The Birthday Dinner

There was recently an article in Slate (that I'm way too lazy to find the link for) bemoaning birthday dinners as we grow into our later 20's and early 30's. You know the events, crammed in a loud restaurant in between a lot of people you don't know - and when the check comes it always seems to split out against your favor. Plus there is the invariable drama that will ensue by the end of the evening.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Some tips to throwing a successful birthday dinner.

- Set your own expectations. This is dinner out with your friends, not a wedding for 300 guests. It's a birthday, and God willing you'll have another one next year, so relax a bit and realize it doesn't have to be perfect.

- Keep in mind the price point. Sure, you may be willing to drop $150 on dinner if it's your birthday, but what about everyone else at the table? Because sure enough, you're going to be invited to theirs, so please be considerate. Also don't be offended if people can't make it, they may honestly not be able to afford dinner at a modest restaurant and are embarassed by that - cut some slack and see if they want to meet up for a drink some other time to celebrate.

- And for pete's sake people, pay your own damned check. If people want to buy you something, go out after and they can buy you a shot. They don't want to buy you dinner any more than you want to buy them dinner on their birthday - it all evens out in the end, lets just stop this madness. (does not apply to family members or people you may be sleeping with)

- Keep the crowd small. We all have segregated groups of friends with some blurred lines. You have your work friends, your weekend friends, your football friends, your friends from home, etc. Chances are a lot of these people won't know each other and don't have anything to talk about. Choose a small group of your core friends that you know and that will get along well together. This cuts down on the hassle, makes the evening easier for everyone, and ensures you'll have a better (Drama-free) evening. Plus its a good excuse if people get pissed they aren't invited - it's not a blow out, just a small dinner.

- If need be, do the two-tiered event. Go out to the nice restaurant with a small group, but then tell everyone you know that you'll be at (name) bar at a certain time (after dinner) if they want to stop by. This makes everyone feel included and doesn't put undue pressure on you to have a huge table at the restaurant.

- Organize your own. Don't tell a friend of yours to just handle it and then back out of the situation, otherwise you'll end up at a restaurant you don't like surrounded by people you don't know. And those not invited will STILL be pissed at you that they weren't - even though you didn't organize.

Some suggestions for a birthday night in the DC area:

- Dinner with four of your friends at Central followed by drinks, games, and a larger crowd at Rocket Bar in Chinatown

- For the ladies, dinner at Bistro Lepic or Mendocino in Georgetown, then go shaky your booties on M street.

- For the gents, hit up your favorite sports bar for a full Sunday of watching football, drinking too much, and eating ubiquitous ground meat products. Or in the spring/summer, buy the cheap tickets at the baseball game and camp out at the bar in left field.