Chadams’ Summer CD Swap Meet UYE

I only had one problem with this…
Doreen B., those were kick ass vicious hip-​hop righteous tunes on the CD but there is no way I could do the gangsta lean blaring that music, windows down, in a Kia Optima. So I didn’t lean, but great music, and thank you!
Chad… are you sure this was your first? This all came together: sweet: and I met some fun people. Great idea and perfect «summer» timing since we are in CA. and summer is forever. I loved the atmosphere and food. I will have to agree on the iron maiden table set-​up but sometimes those things can’t be foreseen (but they can be laughed at.)
You did a great job! And thanks for the pins too!

This was a great idea Chad. Good food, good people, good music to take home with you. Long table not so good for talking to everyone, but what are you going to do? I’m not sure there is anyway around that. Perhaps texting from one end of the table to the other. Pass the Aji please.
I’ve only been to one other Peruvian restaurant besides this one so I can’t judge the Lomo Saltado on many different versions, but it’s the best I’ve had of the 2 by far. So good. I will try the mashed potatoes with it next time to soak up all that tasty gravy.
The free appetizers were very nice and the service was good too considering a party our size. It was nice meeting everyone and meeting some new people as well. So where’s the Fall CD Swap Meet going to be at?

These «seated» events are not ideal for someone like me whose social skills and ability to structure a sentence are particularly limited. Plus I get sick of looking at the same 3 or 4 people for more than 4 minutes. Next event Chad I need movement, lots of movement and maybe some reggae music. And some cookies, chocolate chip cookies-​but they need to be homemade. Get on it Chad.

I blame me for being late. Damn, I wonder how I even finished college with the way I procrastinated on this CD making experience. Although I wish I could say that the CD I made was cool. I can’t take full credit since it was a full CD that I just burned and added some Chill Out songs at the end.
I could see why the Knights of the Round table to were able to get some business handled because the seating here at Casa Inka was a little tight (oh that was a stretch on that one– get it round vs square). I was one long table pushed up against the wall. I actually felt claustrophobic for the people on the other side of the table smooshed up against the wall.
I love CD swaps. It’s fun. It brings back memories when you made that special someone a cassette tape of your fave song. Damn! I just aged myself on that one. Good thing I didn’t say 8 Track! Chad, you really brought in the crowd. I am the greedy little person who only brought one CD to swap, but somehow walked out with two! HAHAHA. Thanks to Doreen B. who was super cool to bring an extra CD. I found it a little interesting that some folks participated in the swap without bringing something to the table. So thanks to those who brought extra! Chadam’s cool UYE. Next time bring the bullhorn because I couldn’t hear a lick of what you were saying! Or at least text me… I seem to respond to my phone better as my wifey reminds me!
I was the lucky person to get Michael P’s CD. The Beach Boys are the epitome of summer my friend– great CD. Nice to meet some of the people who attended, sorry I wasn’t able to chat with you from where I sat.
Doreen– I liked your CD as well! Pitch Please!
I got to see some of my OC Unilocalers more than or twice in one week– what!!! Craziness.

Chad must be a popular guy to have this many people show up on a Saturday afternoon in Fountain Valley! The whole CD swap idea is a pretty cool one, even if CDs are pretty uncommon nowadays. Which makes them that much more special! We gathered for a Peruvian lunch, some interesting conversation, and finally, swapped our CDs among Unilocalers old and new.
Erin and I were lucky to get CDs from Unilocalers we both have known for a while (Michael P and Judi S.), so that was pretty cool! Unlike any CD swap I’ve even been to, the people who showed up without a CD still got to take one home thanks to the kindness of other Unilocalers who brought more than one. What a great community!
Casa Inka made for an interesting setup for a CD swap. It was more of a long table lunch followed by a CD swap. It would have been cool if we could have taken over the music at the restaurant to play someone’s summer cd. I wasn’t a fan of the long table set up, but I guess that’s just the way it happened. I would have preferred a setup which allowed us to socialize with each other a bit more, or at least be able to hear what is going on (like when it was time to do the swap). At least we got to talk to some of the people who had been at the other end of the table when everyone was saying their (extended) goodbyes.
I enjoyed the restaurant, although it can’t beat my favorite Peruvian restaurant in OC (
)The employees did a pretty decent job of trying to serve us all as everyone trickled in. I think it was a bit of a challenge, but they were pretty good about getting us what we needed (menus, water, place settings) after we asked for them.
So stars for:
*A cool idea for a UYE and making us dig out CDs to burn
*Hanging out with some cool Unilocalers
*Introducing people to a restaurant and cuisine they may not be familiar with
*Chad! He’s a cool guy, as you can see from his many followers!
Thanks Chad!

