By Reed Tucker Photographs by Diane Collins Birthdays used to be easy. When you were a kid, party preparations involved little more than tacking up a couple of streamers, hiring the community's only sober clown and making sure the pony didn't eat the neighbor's azaleas. Not that it has to be this way.
Birthdays can be memorable affairs without becoming second jobs.
Choose the right restaurant, and you can treat yourself and your friends to an extra-special night, with very little planning on your part. A number of establishments go out of their way to entertain, make you feel special and, most important, shower you with free stuff. If you're celebrating your special day, management will also set sail a complimentary bottle of bubbly and a dessert topped with sparklers. Barrio Steer the party to Barrio on your birthday, and you'll leave behind lots more than empty beer bottles and stains on the furniture. Barrio will also outfit your birthday table with complimentary disposable cameras and small photo albums and will provide you, as the guest of honor, with the requisite free dessert.