My vote for the Orange County meeting:
Friday 25 October 2006
18:00 (6:00 PM)
Gypsy Den Coffee House
I forgot, another possibility for the September 16 / 23 gathering for the L.A. folk.
Seva Café
short description: sandwich & soup & salad restaurant, staffed by volunteers. At the end of the meal, you are presented with a list of what you ordered, and you donate whatever you feel like (nothing if you can’t afford to pay.) Great communal atmosphere.
http://bethecause.org/compassion/index.php?location=sevacafe
Every Saturday from 5pm to 10pm until October 14th
at the Royal Cup Coffee Shop
994 Redondo Ave, Long Beach, CA 90804
Seva Café is an experiment in the joy of giving. It is very different from most restaurants specifically because there are no prices to any of the meals, it is run mostly by volunteers, and every meal is prepared with one single-minded focus: to serve with love. At the end of the meal, every guest is also given the opportunity to participate in the circle of giving. Guests can give from their heart whatever they wish, and those donations are used to pay for future guests’ meals. Any remaining profits are used to support charitable projects.
The 16th would be easier for me. I might be able to make the 23rd.
I owuld prefer Buca as it is a great place for groups.
I am very flexible and will go wherever.
I vote for the Gypsy Den this friday.
As for the Sept meeting, either date is fine with me as long as it is decided on by the end of this month. I liked how we went to a museum before hand at the last LA dopefest I went to. Maybe we could also do that on the sept date?
Won’t be able to make the August gathering (pesky job), but the September dates-- Er, come to think of it those won’t work for me either, as I’ll be in Hawaii. (I’ll be thinking of y’all, though.) 
I could make either of the September dates, although the 23rd is more ideal. I am however not picky. Italian is good, but so is FREE PIE!
Friday between 5:00 and 6:00 sounds great. But how do we find each other at The Den? I haven’t met any Dopers IRL, so I’m not going to recognize anyone.
I can make either of the September dates, but will vote for the 16th just so there are some votes.
I also vote for the Seva Cafe place in Long Beach which sounds super cool. Buca and Marie Calanders are good food, but those places are kinda normal. This place Seva sounds unusual and funky and fun. So there is my vote.
Nietzsche, I’ve got hair down to my ass and I’ll wear my star wars tshirt. If you guys want to wear nametags, then I can go and get a bunch of them and bring some markers.
kimera:
Cool, thanks. I’ll look for you and your Star Wars shirt.
I will try to remember to bring a Straight Dope book with me so that I can leave it on the table, which would be another clue. kimera, that’s a good idea to bring nametags.
I guess it’s official then, some of us will be meeting at the Gypsy Den in Costa Mesa on Friday 25 August 2006 between 17:30 (5:30 PM) and 18:00 (6:00 PM). I’m looking forward to it.
Pfft, never mind the book (well, yeah, bring the book), wear the gold shirt! Everybody else will be able to see you from the parking lot. 
And trust me, guys, you’ll recognize kimera more from the Rapunzel hair than the shirt. 
Sounds like a lot of fun is going to be had by all, except, unfortunately, me and Spiny Norman, as we’re completely booked up this weekend. And part of what we’ll be busy with is getting my niece moved into our place, where she’ll be staying until she can find a job. She also needs to find a good home for her kitty, which I posted a thread about here. So if all you good SoCal Dopers would be so kind as to check it out and let us know if you (or anyone you know) can help, we’d sincerely appreciate it!
And I’ll mark our calendar for the September Dopefest and we’ll try to make that one.
Have fun everybody (and take lots of pictures)!
Hey Gozu, I had forgotten about that Gold Shirt™! Not that I would want to wear it again, that was only good for a younger Arnold. But if I do muster up the courage you’ll be dazzled by my brilliance!
Hope to see you in September Shayna. I’ll be tallying up the L.A. votes so far later on.
Johnny L.A., were you going to be there on Friday? I guess I don’t keep track, I though you had moved on to the great northwest.
I did. but I’m ‘bi-borderal’ now. Crappy day at the office, so I’m this close to going home for good. I’m planning to be at the gathering if I’m not too pissed off.
If I can escape from work at 5:30, I might get there by 6, 6:30 at the latest. Hope to see you there!
Won’t make it, sorry. Pencil me for Pasadena in September.
I uploaded photos! You can find them at my flickr account here.
I had a lot of fun and I can’t wait until next month’s dope fest. Have we decided what date we are going to do it on yet?
Thanks for sharing, Kimera!
BTW…I enjoyed your Hawaii photos, especially the shots looking at the tree canopy from below…very artistic. Also, you have helped me discover that I might have a fetish for long hair. Tres cute.
Like a few others, maybe I can make Pasadena in September.
So how’d that sugar torch thing go? I’m one part curious and two parts apprehensive.