For an evening out, no place is better than Adams Morgan. This culturally diverse neighborhood is now one of the hippest areas of Washington, with dozens of small, ethnic restaurants, art galleries, clubs, and bars.

On my recent trip, I met up with a few friends and we took a cab from Georgetown to Adams Morgan, which cost about $15. Parking is almost impossible to find there- we once drove around for an hour without finding a space or a garage (expect to pay $20 if you do). You can take the metro to Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan or Dupont Circle, but you still have to walk 15 minutes to get to the heart of the area. And remember, the metro stops at midnight Fridays, but runs until 3am on Saturday night.

On this recent trip, we went to two bars. I didn’t create separate entries for them because neither was stellar or particularly different than the other. As a bonus for the indistinguishable atmosphere, neither had a cover charge. We began at Brass Monkey (2317 18th St. NW) and had a few drinks in this laid-back addition to the restaurant downstairs. Drinks here were only $4, very reasonable considering the area. The bar also had lots of cushy chairs, couches, and tables on which to sit and relax. Rock and pop music played through the bar, but no one was dancing. Dress was fairly casual-jeans were the norm.

Next we went to Tom-Tom’s just up the street. This was much more of a dance club than our previous bar. The downstairs is dance heavy-hip-hop, rap, dance, although the DJ is easily bribed to play whatever you want. It gets crowded and the bathroom is on this floor so plan ahead. Upstairs is a little more laidback, with some chairs and a bar, although it got very crowded by the end of the night. Also, watch out for the crazy guys playing original Nintendo-they get a little out of hand. Drinks were still fairly cheap at about $4.50. There was no dress code other than jeans, and no sign of any food or grill at this bar.

But you don’t really need bar food at Adams Morgan because Jumbo Pizza places cover every square inch of the street. At my university, the post-bar food was a hotdog or a burrito as big as your head. Here, apparently it is the $3 slice of pizza that takes up two entire paper plates. Lines form around the street, and in fact, everyone seems to be eating a slice in the street. This is not the food for the health conscious-you have a choice of cheese or pepperoni, grease or extra grease. But for $3, you get practically an entire pizza!!

Despite the typical bar scene, I really enjoyed Adams Morgan at night. We had a lot of fun on our way home just people watching those who had also been out all night.

This is the center of young nightlife in D.C. There are a huge variety of restaurants, pubs, businesses, and such in this neighborhood. I'll try to address some of these separately and you should look for other reports on some that I have not been to. This is the late night area of D.C. that does not roll up the carpet at 5pm and head for the suburbs.

The circle itself has shopping, a cinema with art house movies, numerous restaurants and bars, interesting shops, all night bookstore/restaurant (Kramerbooks and afterwards, a café) with live music. A mile or so away the heart of nearby Adams Morgan (18th street for 2-3 blocks south of Columbia) has more restaurants, bars, clubs, shopping, billiard parlor, whatever.

In the spring, when the outdoor tables come out the whole area bustles. You can smell the blossoms in the warm air and eat Indian/Chinese/Thai/Ethiopian/Cajun/French/American/Japanese/You-Name-It food under the sky. You can hang out in the circle itself, which is a quiet park in the center of a very busy traffic area

Some of the highlights, for me, are Madam's Organ in Adam's Morgan (live music, often), the row of Ethiopian Restaurants, especially Meskerem (Fasika's is also very good), Kramerbooks and Afterwards in the Circle, Lamda Rising (north of the circle, if you are gay), and just hanging out here.

The closest metro for DuPont Circle is DuPont Circle on the Red Line. For Adams Morgan it is either DuPont or Woodley Park/Zoo. It is a walk either way, and mostly uphill from DuPont, so I prefer Woodley.

This is a neighborhood in NW DC which is a focal point for the nightlife 'scene.' It is a 3 or 4 block stretch of nothing but restaurants, bars, and clubs. There are some pretty good ethnic restaurants here (Ethiopian, Italian, Mexican, Brazilian, etc.). A few bars I'd recommend are: the Pharmacy Bar, Tryst, Bedrock Billiards, the Common Share. There are also some dance clubs which are not all that great, but can get you blood pumping none the less. I would recommend going with a group, as it is tough to get a cab late at night when you are alone.