UYE Happy Hour Awesomeness at Luka’s

I’ve got a few more reasons to visit SF and Oakland:
Shoutouts to those who took a Saturday to hit up Luka’s (and buy me drinks), including (but not limited to) trooper and birthday girl Dee; smoking hot, super fab co-​hostess Kim D.; Holly W. for knocking back beers, plus ensuring I ate; Lily T. for sharing a tasty burger; Scott L. for making nourishing scones; Dave B. for beers and helping in Haiti; Sergio G. for being mad chill; Camille K. for being fashionable; Tammy C. for being sweetly awesome, repping a college I know; Tinna, Bryan, and Keane for braving Oakland, rocking shots; Kenny L. for making chemistry cool in the Bay; Edmund L. for hanging in multiple states; Selle A. for being pocketable and goosing me unsolicited; Susan C. for showing at her first event, posing in photos like a pro; Janice for being friendly and bringing a peep (s); Will the IT guy; and Ligaya for being Ligaya.
Thanks to Danny L., Peter L., John E., Michelle S., and Darryl P. for showing, too.
Ever the optimist, I predicted 20 attendees, and was pleased to see that number get blown out of the water. While we didn’t get the rear area, the DJ (who eventually appeared) and lounge more or less worked. Sassy Loren helped us the entire evening, but another server would’ve helped.
Next time we’ll have a solid guest count. And nametags.

All I can say is: «GOOD TIMES!» even for uptight looking yupiies like me, but then again, I like to dress down a bit and go casual.

You guys are so so so much fun!!!
And the great Dave, all the way from Philly to avoid the snow (and to then go back), who hosted such a fantastic and long drinking event.
You guys rock! I have met so many of you previously online, and now in person, with all the fun conversations!
Onto Luka’s, while I don’t usually drink too much beer, this place has numerous kinds of Belgian beer on tap and in bottles. The couple rooms are fantastic as the night went on, it turned into dim light and a dance floor!
Let the drinking start!

I need to cross the bridge more often.
With lots of beautiful Unilocal peeps mingling at the lounge, I knew the drive to the East Bay was worth it. You can feel the energy in the room as soon as you walk in. I loved seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. Everyone was just chillin, having an awesome time with drinks in one hand and cameras in the other, for LOTS of kodak moments. (especially when the dancing began!)
The bf even made an appearance (it’s a rare thing, like Haley’s comet!) and he thought us Unilocalers were «quirky». Boy, that’s an understatement.
My poison of choice: a well-​crafted rosemary gimlet. Belvedere vodka, fresh rosemary, rosemary syrup, fresh squeezed lime served up with a rosemary-​grape garnish. Sipping this drink was so wonderful, I couldn’t limit myself to just one so I had two. Okay, three. Um, four. (Shut up)
A million thanks to the extraordinary host/​hostesses who made my Saturday night just poppin: Kim D, Dave H, Holly W and Dee C (I’m bad I didn’t get to greet you a happy birthday!) BTW, is there another UYE in the works already?!?
This UYE was such a success because my friend Keith literally worked on his Unilocal profile as soon as he got home from Luka’s. YESSS… another one bites the dust!
Here’s to more happy hour awesomeness in the future! (in the very NEAR future, I hope)

Dozens of boisterous Unilocalers, an awesome selection on the rails, scrumptious eats, and loads of space to mix and mingle all stacked up to a UYE that seriously lived up to its name!
With Philly’s Dave H, Kim D (rocking one of her signature hats and Loboutins, of course), birthday girl Dee C, and LA’s Holly W hosting, folks flocked from far and wide. These joint endeavors are the way to do it! The energy was high, and everyone was there to paaaartay. Stellar way to roll into a Saturday night!

Beer good.

