Last week, Glyph, Saul, Aaron David, and I got together for drinks and dinner, the occasion being that the one of us who isn’t more or less local was visiting from the land of Disney World and kudzu. We met at a typical downtown San Francisco bar, meaning it was crowded, loud, and overrun with people who really don’t look old enough to drink. (Overheard conversation: “The best metaphor for that situation is recursive DNS lookup.” SF, where a geek can be a geek.)
It turned out that we don’t have a terrific amount in common, expect perhaps pairwise (Glyph and I both have unfortunate senses of humor, Saul and I are both culturally east-coast Jews, Aaron and I have a lot of tastes in common like science fiction and the Coen brothers, Aaron and Glyph both have fascinating family histories, Saul and Glyph both have a deep love of music, Saul and Aaron … OK, nothing immediately comes to mind), but we were all instantly comfortable together, which is one of the great things about OT: the fact that it’s created a geographically sprawling but close-knit yet frequently bickering extended family.
So we got on pretty much like a house afire. We discussed the important topics of the day, like best gangster movie ever (Miller’s Crossing) the best drug movie ever (the consensus was Trainspotting, with one vote for Up in Smoke), the best 80’s Polish TV series ever (The Decalogue, directed by the same guy as Three Colors who also wrote Me and Bobby McGee), as well as less contentious subjects like Obamacare and what to do about ISIS.
I very quickly lost my resolve to leave early to catch the last boat home, and we wound up staying until almost midnight, with our waiter warning us every so often that various services were closing for the night (hot food, cold snacks, drinks, and I think we left shortly before they rolled up the floor.) All in all, a night to remember.
No photos?Report
Man, that sounds like a blast! Whenever I hear of members of this community extending their relationships into non-digital life, I get a warm and happy feeling. I have yet to meet someone from here where I wasn’t grateful for the experience.
My only regret to hearing this is that it wasn’t fivesome with me being that fifth wheel.Report
@tod-kelly, I’m going to be in Portland, Oregon in mid-April 2015. Around the 15th.Report
Dude! How long will you be in town? Adult beverages, dining out and dining in all await you if you have time.Report
@tod-kelly, I will fly in on the 14th and leave on the 16th. The fifteenth at night is good. I have case at 1:30 but should be done by 4:30 or 5:00.Report
Perfect. Let me know what you might prefer, dinner at Che Kelly or one of PDX’s restaurants. (And if there are any of those you’ve been curious to try…)Report
I had Clyde Common. What else do you recommend?Report
@leeesq
http://podnahspit.com/Report
@saul-degraw
Oh man… on the full-version of that site, the one image that shows diners… that one dude — and the broader context he is in — should be the poster for hipsterdom.Report
Man, Portland stole Austin’s slogan, and now they’re stealing our bbq and migas? When will it end?!Report
I’ll say that I’m intrigued by their lamb rib special, which I’ve never heard of (not smoked at least), but I always look a bit curiously at a place that does both beef and pork barbecue.Report
Texas BBQ is both beef (brisket) and pork (ribs).
R. always complains that the ribs taste like ham.Report
But they had pulled pork. And fried fish. You are the expert but I don’t associate those with Texas ‘cue at all. And makes me wonder if they’re taking the “Jack of all trades” approach.
It does LOOK good though.Report
Yeah, pulled pork is southeast (where I’m from, bbq = pulled pork), but a lot of Texas places sell it. I avoid it here, though. It never seems quite right.
The fish? That must be ’cause they’re by the ocean.Report
The bar where we got together had a sandwich they called a Reuben that was made with pastrami. I expressed my disapproval in no uncertain terms.Report
Man, Portland stole Austin’s slogan
“Portland: not really Texas”?Report
@leeesq Depends… what kind of grub so you like? Pok Pok has a national reputation; so does Ned Ludd. But there are lots of other great places.Report
You can’t go wrong with an invitation like that, @leeesq . Enjoy!Report
Well, @tod-kelly , next time you are down this way, drop us a line!Report
I will!Report
Sounds like a blast.Report
I had no idea Glyph was from California. Did I miss that?Report
He was just hear on business and arranged the whole event.Report
Ah…. Disney WORLD! I read it as Disney LAND.
Still, I didn’t know he was from Florida.Report
And you thought California had kudzu?Report
I don’t know what kudzu is. I assumed it was a Japanese dish. Which seemed California-y.Report
Kudzu is an invasive speciesof climbing vine that, when the global temperature rises a few more degrees, will take over the planet.Report
“will take over the planet.”
And about damn time.Report
Funny how even people who were born and raised and California can’t escape being East Coast cultural Jews 🙂Report
I was born in New Jersey. We moved out here when I was four.Report
So you’re one of me! HUZZAH!Report
Man I am so jealous.Report