Faces, San Diego

The era of The Blue Tattoo has passed America's Finest City. Now Faces has arrived to replace that notorious nightclub, and its owners are prepared to hurl out all the stigma -- both bad and good -- carried by the former occupant. With a capacity of 300, Faces isn't extraordinarily large. Nor is it extraordinarily unique; the twirly lights, underlit bars and VIP booths are attractive, yet reminiscent of many other downtown clubs. But the owners have a vision. They wanted to complement their celebrated upstairs restaurant, George's on Fifth, with a nightclub of an upscale caliber. The club is named after Faces, a nightclub in Chicago that was once one of the hottest spots in the country, an epithet San Diego's Faces would love to emulate. Is it working? Maybe. Faces has a sweet hand of cards, including an ideal location, great dance music and VIP booths creatively partitioned by glass. Only time and gluttonous competitors will tell whether or not the cards are played right.