Live Q&As

I totally have you covered. Are you looking for MD or VA? Great mountain vistas or would you just be happy to get out outside? Mileage? I have a bunch of ideas and need a little help narrowing it down.

My standby suggestion for folks who want to take a Potomac cruise is the Potomac Riverboat Company. I have written a handful of stories about their special cruises, but I think my favorite was riding aboard the Skipjack Minnie V. It is so beautiful and riding in it is such a unique experience. Plus, with depart times as late as 7:30 p.m.  you can enjoy the twilight on the water.

I'm tempted to say the Passenger. It's pretty chilled out around happy hour on a Friday and while the drinks get top billing, the food is also amazing, like duck carnitas tacos amazing.

If it's more than 10, this becomes a bit trickier. I think the current king of happy hour + a la carte food + no reservations is Hill Country, but whether that's "nice" in this case depends on your liking of BBQ and live music. 

Though I think it's hard right now to pin down a "typical" Washington experience, I'd recommend making reservations now for a place such as Fiola or Rasika in Penn Quarter, two fine restaurants with lively bars and excellent reviews.  Another thought is Proof. With any of these, I might try to hit the American Art Museum/Portrait Gallery first (since they stay open till 7), then head over to a lovely dinner.  (On 14th Street, I'd suggest dinner at Churchkey or Estadio, and I'd recommend getting to Estadio around 6 to ensure you get a table.) Two thoughts for Annapolis: Fritz is a big fan of Level, a small-plates restaurant with a great cocktails and a mature scene. I like Metropolitan Kitchen and Lounge, a farm-to-table restaurant which has such a cute look, is away from the boozy waterfront bars, and has pretty good food. The good news is they're next to each other, so you can do one for dinner and the other for drinks.  What all of these have in common is that they're hip and sophisticated enough -- and have hopping bars -- so you'll feel right in your element.

The Fairgrounds will definitely be open. As for nearby food and drink outside the stadium, it's still (still!) Justin's or bust, unless you're willing to trek over from Barracks Row or Pennsylvania Ave. A year from now, this should all be very different with the opening of the Boilermaker Shops and a few other projects in the stadium vicinity. Here are a few more hints for inside the stadium, where concessions will be served as if it were a sold-out Nats game. 

Nothing confirmed yet, other than doors open at 1 and music starts at 2. As soon as we know anything, we'll tweet and/or blog it. 

That's such a cool idea. I think spending time with family can be an awesome way to celebrate an anniversary, as well! For ballroom dancing, I'd have to recommend the Carlyle Club in Alexandria. Check out the upcoming schedule of music here. And of course, legendary around here is Glen Echo's fun swing nights (see the schedule here). Both have a historic quality about them, and you won't go wrong with either.

Oh, my. I'm blushing, and yet...

That sounds like a wonderful way to spend a Saturday! St. Michaels is such a fantastic area. I did a quick look through Dr. Gridlock's blog and weekly outlook I think you are in the clear about encountering any unusual delays with the Bay Bridge this weekend. That said, his answer during the summer is Saturdays before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m. With the calendar flipping to September, you should be able to leave a bit later than that.  And if you want to do a little bit of planning, check out what we have on the GOG about St. Michaels.

Hi, please, you should never apologize for being girly around here -- The GOGs all know I live for questions about shoes and nailpolish. The most raved about eyebrow line (yes, eyebrow line!) of all time has to be  Anastasia  -- readers on Makeup Alley, which I always check for makeup reviews before I lay down fifty bucks on something, give it crazy love, in part because the line does taupey-ash shades, because not all of us have warm hair tones (and this sounds like this might be your issue). Since you're not sure which might work, I'd definitely buy from Sephora or Nordstrom -- they have very forgiving return policies if they don't work out. (Um, why is it $85 for the brow kit!? Yikes.)

You did say that. Darn my quick reading. In that case, they do have a number of monument cruises on Friday nights.

Okay, extra points for copious research!

Now we're talking... Love it.

The short answer is: No, you are not alone. But if you look at the crowds drawn by the places you mentioned (all of which are owned by the same folks, which might have something to do with the pricing/selection trends you observed), there's no shortage of people willing to pay for the $9 Stella, either. If you're looking for a shot-and-a-beer in the nightlife-driven neighborhoods you frequent -- where again, there's no shortage of demand for $9 Stellas, apparently  -- try Solly's, DC9, Duffy's, Stetson's, Touchdown ($6 for a can of Natty Bo and a shot of Old Overholt!), Fado...

