Birthday dinner for five..in Chinatown or North End?

[BigCat]

Five women converging on Boston for a 40th birthday celebration. Where can we have an interesting meal & good conversation? I'm looking for something conveniently located, vegetarian friendly and moderately priced.

[shivered]

I like Penang in Chinatown. I was there recently for a birthday dinner. Good decor and fun atmosphere. It's Malaysian cuisine and should satisfy fans of Thai and Vietnamese. Parking on the street is a pain but it's only about a 5 min walk from both the Boylston Green Line and Chinatown Orange line T stops. On the down side, it gets crowded on weekends and I believe they only do reservations for parties of 10 or more.

I second Antico Forno. I find that it's one of the more reasonably priced restaurants in the North End.

[bakerboyz]

My suggestion would be for Trattoria Toscana in the Fenway, delicious Tuscan cooking, moderate prices, very good pastas...because it is fairly close to Fenway Park, pick a night that the Red Sox are not playing in Boston.

[finlero]

"Moderately priced" is a pretty malleable term, but a few thoughts that will hopefully count as interesting, with vegetarian options:

Chinatown:

* Kaze - shabu shabu
* East Ocean City - Chinese seafood (but other options as well, including veggie stuff)
* Kingston Station - mid-scale French/American

North End:

* Pomodoro - excellent, basic Italian, my favorite tomato sauce in town, NB the restaurant is tiny
* Antico Forno - Neapolitan-style pizzas and pastas out of a wood-fired oven

Beacon Hill (sort of in between the North End and Chinatown):

* Grotto - fairly refined Northern Italian, less expensive than its contemporaries in the North End, in a cool subterranean space
* Beacon Hill Bistro - upscale French/American in a neat, modern space, pricey but not exorbitant