35265 Thu Mar 24 14:42:41 -0800 2005 7 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 160910 I need your help deciding where to go for a b-day dinner tonight with 3 friends. 2 of them are students, so I would like to keep the cost including a drink or two under $50, if possible. Anything but Indian, Middle Eastern or French. Prefer SOMA, FiDi/Union Sq., or Marina. I have a reservation at Cortez as a "place holder," but would like your opinions. Actually, I was considering Oyaji but now with a new post, I am not so sure.... Also, please do not include a restaurant that I have to arrive before 7 p.m. (i.e. 5 :30 p.m. to Delfina won't work) since I won't leave work until 6-ish. Thanks!! Thu Mar 24 14:42:41 -0800 2005 0 Yuko 1 160922 How about Mochica? It's on Harrison near 5th and has gotten pretty good reviews on this board. I liked the entrees enough but the ceviche really shines. Thu Mar 24 15:33:51 -0800 2005 160910 0 vliang 2 160965 Unfortunately, I am one of the few who did not like Mochica very much. Thank you for your input though! Thu Mar 24 17:23:44 -0800 2005 160922 0 Yuko 1 160942 How about Basil (Thai) in SOMA -- I've driven by for years without much interest, but recently went with a group and was very impressed. Food was delish, and the atmosphere was upbeat and fun. Nice cocktails. inexpensive. Good luck! Thu Mar 24 16:50:47 -0800 2005 160910 0 Margo 1 160969 Now an idea is floating around that one of the girls in a group (who is from out of town) wants to go to the place called Cat Club on Folsom St. for 80's music after dinner. I am not so sure about its own description as "The city's most infamous nightclub. A decade of drunken debauchery".... Anyway, If we do decide to go there for a night out, there are several places nearby: Basil, The Public Restaurant, Schnitzel Hause and Julie's Supper Club Which one of these do you recommend? Thu Mar 24 17:33:53 -0800 2005 160910 0 Yuko 2 160990 Give Basil Thai a try. It's not quite as delicious as Thai House Express or Ozone, but they do manage to turn out pretty good Thai food in a very smart Slanted-Door-Like atmosphere. Nice beverage selection to get you started on the drunken debauchery. Here's a report from my last visit: Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/29920#127620 Thu Mar 24 18:53:39 -0800 2005 160969 0 nja 2 161048 i recommend the public for ur situation, although i've never been to the other mentioned restaurants. but for good food, an interesting space, competent service, and $50pp quotient, the public would fit the bill. the space has a lovely industrial loft warehouse feel with exposed brick and ventilation ducts. first thing that came to my mind was the striking resemblance to that mexican tapas restaurant on solano in n.berkeley if you've ever been there...sorry, i can't remember the name right now. anyways, i had the tuscan soup as a starter and enjoyed it, and the duck sugo papparedelle (signature dish) which my date and i proclaimed the highlight of the evening. my date's burrata was also good, although that's the first time i've ever had it; it was 2 tender balls of mozzarella, 1 a bit softer and gooier in the middle with some seasoned vegetables around them. her lamb dish main with chickpeas was the least successful of everything we ordered. we finished by sharing the chocolate bread pudding dressed in caramel that was nothing like any other bread pudding we've ever had, though we both thoroughly enjoyed it. i've read somewhere that the chef at the public used to work under the tutelage of craig stoll, the chef at delfina--no wonder that pasta dish was so damn good. wherever u guys go, enjoy. Fri Mar 25 12:58:01 -0800 2005 160969 0 poosay monstah 2 161111 The Cat Club used to be Cats Grill and Alley Club (aka Cat's Alley), and had a kitchen and pretty decent late-night food. They remodeled a couple of times, knocking out the kitchen and comfy carpeted front room years ago, not improving the space at all. It has a long history of hosting different nightclub nights, and none of them stray far from the goth/80's/sorta-punk genre. The DJs have some of the tiredest old playlists ever (think Bondage-A-Go-Go, Big Heart City, etc. from 1992), but if you're looking for 80's music, this might be the place. It's dark, grimy, and the clientele's average age hovers around 22-28. Lots of stripperish/gothy/punky girls and black-clad post-industrialish guys. I spent a lot of time there in the early to mid 90's, and the few times I've wandered in since then, I've been struck by how exactly the same everything is. I think Damon even DJs there still! You will probably hear Rage Against the Machine, or that awful "You Spin Me Right 'Round Baby Right 'Round" song. The people are new, but look exactly like the old ones. All in all, they've done an excellent job of bringing 1992 to a screeching halt and staying there. That said, I had a whole lot of fun there, and a fair share of drunken debauchery. You may really enjoy their 80's night. Fri Mar 25 19:14:25 -0800 2005 160969 0 waiter X