I can hardly remember the last time I attended an SF meetup, so that clearly means it’s time to host another one!
I am home for the first time in 14 months and I’d love to see all of you yay-urrea mutineers, readers and lurkers alike. On Saturday, December 6, let’s meet for kappi (fine, or chai) at 4pm. While I always champion my beloved, Illy-serving Caffe Greco, in North Beach, I am open to other suggestions, especially if they’re easier to travel to/park at AND the food/libations are excellent. I’d suggest Vik’s (first. Berkeley/east Bay. meetup.) but I’m sure it will be impossible for us to snag tables etc.
Leave suggestions and ideas in the comments below. I return to D.C. on December 7th, so I hope to see some of you soon! 🙂
::
Update: It seems like a lot of you are busy that Saturday, which makes me wonder if Friday would be easier. Please let us know: which is better, Friday night or Saturday afternoon? …which is why it’s great that we are meeting up on FRIDAY, at Udupi, at 7pm.
Any tips about whether it is better to go at, say 6:30 or 7:30 or anything else you know which could make this go smoother would be greatly appreciated.
Also, start pondering a chill place which we could go to after Udupi– ideally somewhere we’d still be able to hear each other. 🙂 Thanks!
How about someplace seriously desi, say, Sunnyvale? I’m sure Saravana Bhavan or Vaigai can be persuaded to set aside space.
1 · Macaca #2 said
Normally, I’d be down, because I heart South Indian veggie food, but I have to be in SF until 4 and again at 7, so it would be next to impossible AND it would involve a lot of driving (even SF is 100 miles away for me). Besides what are you trying to say? Berkeley and SF are less seriously brown? 😉
As per the 2000 census, Brownpop in Bay Area counties:
Alameda 48,933
CCosta 13,718
SF 6,825
SMateo 13,521
SClara 72,329
SF and Berkeley are good too! They’re just more like Dark Tan rather than Brown 😉
I like Viks.
BTW, would there be a possibility of 2 meetups? SF/Berkeley on Sat, SouthBay on Sun? Just asking.
3 · Macaca #2 said
That’s fascinating, though not entirely shocking, since a lot of desis seem to live just outside of major cities. I know wayyy more brown people who live in Silver Spring, MD or Northern VA than I do in D.C., itself. I’m interested to see what the next census turns up.
Are there similar restaurants a bit further north? 🙂 Since I’m usually car-less (when I’m in D.C. and thus, 3,000 miles from my Mom’s ride, that is), I’d like to express solidarity with those who rely on public transportation…is there a good spot that’s accessible that way?
5 · Vik said
Like I said, I’m not staying in the Bay area, so the South Bay is rather far for me…not to mention I fly back to the right coast on Sunday, the day after our potential meetup. 😉
I wish I could be there! If we still lived in SF I would be totally down. My favorite place to go was always Cafe De La Presse. Fairly central and close ’nuff to the action to extend the fun to dinner and drinks.
If you’re looking for South Indian food in SF proper, there are Udupi Palace and DOSA, both near 21st and Valencia in the Mission.
dosa is for poseurs. pliiiz. but udupi palace on valencia is tasty, reasonably priced and public transport friendly. and good madras coffee!
Never been to either… could be fun… Never met any of you before either… could be fun… lol
Well, after consulting Yelp (always a tension-fraught exercise for me), Udupi in the Mission looks like a solid choice, especially since I have no desire to go to Dosa. Not when it opened and people commented about it on SM, and certainly not now.
One thing to note (besides one non-desi idiot’s complaint that a dosa at Udupi wasn’t spongy enough…um, I live for crispy ghee/paper/mysore dosa) is that Udupi is CASH ONLY, but if we warn people in advance, they shouldn’t have to get ripped off by the closest ATM, which apparently charges usurious fees.
Unless one of you comments with serious objections (accompanied by juicy anecdotes), I’m thinking we have our venue…of course the fact that it doesn’t take reservations makes things a bit dicey, innit?
Udupi in the city sounds good. I’m in! 🙂 Might be a lil late 🙂 Finally, making it out to a meetup 🙂
Count me in! As a long time Sepia lurker and very recent SF transplant, I’m looking forward to meeting some of you. -P 🙂
Hello Anna, How about catching “The Great Puppet Bollywood Extravaganza! ” while you are in the bay area
I might be around.
i’ve always wanted to attend one of these, but heartbroken i’ll be spending the coming Sat with abt a hundred brown ppl at my house for a puja. that in mind, i’d suggest the meet up be here but i understand that the south bay will be out of the way for you.
Just an FYI, Vik’s has seriously expanded recently and has a ton of tables now 🙂
Crap, I have to work that whole weekend. Have fun!
12 · A N N A said
Spongy dosa… ewwwwwww… Did he get lost on the way to the Blue Nile?
We need another dosa porn thread…
I second udupi.
I’m there. 🙂 [wherever there ends up being — Grecco? Udupi? Vik’s?]
I am down, I live in Menlo Park so either SF or sunnyvale is good for me. Long time lurker… it will definitely be nice to meet some of you. I’ve eaten at the sunnyvale udupi and the berkeley udupi. The former is excellent, the latter, is okay. Hopefully SF udupi will be somewhere in between?
