At Pakwan, Where Dave Chappelle Lectures Me on Paparazzi Etiquette

Dave Chappelle caught me slyly trying to take a picture of him while we were each eating dinner at Pakwan.  He came over to the table and asked to see it.  Unimpressed by my photographic aptitude, he then asked me to delete it.

As I complied with his request and stammered an apology, a single grain of rice flew from my mouth and landed on the shoulder of his black sweater.  I wasn’t sure if he saw it or not, but I couldn’t take the risk, so I reached up and attempted to brush it off.  Naturally, that darn stubborn kernel wasn’t going anywhere.

Chappelle noticed and said, “I don’t even mind that you just spit a piece of rice on me.  Happens all the time.”  He pointed out that I didn’t really need to delete the photos since he was in a public space after all, but it was cool I did and that I should come outside for a real picture after he finished his cigarette.

When I walked out, I didn’t see him anywhere and figured I’d been duped by a master.  But then Mr. Chappelle emerged from a shiny black Escalade and said, “I wasn’t gonna flake on you.”  As my buddy snapped a photo of us, the beleaguered superstar muttered, “People are terrible.  There, I said it.”

Sorry for ruining your dinner Dave!  We all love you here in the Mission!  Please come back soon!

[Chappelle on 16th by jacobchills]

31 Responses to “At Pakwan, Where Dave Chappelle Lectures Me on Paparazzi Etiquette”

  1. nickh says:

    david chapelle is so cool… I guess I should eat at pakwan more often

  2. Ben Gyenah says:

    Damn you crackers think all of us look the same! That was me at Pakwan. Just because I’m skinny and let you spit rice on me doesn’t make me your “comedian.” Dear blacks: don’t go to the Mission if you look remotely like a famous person.

  3. Kyle Madison says:

    Chapelle was a total dick to me 3 years ago. He was walking to lunch with his family on Filmore Street. Thai Stick – which is a shit hole, frankly. No pictures, no screaming “I’m Rick James, bitch!”. I just waved at him. He gave me a look like I’d just pulled my pants down and showed him my herpes encrusted penis. Geez, Chapelle! I watched you in Men in Tights. At least ignore me civilly. Hope you enjoyed your 2 1/2 stars on Yelp meal, mother fucker.

    • james says:

      Why do people get pissed when a comedian responds to random strangers in public with a hilarious look?

      • Kyle Madison says:

        I think you should be civil with fans who understatedly acknowledge you. Especially ones who say Half Baked twice and still like you after the third season of your show bombed and you become a post nervous break down muslim. Not that I have anymore against islam than anything else. I just think if a mature adult is going to change his faith he should change it to nothing, not a different fantasy story.

        • swiss says:

          no doubt your angry strange judgmental disparagement (and borderline hatred it seems) might not have been buried too deeply beneath the surface….alternately could just be that you witnessed what someone’s candid reaction is to seeing you on the street walking toward them. He’s an artist/performer and has already given a lot – he owes none of us anything else – would you feel obliged if some googly-eyed oddball on the street started waving at you cuz he thought you looked cool and wanted to be validated by you? really?

      • nenita says:

        to be fair the 3rd season was forced by com cent and Dave was not involved. remember he left during shooting.

        also Dave has asked that the lost episodes not be supported

    • of course he was rude. dave had work three years ago, he didn’t have to be nice to anyone.

    • Keep SF Chill 4 Dave says:

      Or maybe it was because he was with his family. He is very protective of them and their privacy. When he’s lamping solo he’s more likely to be open to randoms.

      • Kyle Madison says:

        The family was in the restaurant already, he was at the door about to go in. I’ve heard him complain about people who scream the obscenities from his show at him in front of his boys, but there was certainly none of that.

    • joe says:

      Have some self-respect and wave at yourself.

  4. Danny White says:

    A friend of friend once said he was downtown buying a hotdog from a street vendor, and when he came up a dollar short, a crisp one appeared immediately from behind, from the hand of a smiling Dave Chapelle.

  5. MrEricSir says:

    I’ve heard a lot of Chapelle sightings recently. Has he moved to SF?

  6. Cat says:

    Chapelle has been kicking around SF for years — lot of family here or something? I’m not sure but someone that I used to know that worked at a store in the Upper Haight was friendly with him, knew his name, etc.. I think that he tends to stick around the Haight/Filmore mostly and I think he goes to the skate store, FTC, on Haight quite a bit.

    • olu says:

      Dave just really likes playing the bay area, because he likes the audiences (and the money). Also of note, is that Talib Kweli shot a video in Oakland on Saturday – and of course as mentioned Mos was in town too.

      And all three of dudes are tight so i wouldn’t be surprised if someone saw all of them together.

      • Chris says:

        Yes, they were all together.

        They (Dave Chappelle + Black Star [Mos Def & Talib Kweli] did two shows in Oakland on Friday night.

        It was amazing.

  7. sf_Jef says:

    Mos Def was at Pakwan last night as well.

  8. cami says:

    i’ve seen chapelle at pakwan a couple of times. once with his whole family, and once on his own. i guess he really likes it there. i don’t know, i think there is better indian in the hood, maybe someone should give him a heads up about udupi. :)

    • surlyduck says:

      Pakwan is Pakistani/Northern Indian and Udupi Palace is Southern Indian. They are both totally awesome at what they do, they just do two entirely different kinds of cooking.

      • TJ says:

        I think Lahore is the best Pakistani place in SF, but Pakwan is a very close second. And it’s in a slightly better area and is a little easier to get to.

  9. Master P says:

    It’s Dave Chappelle* (2 P’s)

    People can’t spell. There, I said it!

  10. Quin2013 says:

    I see Dave all the time. He has to be the nicest and down to earth guy.

    It’s so weird to me that people get all bent out of shape just cuz he doesn’t react like in the way he does in your mind.

    Shit, he’s a HUMAN BEING and has bad days just like the rest of. So don’t take it personal just because any famous person doesn’t react like you want them to.

    the only reason why he keeps coming up to me and talks to me is because I treat him like everyone else, a Human being.

    • Cris says:

      Amen Quin.

      This is the comment that has made the most sense.

      • Quin2013 says:

        Thanks Cris.

        When I first met Dave, he was so freaking chill. I got off work and heading over to my GF’s place(where i live now too), I told her I had Dave with me in the cab(which was not true), and she and her friends went crazy. I wanted to see if they where going to be chill about it, otherwise i would never ask Dave to come over.

        To date, I have not asked Dave to come hang because of their overreaction.

        It’s stuff like that why celebrities are so turned off and shut themselves out from the public.

        Of course to date, my GF is still giving me grief about not introducing Dave to her, which I did anyway. She just doesn’t remember it because again, Dave did not react in the way she wanted him to react…..Sigh

  11. Ryanne says:

    Stop lying you little faggot!

  12. Make your own life time easier take the mortgage loans and everything you want.

  13. wizz says:

    totally make your own life time easier, well said berta.