OK, lets get the disclaimer out of the way. I go to Casa Inka alot. .. so much so I am referred to as the Blanquito by many there. I have been in the kitchen, as I can cook just a little, and bring in my own Peruvian dishes to be critiqued by anyone there that will give me input. I even drop in to sit at the bar and talk about life with the owners. So I may not be the most unbiased person.
First, Chad. .. Good job man — getting close to 30 participants on a beautiful Saturday afternoon during the ‘Summer That Almost Wasn’t’ just points to the fact that you have some Unilocal cred. Second, I think that a cluster of tables would have been better than the long row of prison seating as it would have allowed for 2 dimensional conversations to be fostered instead of the linear proximity communication that dominated the day. To be fair, I think it had to do with the way in which people arrived. I arrived 15 minutes after the event start and the entire group was sitting at three tables strung together. We took an adjacent table and immediately felt like we were outcasts but thankfully we were included in short fashion when another table was added to the end of the string. People kept arriving over the next hour and this pattern continued. Could it have been better? Yes, but this is a matter of coordination and planning and given the ad hoc flow of arrivals, well lets just say I am not smart enough to have figured it out.
I have an inside joke here to share. Whenever I eat at Casa Inka I am approached with a question, ‘So how was it?’ I always reply the same answer, ‘It sucked, but I will give you another chance.’ I then continue to discuss my perceptions and how I think they have changed some dish as they are always tweaking the food. I respect this continuous drive to improve but when I don’t like some new tweak, I can always get the prior iteration if only I ask. Let me say this, Casa Inka is pure Peruvian cuisine, there are some dishes that I questioned, like the Chicken Parmesan, but when I inquire of South American friends I find that it is authentic. In fact, that is what Peruvian food is. .. a mixing of the various ethnic groups that became Peru. Tacu Tacu — a culinary artifact left by the slaves brought to Peru, Lomo Saltado and Chaufa — culinary artifacts from the Far East. The yucca, peppers, potatoes (yes more than 10,000 varieties) and seafood that are native to Peru. Casa Inka does an excellent job of representing Peruvian Cuisine.
One more thing. If I am one thing, I am this. .. a South Americanophile. I love Brasil, speak some Portuguese (Sim, Falo o portugues e adoro comidas do Brasil) and just before I sat down to write this review I was studying my Spanish (Got to add this language too) and rescheduling my next tutoring session with my Peruvian tutor. I was not prepared to study today. .. lazy I guess. I cook or am learning to cook the cuisines of our American brothers to the South. I am a regular at a South American market where I am asked if I am Brasilian or maybe Argentinian given that I work on my language skills there and purchase things that point to a South American origin. .. Chorizo Argentino, Picanha, Pao de Quiejo, linguiça, etc. Casa Inka is pure Peruvian cuisine and has less of the European influences that are seen in the cuisines of Brasil, Argentina, and Uruguay. It is a distinct cuisine with distinct ethnic influences and ingredients. Casa Inka does a excellent job representing the foods of an amazing country and culture.
Again, Chad great event and I look forward to the next one. How about one at a churrasceria???

Gracias Chad! Had a great time at the event. It was nice seeing some familiar faces from Tuesday’s event and also meeting new ones (Laura and Nino).
At one point the owner of the business came out and asked me how «so many nice people can arrange to get together» I just answered. Unilocal baby.
I wasn’t able to bring a CD but I was still included in the exchange. Thanks guys!

