Lady's Night Out

last thursday, we had our December lady's night out at Aura, a new nightclub in Pleasanton. it is owned by the same guy that owns Ruby Skye in the city so I suggested the venue to Daphne. we got there around 7pm for dinner (small plates type of menu) and drinks. they open at 7 for dinner/drinks and convert to dancing, live DJ mix at 9:45 or so. www.nightclubaura.com
the food was not bad - not fabulous, but not bad. there were 10 of us, so we tried a lot of their menu. By far the best items were the New Zealand Lambchops (obvious why it is the chef's favorite), the bruschetta points that came with the romaine salad, baked brie (so melt in your mouth good), and the Ahi sashimi salad. desserts were worth the wait, almost better than the food - the chocolate lava cake (with vanilla bean ice cream) and Mississippi mud pie (with carmel bourbon sauce) were just right. when I left at 10pm with Joyce (the 2 pregnant ladies), the bill for all drinks & food was at $300, not too bad for 10 considering that Joyce and I were really the only ones that didn't order drinks.
Julie said that she recognized a lot of the ladies there earlier in the evening, and that they probably recognized her (from Club Sport). She said she recognized all the fake boobs. ha ha...
We all loved the decor, even the few who were blasé about it. we couldn't believe that a place like this could be maintained in Pleasanton. It felt like you were at a trendy nightclub in the city, chain link curtains, cool looking bar area, dim lights that make everyone look good. at least at our table, we had spots so we could see our food. we couldn't believe the number of young people there. maybe all the apartment dwellers go there. of course, there were older folks - in their 30's and early 40's, but plenty of younger folks too. by10pm, the place was filling up pretty fast and when Joyce and I walked out, it was kind of intimidating because there were theses 6 humongous bouncers at various points around the entrance and a line of about 15 people waiting to get in.
the best part? being able to go hang out, feel trendy and cool and then not having to drive 45 minutes and over the bridge to get back home!!