WikiMeetup in DC, looks to be a blowout Options

[The Wales Hunter]

Yeah, it's a Wetherspoons which usually does good food.

I'm hoping that's sarcasm, otherwise your tastebuds must be severely impaired.

Agreed

I wouldn't have minded turning up to the 17th meeting, but it's a Sunday. Why hold a meet-up on a Sunday, crazy.

[Peter Damian]

Yeah, it's a Wetherspoons which usually does good food.

I'm hoping that's sarcasm, otherwise your tastebuds must be severely impaired.

Nerd doesn't usually do irony, so I was puzzled by that one. Yes, Wetherspoons is famous for the horrid nosh.

[Eva Destruction]

The food looks great, however.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_meetup_10.JPG

I know the Penderels Oak quite well; it's a generic Weatherspoon shithole but (as with most Weatherspoons) the food is excellent and cheap.

Yes, Wetherspoons is famous for the horrid nosh.

Don't agree at all there. For the price Wetherspoons food is probably the best value in central London; I'd agree with choosing somewhere as cheap as possible for something like this, so as not to make the unemployed/kids/retirees (all over-represented on Wikipedia) feel unwelcome and priced out. Besides, if you're having it in central London and don't want a sit-down restaurant, the choice is pretty much between Wetherspoons and McDonalds.

[The Wales Hunter]

Don't agree at all there. For the price Wetherspoons food is probably the best value in central London; I'd agree with choosing somewhere as cheap as possible for something like this, so as not to make the unemployed/kids/retirees (all over-represented on Wikipedia) feel unwelcome and priced out. Besides, if you're having it in central London and don't want a sit-down restaurant, the choice is pretty much between Wetherspoons and McDonalds.

Ok, for central London you have a point! But there raises another question (and apologies for going way off topic, this is meant to be DC, not London!) - why hold it in central London? Anywhere in London, or just outside, is just as easy to get to.

[Somey]

...pizza is a food that most people can eat.

I can't - it has cheese on it!

I ate at The Monocle once, and also the Capitol City Brewing Company a couple of times - those would probably be the most convenient places to Union Station, at least as far as places I can recommend are concerned. The Monocle would be way too pricey for WP'ers, of course.

(Edit) Oh, and I forgot, some friends once dragged me to the Tune Inn (on PA Ave. SE) - I wasn't impressed, and it's on the other side of the Hill from Union Station, but it was surprisingly cheap for that part of town.

This post has been edited by Somey: Sat 2nd January 2010, 6:39pm

[Peter Damian]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_meetup_10.JPG

I know the Penderels Oak quite well; it's a generic Weatherspoon shithole but (as with most Weatherspoons) the food is excellent and cheap.

I'm seeing cheap, I'm not seeing excellent. Perhaps it's the Sunday roast with gravy thing I am seeing in the foreground. I can deal with Sunday roast home-cooking style, but at a pub....

Sorry again to be de-railing the DC thread.

[A Horse With No Name]

Sorry again to be de-railing the DC thread.

Relax, Petey...nothing wrong with de-railing a thread

All I know is that when it comes to setting up a meeting at a restaurant, you have to ask yourself: do you want something that is classy or something that is cheap? If I am going to sit down for a meal with a bunch of silly people, I don't want a silly meal.

[Nerd]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_meetup_10.JPG

I know the Penderels Oak quite well; it's a generic Weatherspoon shithole but (as with most Weatherspoons) the food is excellent and cheap.

I'm seeing cheap, I'm not seeing excellent. Perhaps it's the Sunday roast with gravy thing I am seeing in the foreground. I can deal with Sunday roast home-cooking style, but at a pub....

Sorry again to be de-railing the DC thread.

If Eva knows the pub well and says the food is excellent, I'm sure it probably is.

[Peter Damian]

All I know is that when it comes to setting up a meeting at a restaurant, you have to ask yourself: do you want something that is classy or something that is cheap?

Something that is edible would be fine.

[Kelly Martin]

All I know is that when it comes to setting up a meeting at a restaurant, you have to ask yourself: do you want something that is classy or something that is cheap? If I am going to sit down for a meal with a bunch of silly people, I don't want a silly meal.

I couldn't care less about the quality of the food, but the coffee had damn well better be drinkable.

