacation so no curfew! Let the good times roll!
posted by I could but I won't at 10:13 AM on September 10

I like jessamyn's suggestion.
posted by terrapin at 2:29 PM on September 10

I agree with jessamyn - Three Penny around 6-6:30pm and then head to LSC for open mike. Good plan!!
posted by garnetgirl at 2:33 PM on September 10

Yeah, yeah. We'll see you all there.
posted by Bango Skank at 5:22 AM on September 11

I'll be there!
posted by mathowie at 9:03 PM on September 11

I'm planning to be there as well.
posted by meinvt at 6:55 AM on September 12

Damn, this isn't going to be at the Wayside? Forget it, I won't be attending.

(Well, I wasn't going to attend anyway, then again, I'm three+ hours away and it's a work day. Have fun, kids!)
posted by not_on_display at 11:09 AM on September 13

I'm doomed to never make a meetup, I guess. Couldn't work out the Barre one last year, and I couldn't find anyone at Burning Man, and now that this one's been moved from walking distance in Burlington to driving distance in Montpelier, I discover this morning that my car is completely dead.

I hate everything in the world.
posted by The Man from Lardfork at 9:57 AM on September 14

Maybe you can carpool?
posted by jessamyn at 10:47 AM on September 14 [1 favorite]

Hey, so Three Penny looks like it probably won't have either space enough or sufficiently real food for the crowd, so we're heading around the corner to the pizza joint instead! So come there!
posted by cortex at 3:16 PM on September 14

THAT WAS FUN. Did anyone happen to see cortex's black ditty bag? It seems to be missing.
posted by jessamyn at 8:30 PM on September 14

That damn bag. 12 inches long, 3" on a side, zip up, black with some mesh. Mess of cords and electronic crap inside.

I left a message with Pi, after getting their after-hours vm.

That annoying non-emergency aside, I had a great time and it was a pleasure meeting y'all.
posted by cortex at 8:34 PM on September 14 [1 favorite]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sirstan/3923025050/

Half the gang, before the other half arrived.
posted by SirStan at 5:55 AM on September 15

My photos are up. I didn't see my stupid gadget bag in any of them.
posted by cortex at 10:28 AM on September 15

Had a blast. Great meeting so many new people, including the guy in the glasses from Oregon ... forget his name, but real nice. Big welcome to our newest Vermont Mefite, bookrach!

My photos

We need to change the title of this thread since we met in Montpelier and not Burlington!
posted by terrapin at 11:47 AM on September 15 [1 favorite]

I had such a great time last night! You Vermonters are awesome (as are the Portlandians and the Islanders, of course :) Now I have more reasons to add to my list: "Why Vermont Is My Favorite State".
I can't wait til my next visit!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 12:38 PM on September 15 [1 favorite]

Thanks for a great time all!
posted by meinvt at 4:44 PM on September 15 [1 favorite]

It was great to meet up with everyone last night and put faces with names. Hope we can do it again soon!
posted by garnetgirl at 8:01 PM on September 15 [1 favorite]

Thanks to all for a great start to the week and getting me started as a Mefite!
posted by bookrach at 9:20 AM on September 17 [1 favorite]