Chad, I gotta say that I loved the CD swap idea for a UYE. It was really cool and a neat way for people to be exposed to others tastes in music, lack of taste in music or sick humor with regard to thier taste in music. I have absolutely ZERO complaints with my CD. Erin, you outdid yourself. Roomie and I love all things South American, including music and your CD went right in the player as soon as we were in the car. Love it and I can’t thank you enough!
Now, on to the event and the food. Being as this was only my fourth Unilocal event, I’m starting to get the hang of this and I could become addicted easily. Loved seeing Unilocalers that I’d previously met and was happy to see some that I hadn’t met before. I do have to admit that the long table arrangement didn’t allow me to talk to some of these people so I’m hopeful that I’ll catch up with them at another event. At least I really know what they look like in person now!
Food, as usual was awesome. Free appetizers… HELLO! Very nice. And not CHEAP free appetizers and not LAME free appetizers either. I love Yucca and I love calamari. Casa Inka serves some of the best fried calamari, hands down. Brown, crispy, never greasy and tender. NEVER rubbery. I loved this. The Yucca is always tender yet firm and the sauce, devine.
12 Year Old Jr. Foodie and I decided to share dishes. Lomo Saltado with Mashed Potatoes (instead of rice). This is a staple for us. CI has ROCKIN’ mashed potatoes and they are SOOOO good for sopping up that Lomo juice. We also ordered the Tallarine Saltado, which is very similar but has spaghetti style noodles instead of fries. Different flavor, different texture than Saltado but just as good.
After a series of hot flashes /​onset of another fever episode (I’d been sick for a few days and this was my first foray into the world of the living wearing something other than my PJ’s) I moved over to the bar with Roomie and Jr. Foodie as the other Fab Unilocalers made their way to the door.
Great event Chad. I was honored to be able to occupy the seat next to you. Donna, thank you for keeping the right side of Jim company, trying to steal his food and just giving him shit in general. He likes that kind of thing. He lives with me, ya know and is SO used to it. Michael P, you are spectacular as always. You always make an event for me, even though we had to talk across Chad. Laura, I’m sorry we only got to wave and yell along the length of the table once. Mel, nice to sit by you for a few and chat with your +1 Gilda. Such an amazing group of Unilocalers and such a good time.
Good job Chad. Let’s do it again soon!

Peruvian Beer — Check.
On the House Apps — Check.
Pescado Ceviche — Check.
A bunch of fun Unilocalers — Check.
A new kcik ass CD from Elizabeth — Check.
A Five star UYE — Check and Check.
Nice job, Chad. And whoa, what a turnout! What did we have, 30+ peeps at one lllooooonnnnngggg table?! The only downside to this was if you were against the wall you were basically stuck unless you wanted to crawl under the table or persuade everyone to move for you. Somehow I was able to do both of those maneuvers during our time here.
Wholly shit, Eugene came!
Nice chatting with you Mary and Robert! I hope we get to see you guys a lot more often. And to all y’all that came late *cough* mel *cough* bummer we couldn’t chat more… ’til next time!

LOVED the idea of a CD swap for this event. Thanks, Chad!!! Even though I didn’t bring a CD to swap… somehow I ended up taking 2 CD’s home with me! How did that happen?! ;) They’re both in my car waiting for me to listen to them… soon, I promise!
This was my second Unilocal event I’ve been to within a week (first one was the Unilocal Elite event last Tuesday). Two Unilocal events in less than a week sounds a little intimidating considering I come solo to all of them… but everyone is so nice and friendly, I have nothing to worry about!!! It was nice seeing some familiar faces from the Tuesday event and meeting new friends along the way too.
Casa Inka did a fabulous job hosting this event… read my review below for the restaurant!!! Also, love the pictures everyone took!!!

Great job Chad! Have been wanting to make it to Casa Inka for the longest time, and this was one fine opportunity to give it a go and party with some of OC’s coolest Unilocalers.
I did my research beforehand and knew exactly what I wanted… Ceviche Pescado. It was as good… no better, than reported on by Chris D and Laura S. Wonderfully marinated fresh snapper with some thinly sliced delicious pickled onions accompanied by hominy and some june bug looking thingies. A perfectly refreshing dish for a hot summer day, and it went well with their more than decent house vino blanco.
But the draw on this day was Chads UYE and I had a blast. The summer themed cd exchange was a cool idea and I ended up with Chads creation. Very professionally packaged Mr. C! BTW Chad, what the hell is that music selection? I don’t think I recognized but maybe 1 or 2 cuts. Thanks though!
This groupo de Unilocalers were a great bunch. I had the good fortune of sitting next to Michelle who ordered a pasta alfredo with a ton of shrimp but she is a vegetarian. Guess who helped her out of THAT little predicament? Thanks Michelle! I know who to invite the next time I go to a Brazilian steak house… hehehehe.
I do have to give one shout out. Got to meet the legend his own bad self! Eugine… sup? Was way cool to finally meet in person.
Also need to give thanks to the owner Anna who hung out with us towards the end, very sweet lady! I promised her I will be back soon, and I def will.
All in all a fantastic time with a mighty fine bunch of ppl. Thanks again Chadams!

