An old friend of mine just moved back to town, and she’s just settled into a neighborhood over in the Tech Center. So naturally, we had to do the rounds to see just where the DTC crowd goes to mix and mingle on weekends. Our first round of research brought these results.

The dressed-up, I-wanna-be-with-the-VIPs crowd goes to Purple Martini DTC for Top 40 and hip hop, martinis, and the occassional local celebrity sighting.

Everyone else goes to Baker Street.

It’s been around for a while now, but I had somehow missed this huge English-style pub (it’s part of a chain, meant to represent the fictional London home of Sherlock Holmes). It’s large but still cozy, with several nooks and crannies, and though the place was positively packed last weekend, my friend and I always managed to find a seat in the bar, the main dining room, or the outdoor (heated, thankfully) patio. The menu is full of pub favorites — fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie — along with every bit of fried American bar food you could ask for. Draft and bottled beer are the drink of choice, with plenty of mixers and a handful of wines by the glass. The crowd is full of singles, so it’s much more of a party atmosphere than a date night spot, and the dress code is come-as-you-are, with everything from shirts and ties to jeans and sweatshirts for the men, and little dresses to tee shirts for the women. Add in a live band, rolling out crowd-pleasing singalong cover tunes, and it’s easy to see why the place is happening every weekend.

Only problem? We liked the spot so much that we’ll definitely be back, but we may not get much further on our DTC-area “research” project.