The third of four UYEs this past «weekend» that started on Thursday (that I know of).
This was only my second East Bay UYE but daym those Unilocalers were friendly. No over-​drinking required, lols, j/​k, but still love you guys SBC. :D The ladies are all fine too boot — other non-​UYE patrons included. It was held at Luka’s (
), which is a «taproom» — basically a bar/​lounge with lots of beers on tap with an adjacent dance floor area and a pool room.
Glad to see KimD again! Plus, finally meeting JaniceC and SelleA… and meeting SusanC (
), TammyC and DannyL and DavidB and re-​meeting CamilleK, JohnE, SergioG and Ligaya (no last initial required right?). Hope to return to another EB UYE and meet everyone else I didn’t get to this time, or have forgotten (I know, fail).
Had to have a few pints of Stellas of course. Also tried their «dungeness crab hush puppies» (
), clam chowder (
), and «yellowfin tuna tartare on flatbread» (
). All were pretty good and worthy of a non-​UYE revisit.

I had a blast introducing my Meetup +1 to my Unilocal friends at Happy Hour Awesomeness. Kim D looked fabulous in an extravagant floral hat and black nail varnish. Everyone looked and seemed ready to party!
My apologies for disappearing at the bar. Our coats spent more time in the lounge for the first half of the party than we did. We needed to start our own tabs and gossip before really diving into the party.
We really enjoyed ourselves once the party started. I connected with lovely folks I’d met at Gaga and Oyster Slurp. Two more ladies from my Meetup group unexpectedly crashed our party later on! Good times. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening.

The food was delicious! The burger was quite tasty and the mussels… Oh, the mussels with the Bouillabaisse sauce… Now that was amazing!
The drinks were savory and the people were great. Then again, Unilocalers are generally fun and extremely social, aren’t we? Especially after a few drinks…
It started to get pretty packed towards the end of the night with the Oakland locals as the Unilocalers dispersed. Big shout out to Darryl P, Tammy C, and Peter L who went to the South Bay UYE afterwards. Wow, you guys are troopers!

Ordered the delicious Winter Vegetable Tagine and Dogfish draft beer.
3 hours later from the waitress working the dancing lounge area, «You got the Tagine and Dogfish?» Wooooooow. Talk about teacher memory!
It was good seeing Dave, Holly, Lily, and Diane visiting from Philly and LA, as well as all the regular and new peeps from the Bay!
Best question/​answer of the night from Selle: Oh, I hate chemistry! Me: What do you do? Selle: I’m studying to be a nurse Me: *Runs away*

I finally got to meet Kim D. and Darryl P. Yay! (OK, I met a lot of Unilocalers for the first time. But those two have been my friends on the interwebz for a while.)
Ligaya picked me up and practically threw me over her shoulders. This means that either she’s really Hercules in disguise, or I’m officially not fat.

So it was around 6:45 pm and I said «Luka’s Here I come «
Arrived around 7:45 pm and it was pretty calm and quiet at first.
Dave H. is one hell of a guy and funny and cool at the same time. Finally met Kim D. (one hell of a good time) oh & thanks for the smooch! Tammy C. great company, lovely to talk with and great personality.
Ligaya in the house!!! Was so glad to finally meet Janice C!!! Seems like we already know each other and you are sooooo cool!!!
Darryl & Pete arrived and are totally cool as well.
Met the beautiful Susan C., & yes I did say Beautiful! …Thanks for the company and smiles!!! Everyone was great!!!
Disappointed that I didn’t see Grace, Jennifer C. and of course Chang L. Was looking forward to meeting you. Maybe another time.
Overall the Tahiti lite beer the waitress recommended was awesome and were going down like too damm fast… Music was great and the food looked great. Thanks for the good fun. Looks like a weekly Unilocal event is making my weekends funner and funner. See you at SF for the New years Celebration!!!