[Doc glasgow]

All I know is that when it comes to setting up a meeting at a restaurant, you have to ask yourself: do you want something that is classy or something that is cheap? If I am going to sit down for a meal with a bunch of silly people, I don't want a silly meal.

I couldn't care less about the quality of the food, but the coffee had damn well better be drinkable.

And the quality of the ale might compensate somewhat for the quality of the company.

But then, you couldn't do alcohol, could you. I mean "think of the children", exposing them to pornography, stalkers and legal culpability may be one thing, but not to ale.

[Cla68]

All I know is that when it comes to setting up a meeting at a restaurant, you have to ask yourself: do you want something that is classy or something that is cheap? If I am going to sit down for a meal with a bunch of silly people, I don't want a silly meal.

I couldn't care less about the quality of the food, but the coffee had damn well better be drinkable.

And the quality of the ale might compensate somewhat for the quality of the company.

But then, you couldn't do alcohol, could you. I mean "think of the children", exposing them to pornography, stalkers and legal culpability may be one thing, but not to ale.

If we ever have a WR meetup in Tokyo, I think I can promise a restaurant with good coffee (the Japanese take their coffee very seriously), fairly good ale (I think the mainstream Japanese beers are overrated, and they're lagers, not ales), and great food that doesn't have cheese on it.

[One]

I think part of the reason is the "Unlimited Soda Pop".

Wow, Pizza Buffet! In a great food town like DC, this is the best they can come up with? In honor of the kid in Africa, they should be dining out at this super Washington establishment!

Uno? I ate at Due once, but I really prefer the other Chicago chains. I wish they would open up Giordano's more places, but most people would just complain about the stuffed pizzas.

This post has been edited by One: Sun 3rd January 2010, 2:22am

[MBisanz]

Seeing as I live a block from Uno's, I probably will make an appearance, but yes, I do wish they had selected a better location palate-wise.

[Kelly Martin]

Uno? I ate at Due once, but I really prefer the other Chicago chains. I wish they would open up Giordano's more places, but most people would just complain about the stuffed pizzas.

The food at Duo is really nothing like the food at the franchise locations; I don't think they're even under the same ownership anymore. Unfortunately for the poor saps going to the meetup, Duo's better. Then again, Washingtonians have no appreciation for good pizza.

[EricBarbour]

Oh for crissakes.

If any of you fine citizens goes to either of these meetups, please, take photos of the guilty parties, and share them with the rest of us.....

[dtobias]

How many Italian-numbered pizzarias did they start before they standardized the franchise name as "Pizzaria Uno" like the name of their first one? If they hadn't done this, then people who ate out at a lot of different branches would get some lessons in how to count in Italian; they'd be somewhere way up in the hundreds by now.

[Eva Destruction]

Ok, for central London you have a point! But there raises another question (and apologies for going way off topic, this is meant to be DC, not London!) - why hold it in central London? Anywhere in London, or just outside, is just as easy to get to.

It needs to be somewhere fairly near Euston/Kings Cross/St Pancras, as so many of Wikipedia's UK editors live in the North. Since under Boris's New Covenant the transport network in London and south-east England generally grinds to a halt at 2359 on Saturday and doesn't restart until 0600 on Monday, it limits itself to walking distance of the stations; Camden and Islington places are too noisy for people to talk. I think they chose the right venue under the circumstances.

[Peter Damian]

It needs to be somewhere fairly near Euston/Kings Cross/St Pancras, as so many of Wikipedia's UK editors live in the North.

An interesting demographic I missed. Really?

[edit - we ought to have a separate 'London' thread really] If the King's X thing is the reason, why not Bloomsbury area which is famously studenty and has some good pubs. Or Fitzrovia which is the other side of Tottenham Court Rd and which has the famous Fitzroy Tavern? A long time since I went there but it apparently still has good food. Holborn on a Sunday is the middle of nowhere.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&source...ved=0CAgQnwIwAA

This post has been edited by Peter Damian: Sun 3rd January 2010, 3:51pm

[Mathsci]

All I know is that when it comes to setting up a meeting at a restaurant, you have to ask yourself: do you want something that is classy or something that is cheap?

Something that is edible would be fine.

At Cambridge Meetup 3, we did go to a pub with good food (The Free Press). There does seem to be some correlation between good food and real ale.