“Let’s have a night out!” you might say to your partner, friends, roommate, or yourself (no judgement here) one night. Well, what are you going to do? Huh? Exactly, you don’t know. Luckily, DCist staff and contributors highlight some of their favorite things to do when we think “having a night out.” We left out “drinking at your favorite bar” because that’s too obvious. Add your favorite night out activities in the comments. Or don’t. Whatever floats your boat.
Photo by Kevin Harbor.
GO SEE A (CHEAP) PLAY: Though the people-fearing introvert in me is loathe to admit it, a good play beats even the best Netflix binge sessions. The most frequently cited excuse for not seeing a show is the cost, but there’s about a dozen different ways to see a show for not much more than the cost of a movie ticket. Almost every big venue offers age-related discount programs that can cut the cost in half, and many smaller companies offer pay-what-you-can performances on specific nights; Forum Theatre even offers pay-what-you-want tickets before every show. You can still lie and tell your girlfriend you spent a bundle on her. — Riley Croghan
The Forum Theatre is located at 8641 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Md.
ESCAPE ROOM: One time, DCist got locked in an escape room. What is an escape room? It’s an “exit game” experience (that’s apparently hot in Europe, of course) wherein you and your friends are locked in a room and you have to find clues and solve puzzles hidden throughout the room to get yourself out. We had a pretty good time and with a second “escape room” opened in Southeast, you’ve got multiple rooms to get locked in with your friends. — Matt Cohen
Escape Room Live is located at 2300 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite G-102. Escape Artist DC is located at 720 I Street SE.
BOCCE BALL: A few years ago, bocce seemed to be the trendy thing in D.C. bars, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not good for a night out. Vinoteca at 11th and U Streets NW has a traditional crushed shell court in their rear outdoor plaza area that’s also a few feet from the a bar. It’s great for nice evenings. Since there’s only one court, there can be a bit of a wait to play, but the tasty bar snacks (charcuterie, delicious little sandwiches, olives and almonds) make it worth your while. Nearby on 14th is BlackJack, which has two astroturf courts and a lot of good flatbread pizzas and traditional cocktails. It’s also often much less crowded and noisy than its downstairs sister restaurant, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace. And over on H Street NE is Vendetta, with two indoor oyster shell courts and Prosecco on draft. Just try to avoid the bocce league nights at all three spots if you want a chance to toss a few balls. — Andrew Wiseman
Vinoteca is located at 1940 11th Street NW, BlackJack is located at 1612 14th Street NW, and Vendetta is located at 1212 H Street NE.
PINBALL: At the risk of becoming self-parody, I’m humbly submitting a night out playing pinball as a great night out option. Hear me out: The District’s two best (and really only) pinball bars, Columbia Heights’ Lyman’s Tavern and Black Cat are both excellent bars as is, sans pinball. But, getting a group of friends together to go out for a night of flippin’ provides both healthy competition and something to do other than drinking. Plus, an opportunity to meet other pinball enthusiasts in the area. In fact, there’s even a DMV pinball league that meets for competition play once week, at both Lyman’s and Black Cat, but also at other spots around the area—Town Hall Liquors in College Park, Md., Crab Towne in Glen Burnie, Md., and Mighty Mike’s in Sterling, Va. The new season starts up soon, so join today! — Matt Cohen
Lyman’s Tavern is located at 3720 14th Street NW and Black Cat is located at 1811 14th Street NW.
KARAOKE: Karaoke is not everyone. But if you’ve got a song in your heart and the ego to want to sing it in front of other people, it’s a great opportunity to have fun while showing off how well you can read words from a screen. There’s a lot of places you can do karaoke in the D.C. area—from weekly nights at The Pinch, a private room with friends at Muzette, or semi-regular themed nights, like Black Cat’s Punk Rock Karaoke. Luckily, we wrote about all of them here. — Matt Cohen/Sarah Anne Hughes
SEE AN OLD MOVIE AT THE AFI SILVER: Look, there’s nothing wrong with a movie like Furious 7, or whatever the new big blockbuster is, but let’s face it: they don’t make ’em like they used to. Case in point: a few weeks ago, Silver Spring’s cherished AFI Silver showed a screening of the sci-fi classic Blade Runner. If, like me, you’re a big fan of Ridley Scott’s seminal dystopic noir, then you know that a theater can’t just show a screening of Blade Runner; there’s four different cuts of it and they differ drastically. If they were showing the original theatrical cut, where the studio made Scott put in a bullshit ending and corny dialogue, then no way, not worth going. But the AFI Silver—in partnership with the Environmental Film Festival—programmed three different versions of the film, including the best one: the 2007 Final Cut. It’s this kind of careful and nuanced programming that makes the AFI Silver the best place to see movies in the D.C. area and, depending what you’re going to see, a memorable night out. — Matt Cohen
The AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center is located at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Md.
TRIVIA AT NELLIE’S: The best trivia game in town is at a gay sports bar, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Josh Housdan and Andy Austin have been running Smart Ass Trivia Night for more than seven years, dishing out Trivial Pursuit-style questions and sass in about equal measure on Wednesday nights. There are two games, plus a team name challenge for each, that leave plenty of opportunity to win cash off your bar tab, a bucket of beer, or tickets to a show. Think of it as an opportunity to learn which of your friends is a closet Bjork savant. Also, tater tots. Many, many tater tots. — Rachel Sadon
Nellie’s is located at 900 U Street NW. Trivia takes place at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.(ish) on Wednesday nights.
OUTDOOR MOVIES: Though you can’t tell today, the weather is actually warming up. With summer right around the corner, it’s time for the season of outdoor movies to return. D.C. has kind of an embarrassment of riches when it comes to outdoor screening series—Screen on the Green, NoMa Summer Screen, GatewayDC Summer Film Series, Capitol Riverfront Outdoor Film Series, to name a few—so there’s no excuse to get out and catch a class flick under the stars. Stay tuned for our complete guide of outdoor movie series in the D.C. area soon. — Matt Cohen
