Wednesday, March 29, 2006; C02

They're serving tapas and tequila shots in the former tobacco warehouses of Richmond's Shockoe Bottom district. A red-faced guy in a blazer is arguing with the cops, and young women are tripping along the cobblestone streets, shivering in short sleeves. "Like Georgetown!" we say. In an area called the Fan, the bars are spread more thinly among the gorgeous Victorian rowhouses and genteel apartment buildings. Del Ray? Bethesda?

When it comes to nightlife, anything Washington can do Richmond can do . . . well, not better, necessarily, but certainly cheaper, and often in satisfyingly different ways. Here's a scouting report from Richmond's night side. Pick and choose or, if you've got stamina and a designated driver, hit them all.

-- Amy Argetsinger

We start the evening at the historic Jefferson Hotel. TJ's Lounge is a wood-paneled, beveled-glass niche off the ornate marble lobby with a sweeping staircase that, it turns out, was not the one Rhett carried Scarlett up in "Gone With the Wind," no matter what everyone's always told us. For all the sophisticated beers on tap, something about the place (the cigar humidor?) makes us feel as though we should be nursing bourbons. Good for: Opening salvo cocktails in a genteel setting. Draft microbrews start at $4.50; martinis start at $7. 101 W. Franklin St., 804-649-4672.

Why can't the Avalon be in our neighborhood? But in D.C. we'd never get a seat. This restaurant and bar on the wide end of the Fan is dim and cozy, with high-backed booths and a soundtrack of '30s swing and alt-country -- hip and retro without trying too hard. The guys at the bar are pushing 60, but the tattooed, vintage-dressed waitress is total VCU art student, and the crowd coming in is south of 30. Did they really just charge us $6.50 for two drinks? Good for: All-purpose dining, drinking, hanging out . Microbrews start at $4 (bottles only); martinis start at $5. 2619 W. Main St., 804-353-9709.

A newer Fan establishment, the Martini Kitchen and Bubble Bar aims for that suave Rat Pack feel, with bow-tied waiters and theatrical drink service, but blows the follow-through with neon touches and frat-rock on the speakers. More than 30 kinds of champagne cocktails are on the menu and more than 80 "martinis," most having nothing to do with gin or vermouth. The classic model comes from its plastic shaker a little watery, but maybe that's a good idea, what with this young-looking crowd just getting started. It's all feeling very Ozio-goes-College-Park, except for the surprisingly smart appetizers -- ahi tuna, lollipop veal chops, delicious spicy nuts. Good for: Prepping the stomach for serious drinking. Draft microbrews start at $4; basic martinis start at $1. 1911 W. Main St., 804-254-4904 .

Dinner is at the Dogwood Grill , a casual storefront in the heart of the Fan that is home to a former Inn at Little Washington chef, and if we're having trouble thinking of its bigger-city equivalents, that's probably because there aren't enough of them. There's a BlackBerrys-and-ball-caps crowd at the small bar, loud music bouncing off the bare floors and whimsical art on the exposed brick walls. But the crab cake and the venison are exquisitely prepared -- the kind of meal we'd find in D.C. only at a white-tablecloth place. The knowledgeable wait staff recommends wines that are far from the most expensive on the list. The bill for two -- $118 including tip -- might make it pricey for Richmond, but that's cheap in our world. Good for: One of the finer meals you can have wearing jeans . Draft microbrews start at $4; basic martinis start at $6. 1731 W. Main St., 804-340-1983 .

In the heart of the Fan, Robinson Street is where collegians and post-collegians congregate at a small strip of little bars. We're told Metro Grill is the local equivalent of Georgetown's prep haven Smith Point. So, lest we run into Jenna Bush visiting her Richmond-born boyfriend, we end up at Curbside Cafe instead. (Later, poking our heads in, we regret not picking Racine, with its warm red walls and multiracial crowd of hipsters.) The Curbside is just a bar -- basketball on the tube, a guy doing a shot of some alcohol that makes his whole body shiver. Good for: Drinking for drinking's sake . Draft microbrews start at $4; basic martinis start at $6.50. 2525 Hanover Ave., 804-355-7008 .

Everyone is talking about Can Can Brasserie , a new French bistro that's enlivened a Clarendon-ish stretch of retail at the western fringe of the Fan known as Carytown. We've been told it's "the Cafe Milano of Richmond" -- the place to see and be seen, with "a lot of women looking for their second husbands," a local tells us. We arrive to find a pack of cute forty-something blondes gathering out front. Inside it's lively and loud, the zinc bar and tiled floors brightly lit, with a slightly older crowd at once preppy chic and vaguely Euro. If you know Dupont Circle's Bistrot Du Coin, you know Can Can. Good for: French wines, frites, finding your second wife . Draft microbrews start at $5; basic martinis start at $10. 3120 W. Cary St., 804-358-7274.

We head into the depths of the Shockoe party scene. The bars on cobblestoned East Cary Street, which parallels the James River a block or so south, all seem full. We decide to start a block north of Cary, on Main Street, and suddenly find ourselves leaving Georgetown for Adams Morgan -- less cobblestone, more edge, louder music pounding from smaller clubs and an air of potential danger in the late-night pizza-by-the-slice joints. On 18th Street, we find Tonic , which for a $5 cover offers the Space Age retro vibe of a Dragonfly or one of D.C.'s new boutique hotel bars -- mirrored globes and little track lights hanging from the ceiling (though the woman on the next bar stool is chipping away at a decidedly unsuave chunk of mac-and-cheese). The suit-and-tie DJ is playing music that is loud but chill. The casual, fashion-forward crowd, mostly African American and mostly above 30, is more interested in hanging out than dancing. As are we. It's all very soothing, and we don't want to leave. Good for: Feeling like one of the cool grown-ups . Draft microbrews start at $4; basic martinis start at $6. 14 N. 18th St., 804-648-4300.

We were also very happy at Old City Bar , a fine-dining place in a historic YMCA that turns pleasingly dissolute after the kitchen closes. They're working hard for a shabby-genteel vibe -- we soon learn from the middle-aged bartender in coat and tie serving up cheap, generous cocktail that the crown molding and marble bar are all reproductions. But the Top 40 country radio belies the prep school affect, as do the T-shirted dudes trying to impress the ladies with stories about their VMI ratline days. Whatever Old City Bar is aiming for, it has somehow lucked into the formula for the perfect dive. Good for: Cheap drinks and easy camaraderie . Draft microbrews start at $4; basic martinis start at $5.50. 1548 E. Main St., 804-644-4411.

The Richbrau Brewing Company is a cavernous and confusing place on East Cary Street. We find signs pointing to the pub, to the dance club, to the "west wing," whatever that means -- total sensory overload, throngs of young people, a multiracial Abercrombie crowd. We want to flee, but round a corner and suddenly find in this hottest of hot spots an empty pool table and an attentive waitress. This would never happen back home: Two hours of uncrowded playing time, a pitcher of beer and the tequila shots the waitress talked us into -- $40. Good for: Beautiful people with short attention spans . Draft microbrews start at $4.49; basic martinis start at $7. 1214 E. Cary St., 804-644-3018.