Nice!! I’ll be there.
Now if my son didn’t have an appt with Santa in South Bay, I would be here…sigh perhaps next time!
Would Friday night be better? My Saturday is starting to look crazy.
I am one of the thousands of desis that alight from the 9:30 train from Fremont (40 miles away). Friday night meetup in SF would be perfect! I will attend.
BTW, Fremont is majority Asian-American, and I suspect half of the non-white population is Indian. Are there more browns in Fremont than in Sunnyvale? If No, then it is a close contest.
For the confused commenter whose comment spew was just deleted: this is an American blog about the South Asian diaspora. This is not an Indian blog written in, for or solely about India.
and I suspect half of the non-white population is Indian.
aren’t they mostly afghan?
Friday night works for me
I think i can make it friday night as well.
29 · razib said
yea a LARGE middle eastern population. and most of the indians are gujjus. There are also a lot of filipinos.
The indians in Santa Clara county are more diverse.
Anyways im home this week too, but i dont think i can come cuz im kinda young and my over protective indn parental units still havent grasped the idea that i can go places that far on my own.
I thought a large chunk of the Fremont browns were Pakistani and Afghani?
I’m personally down for Saturday. It’s just a transit availability / flexibility thing.
Long time lurker here. I’m down, friday or saturday. I prefer SF or east bay, but will make the trek if its in the south bay…As for Fremont, I thought most of the indos there were Punjabi? Brown central, that fremont 🙂
Yes, there are a lot of Afghanis in a certain pocket of Fremont. But probably not too many more than the population of any of the following Indian sub-groups: Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Pubjabi. I have tried to put them in descending order of perceived numbers. Note that this is only my perception. It may not bear out if we start drilling down into actual numbers! Is that fair, now?! 🙂
My bottom line for this thread: Friday evening will work better for many people that work in downtown SF.
It’s definitely going to be SF or Berkeley; I think the day we choose will determine that, since Vik’s closes at 6 on Friday.
Camille, would Friday be impossible? Would love to see you!
::
In other news, I’m really starting to loathe a lot of the reviews on Yelp!; I know, I only have myself to blame for reading, but when I want to find the hours of op for a venue, it’s usually one of the first results! Then…well, it’s like a train wreck. I thought Yelp!ers in DC were bad, but a few of SF’s are just AWFUL. Comparing dosa to an ex- you shamefully hook up with (!), announcing that you’re putting on your _____ hat to review a place (“ooh, it’s snug!”) or otherwise trying way too hard to be cute and irreverent makes me want to drop kick the beloved, venerable, wheezing iBook. Yes, you’re precious and clever, Yelping snowflakes– just like everyone else. 😛
Between this and the creative interpretations of “semi-formal attire” I witnessed at the event I went to with Moms earlier today, I’m well-reminded of why I switched coasts a decade ago– and I’m grimly asserting my haterade knowing full-well that I basked in 60 degree weather here while my loved ones elsewhere fought brutal storms to get home and that THIS is what I often run in to on my adopted coast (language NSFW or kind, sentient individuals like Saheli).
I have yet to be IN San Francisco or Berkeley “proper” though (visiting fam throughout the suburbs), so I have high hopes for this meetup, mutineers. 😉 No pressure…
35 · Amit said
Judging by your 9:30 Fremont BART routine, I’d say your perception is based on the shades of brown and yellow living around the BART/Fremont Hub. Fremont is huge and if you care for figures, South Asians including the Afghan community, said to be the largest in the country, comprise ~12%
Have been a SM reader since my ‘expat’ days in SE Asia, recent transplant to SF Bay Area, Udupi SF smells like a good coffee!
Since we can’t make reservations, has anyone tried to go to dinner at Udupi on a Friday night? Tips? Suggestions? Will it be impossible?
Would 7pm Friday work for people? I’d love to get a preliminary head-count.
I’m a long time reader! What time were you guys thinking of? I’m super close to north beach, so I can pop in real quick. Either days work fine for me
following thursday is friday, i am shackled. saturday is good
If you were thinking about coming and you haven’t weighed in on your preference for Friday night at Udupi or Saturday afternoon at Vik’s, please do so, so we may finalize this.
Thanks! 🙂
I can’t come on Saturday but Friday’s good. Hmm?
Prefer Sat since I’m in South bay. Would also like to carpool with anyone who’s attending the meetup.
38 · A N N A said
I never go to Udupi when I am in the Bay Area – I much prefer to expend my limited food opportunities and sambar dollars during my visit on Saravana Bhavan, Annapoorna, or Komala Vilas, but my guess is that you are not going to have much luck finding room for a big party at a desi restaurant on a Friday evening (Saravana’s definitely has the wait sometimes overflowing into the parking lot). Another place to consider might be Madras Cafe in Mountain View.
44 · Rahul said
But are those places IN San Francisco? The South bay is out of the question, I’m driving back the same night.
45 · A N N A said
Oh, I wasn’t aware of that constraint, sorry – just saw your comment #36.
i’m in for friday, but could probably do saturday as well. look forward to meeting new folks
i’m down… friday may be hard, sat is better, but i would love to make it out!
prefer sat.
Sounds like fun…saturday works better.