I'm not sure what your definition of cheesy is -- my list of things that are corny could take a year to write --so I'm just going to toss off some ideas. So new you'll probably still get a whiff of the paint smell is Capitale, where they're promising a  non-pretentious, open-to-all environment that's just for folks who want to dance. I really want that to be true, since so many readers tell us they just want to dance, but no one wants bottle service or attitude anymore. And I'm always going to recommend Eighteenth Street Lounge -- now listen carefully, do not go to MIA just because the line is shorter -- because it's just a diverse, moody place, and hasn't really varied from that in all these years. And I swear, so long as you don't wear mom jeans, you shouldn't feel too out of place in this town.  Readers? Any other non-cheesy places for dancing?

You should park at the garage of your nearest Metro station. Otherwise, you can buy a Lot K parking permit, which is at South Capitol and K streets, for $40 or try your luck at the cash lots near Nats Park, like the one on 1st Street, that will also set you back the cost of five stadium beers.  

This helps so much. You should have a number of options, but I am going to go ahead and scratch anything along the Appalachian Trail or in Shenandoah National Park. So here is what I have for you: Patuxent is so big you can find a quiet place without a problem.  Great Falls (avoid the crowds by heading to the Gold Mine Trail, a lovely, flat trail that once was trolly track.) Rock Creek Park, particularly in Montgomery County (think Lake Frank and Lake Needwood. The farther from the city you get, the less crowded it is, promise!). The Potomac Heritage Trail is the best trail close into the city, but it can get a little crowded. Avoid the hoards of bikers by doing a variation on the hike suggested here.

Apparently I need to be answering other chat questions... if none of these suggestions help you out, feel free to email me at orndorffa@washpost.com.

You might check out the new Curry Mantra, which seems to do lots right when it comes to service, if you check out the reviews.  Here's a full list of restaurants near GMU -- but Curry Mantra really looks promising.

Touched on this already, but for post-show eats and drinks, your best bet is probably to take the train up to Gallery Place/Chinatown, though it'll probably be after midnight by the time you get up there. The Hamilton is always an option. If you want to let the herd thin a bit before you trying to get back downtown, you might be better off venturing over to 8th Street SE and stopping in at Molly Malone's or Lola's. 

Best guess would be between 8 and 8:30 for Bon Iver, but you can get the most definite answer by checking out 930.com on Saturday. 

Actually, Atlas Arcade wasn't taken over by someone else. It was the same owner of Fruit Bat, re-thinking the space. Frozen Tropics posted his e-mail to folks about his thinking, and it's worth a read.

As Fritz suggested in his first look at Atlas Arcade in July, there may be good reason to keep on re-thinking: "There are things that are undeniably corny about the place -- the idea of paying $3 for Pop Tarts or $1.50 for a bowl of sugary kids cereal, a Boardwalk-style claw game filled with stuffed animals, some of which have bar tabs attached to them. The video game selection feels like a work in progess, especially for those looking for more widely popular titles — Pac Man, Missle Command, Tapper, even, dare we hope, Paperboy...."

I second that. Let the crowds have Great Falls, I will take Riverbend.

Perfect additional option. I probably should have added Pusser's Landing to the Annapolis list, by the way, but I worried that in November, it has to lose all its summertime charms.

I hear Dornish wine is rather excellent. Would they serve that at Renn Fest? 

It might be because of the earlier question, but I am thinking that St. Michaels would be a good fit. It is a great upscale town with unique B&Bs, wineries, restaurants and it is very walkable.

Let's at least do a bit of service journalism today and point out that John Jay is not the reason why there's no J Street in D.C. 

I would have suggested Firefly, but it's under renovation. Of course, there are other options including grabbing a seat at the bar and noshing at Tabard Inn, or  Boqueria. And for something superquick and more casual, you could try Taylor Gourmet on 19th Street -- it closes at 7, though.

Any place at the bar! I see it all the time at Estadio, and the Passenger. Of the restaurants in our New and Notable list, I think Izakaya Seki would work, because I've seen the crowd gathered around the "bar" and you can watch your food being prepared. Tacos el Chilango, notsomuch -- I've seen a lot of date nights there.