take a look at python+flask and clojure+ring+compojure (and other tech too) before throwing your hat in the node ring. going with a more general-purpose language might serve you better down the road. javascript will limit you to web dev essentially -- which you want to do now, but what about 5 years from now, etc

Its a personal choice more than many things. The more I do this, I realize why I prefer strong typing for a server stack or to build a platform base.