I think you have to be careful about what you do, versus what is common in the industry. It is pretty common to get asked coding questions in the Bay Area, regardless.
Most of the better interviewers work to understand how the candidate thinks and their aptitude to learn new things. Those can tell you a lot about how successful they will be in a job. And folks have shown that take home projects can show you what they can get done.
I found it interesting to compare the company's interviewer training at Google and at IBM. IBM is focused on finding highly qualified people compatible with their values, Google was more interested in finding people who were not intimidated by "impossible" questions. Both have their strengths.
Most of the better interviewers work to understand how the candidate thinks and their aptitude to learn new things. Those can tell you a lot about how successful they will be in a job. And folks have shown that take home projects can show you what they can get done.
I found it interesting to compare the company's interviewer training at Google and at IBM. IBM is focused on finding highly qualified people compatible with their values, Google was more interested in finding people who were not intimidated by "impossible" questions. Both have their strengths.