I’m picky about my friends, what food I eat and where I eat. I have to be because that’s just me. And since I’m a fan of South American food, I was initially excited about when Chad said he wanted to have his CD Swap UYE at Casa Inka back in June, but once I looked at the menu, I felt kind of baffled by the food style here because I guess I’m used to more of an Argentine gaucho style of cooking and Casa Inka tries way too hard to be all things to all people. It made it kind of difficult for me to find a dish that I could connect with, so I opted for a choice from their appetizer menu. Empanadas? Check.
Arriving at 2PM, I was immediately annoyed with the dining hall arrangement of the tables because it didn’t allow for much mingling and Mel, who was seated to my left, said she even got a claustrophobic feeling being trapped against the wall, so she only sat as long as she had to in order to drink a few beers and eat her plate of food.
But as Erin V. pointed out to me a day after the event on a comment she sent, it was the third time this week I got to see her and Andrea and I was glad for that because if it wasn’t for Unilocal,we may not have otherwise ever met and on top of that Andrea got my mix CD, so that was cool. I also thought it was cool that Steve knew what the hell was going on with the plates of appetizers passed to our table which allowed Andrea, who is a vegetarian and Erin, who like me is not a fan of spicy food, to at least try it.
I initially drew Eugine’s name for the CD swap but seeing that the mix on it was more to Steve’s liking, I traded with him to get Jim’s daughter’s– Ollie’s Mix CD. I actually played it in the car on the way home from Santa Monica. It included ACDC’s «Highway to Hell» which is exactly how I feel while regularly commuting up and down the 405 these days. I also enjoyed all of the Green Day songs, too.
All in all, Chad gets an 3-​star A-​OK for the CD swap idea, but the mile long table and the menu at Casa Inka didn’t work well for me at this UYE.

Chad… Excellent firt UYE! I personally haven’t had the balls yet to throw one myself so hats off to you!
It was great seeing my Unilocal friends in person and these UYE are always a guaranteed good time. The restaurant was kind enough to give us free calamari and papa a la huancaina (slice potato topped with egg, olive, and cheese sauce). For my entrée I had the chaufa mixto which is Peruvian fried rice with chicken, beef, and shrimp. It was tasty and filling! Washed it down with a Peruvian beer.
As always these UYE are full of antics. Michael P. eating a Peruvian BM, Eugine Y showing up naked and flashing gang signs, Dan H. hitting on the senior citizen owner of the restaurant, someone confusing Argentinean cuisine with Peru. Great time seeing everybody and I can’t wait for the next event! Be interesting to see what’s on this CD I ended up with.

DAMN IT!
My original review was removed today WTF!
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I’ve been looking forward to attending Chadams UYE with anticipation, especially because I’ve never been to a CD swap.
As I’m coming out of my coma and getting ready to bar tend (Saturday night) I’m still full of good food and memories of great company of an event well done.
I really enjoyed the whole concept as I felt like a little kid reaching into a grab bag to see who’s CD I was going to get. Jim your CD is as eclectic as I am-​me like! Also, a very nice touch that extra CDS were available for those who did not receive one.
Chad this well executed venue was an absolute hit to the tens and, you sir are no novice at putting together a venue that had ALL of the ear marks of a pro! Congratulations and kudos on your first UYE event well done.
Your adorable, charismatic and lovable persona made this an event to remember. Also, everyone who attended is a reflection of how you are liked and, how much your frequent goofy company is enjoyed!
I hope I covered everything that was in my original review and if not, remember this:
Chad, you and my fellow Unilocalers are:

Mr. D and I headed over to Casa Inka for Chadams Summer CD Swap Meet UYE. The crowd was extremely large here — a great turnout for a UYE.
The owners did really good by all of us, not once complaining about how noisy we were or how many there were of us… as we pulled table after table over to accommodate our ever gr owning group. They took our drink order first and while we waited, the kept bringing out complementary appetizers, garlic bread and that yummy sauce. The calamari appetizer was some of the freshest I have had in a while. Kudos to the wonderful owners, I bet there was over 10 platters of free appetizers for our group! Thanks for putting up with all of our noise.
Chris and I always have fun at these gathering, it’s such fun to meet and mingle with all the fellow Unilocalers and to have a CD exchange to boot! I got a mixer made by Mel who spend some time putting a double CD together for me to win! With the exchange, it was like everyone got to walk away with a gift! I ordered the mesquite snapper which has always been wonderful, I always order this here. It’s never a miss.
Thanks Chad for setting it all up!