A PUB TO HAVE FAITH IN

Author(s):    Amy Graves, Globe staff Date: January 2, 2003 Page: 6 Section: Calendar

MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO COME FOR THE MUSIC, WHICH VARIES FROM LOUNGE CHILL TO LOUD '80S. IF YOU WANT TO CHAT, GO EARLY.
Where would you take someone you want to get to know a little better? Let's say it's someone who loves hip-hop, reggae, and Coldplay, looks fairly hip, and eats kimchee, curry, and pizza with equal gusto.

Central Square - which we might as well call the new Harvard Square for its profusion of decent clubs and restaurants - is loaded with dating destinations. One of the best of the new breed is River Gods, a charming little space on River Street just outside the square. This was a Keno dive bar when Jackie Linnane bought it in 2001; she spent a year renovating it, installing gothic-looking chairs, Virgin Marys, a real suit of armor, and a DJ booth.

The display changes regularly; now there's an antique wedding dress on one wall outfitted with angel's wings and tiny white lights, and a lit-up manger scene over the bar.

The music is another big attraction, with listening parties on Tuesdays, a local DJ series on Wednesdays, "Global Minded Beats" Thursdays.

For a 45-seat pub, the food is great. Nothing costs more than $14 and most of the heaping plates are $8 and $9. Pabst Blue Ribbon drafts are $2.50. The french fries are crispy.

Linnane describes the menu as "bar food with a twist." She changed the fare this fall, subtracting high-end entrees such as shrimp, eggplant, and bok choy and adding Madras curry that you can eat over fries (pub-style), rice, or pasta. No seafood is on the menu now, not even fish and chips.

We still found a lot of appealing items, beginning with Korean hand rolls ($8). These were like sushi but with marinated diced vegetables, rolled inside vinegared rice and covered with crisp strips of kimchee (pickled cabbage). The rolls tasted spicy and fresh as spring, a real palate awakening.

Filet mignon dinner ($14), marinated tips of the filet, came smothered in caramelized onions and steamed cauliflower. We got french fries instead of baked potato and were glad we did - the fries were flavorful, flecked with parsley, and needed no ketchup. We ordered the meat medium-rare and were a little surprised to find the tips medium to well, but that didn't dampen our appetite.

Pizzetta, a plate of crisp flat pizza ($9), was the standout. It comes with three toppings from a list of nine; ours with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and spinach looked good and tasted better. Thin crusts let the ingredients step forward, and these toppings deserved the spotlight.

What's a pub without beef and barley stew? At River Gods, a big shallow bowl arrives steaming, with hunks of beef, baby carrots, and potatoes ($7). It's hearty enough for a meal.

For some reason it's hard to find very spicy food at a pub, and this is no exception. Indian curry ($11), vegetables in a Madras curry sauce, proved dull after we polished off the topping of mango chutney. Not enough curry in the curry for our taste. Pasta Bolognese was another disappointment ($10). What on an earlier visit was a heady mix of ground carrot and spices in a tomato sauce with ground beef, this time tasted blandly of tomato and beef and nothing more.

Many people seem to come to River Gods for the music, which varies from lounge chill to loud '80s. On Saturdays, multiply that times the din of a much larger audience. So stick to slower weeknights if you want to make conversation, and in general go early. As the night wears on, the locals who've come by for dinner take off and a much younger crowd starts checking in.

"The neighborhood all comes in and it's somewhat a destination with the DJs," Linnane says. "These young hipsters, they all think they're rock stars."

One look around confirms that. In vogue: black square glasses and knit caps. The few guys who wore baseball caps tended to have long sideburns and an earring (no doubt to disabuse you of thinking they go to BU).

Linnane haunted flea markets from Raleigh to Topsfield to find chairs and tables to furnish her place. She commissioned local artists to create the rustic-looking iron chandelier in the center of the pub. The decor is funky and charming enough to make people feel quite at home, and people do.

All Cheap Eats reviews may be retrieved from Boston.com at ae.boston.com/dining.