Hey I’m in the event pic! Cool! Heehee… This was my first event with a lot of the Unilocal superstars that I idolize and some day wish I could be as cool as. ;)
I arrived around 9pm and had such a blast with all the amazing people! I was a bit worried that I didn’t know anyone but from a few Unilocal messages, but everyone was really welcoming and made me feel at home. Great job to the hosts for finding such a kick *ss spot!
It was fun to watch the place go from 9pm smoozing to Oakland hip-​hop dance club. I’m a huge fan of diverse crowds and this for the most part was a lovely melting pot of Bay Area folk.
My 2 glasses of white wine were tasty. I was impressed with how the bus boys were super on top of their game.
Only thing I didn’t like was the person who seriously F*ck*d up my bumper when I was in Luka’s and didn’t leave a note!!! GRRRRR! And now I’m going to have to get it fixed b/​c it is rubbing something that makes a painful scrape sound when I drive that makes a small part of my soul die each time I hear it… poor Gabriella… she’s was only born a year and a half ago…
Anyone Unilocal review a good Detective/​Hit-​Man recently?

So… I’m wearing a Unilocal Stickini (because with the crazy stuff I typically wear on my head, I’m very difficult to miss)… Food has been eaten; Bacon Crème Brulee Porkgasm — check — and several rounds of drinks have been downed.
A flash of dark brown hair, cheers of «Ligaya!» erupt… and the next thing I know, my Leopard Louboutins are no longer gravitationally connected to the floor. La Ligaya gave me a massive embrace and lifted me off the ground. That girl has some sturdy Czech genes in her, for sure. They surely broke the mold!!!
The lounge lights dimmed, and behold: a live DJ starts spinning some old school grooves — the dance floor is packed, we’re rocking out to Prince’s «Kiss» and Tone Loc’s «Funky Cold Medina» — I’m getting down with a biochemist, Federal Agent, DOT auditor who belongs to a burlesque troupe, and a few RN’s.
Thanks, Dave H. for inspiring other Unilocalers to actually FLY out for some Bay Area Unilocalness… and letting me nominate the venue. You’re a helluva host! So glad that I got to meet the brilliant Michelle S., Susan C., get groped by Janice — Selle A. — you are soooo adorable — John E. — a gentleman and a real stand up guy.
Keane; always a pleasure to have you on this side of the Bay! Holly — Holla! Next time in SoCal, we’re going shooting — my treat… let’s get tactical, babe! Darryl, Peter and Tammy — thanks for the lift.
What I loved most about this UYE was that it was a diverse crowd — lots of out of towners, mixing and mingling… and it felt really inclusive — nobody got «lost» in the [intimate] crowd, but there was no shortage of the par-​tay vibe.
Drink service could have been more efficient, but Luka’s is just so happening, and who’s above bellying up to the bar and grabbing your own beverage, anyhow?
My only peeve was that the Hostess refused (2x) to let me bring the completely empty coat rack hiding in the corner — unused — INTO THE LOUNGE where we had lots of coats, but nowhere to put them. So, my Burberry Prorsum coat (and a dozen others that I retrieved) ended up ON THE GROUND. Not that I’m bitter or the least bit resentful, or anything like that. *hmph*
When I asked the second time, she chirped, «Well, I just don’t feel comfortable taking the opportunity to hang coats away from the other patrons… I can have My Manager talk to you about it if you’d like.»
Nah. I understood what you said the first time, and it’s still lame. BTW — when I left after midnight? The EMPTY coat rack was still sitting in the same place. I can officially state that «No other patrons at Luka’s were inconvenienced by the completely unused coat rack» — except the big group of Unilocalers who were partying down in the lounge.
The same group that had politely inquired about using it. TWICE. That’s two times. So, the inconsiderate and irrational hostess that night was my only gripe — which was was absolutely legitimate.
Oh, and whomever damaged Susan C’s fender — just know that there were multiple Federal Agents in house last night: we will procure the security tapes and call you out for being a douche nozzle.
*deep cleansing breath*
The vibe at Luka’s at our UYE was chill, but the action was hot, hot, hot! Check the pics… and if you’re still recovering from the event and haven’t posted yet, get it together and write your review!
Thanks for representing all the different neighborhoods, zip codes and STATES last night: of Unilocaldom last night in my ‘hood!