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15
Great Things To Do On a Saturday Night
By Carolyn Murphy
Tired of the usual Saturday night routine? Want to
do something more than dinner and a movie? Bethesda
Magazine’s list of 15 great things to do on
a Saturday night can help you get out of your rut. From
bowling to dancing, from ice skating to a ferry ride,
there’s a wealth of new and exciting things to
keep you busy on Saturday night.
Listen to the Music
- If that midsummer humidity gets you down, head indoors
for live music where Ireland meets Bethesda at RiRa
on Elm Street. RiRa is both an Irish pub and restaurant.
The interior of the pub was imported from Ireland
where it had been the inside of a grocery store from
the 1800s. The bar in the restaurant came from Dublin’s
Olympia Theatre, first opened in 1879, and the scene
of many an Oscar Wilde play. On Saturday nights starting
at 10, you can hear alternative rock bands, drink
a Guinness (or two) and ponder Oscar Wilde-isms, such
as “Music makes one feel so romantic—at
least it always gets on one’s nerves—which
is the same thing nowadays.”
RiRa Bethesda
4931 Elm St., Bethesda
301-657-1122. www.rira.com
- If you’ve been counting the days until bands
such as J.P. McDermott & Western Bop, The Hula
Monsters, Sleepy La Beef and The Grandsons come to
town, then head over to the Half Moon Bar-B-Que in
Silver Spring. The Half Moon features rockabilly,
zydeco, blues, R&B and country music and some
tasty—and inexpensive—North Carolina, Memphis
and Texas BBQ. The Half Moon has some impressive roots:
Its owners previously owned the now-closed Twist and
Shout in Bethesda, made famous by the Mary Chapin
Carpenter song “Down at the Twist and Shout.”
The music at Half Moon begins around 9 p.m. Cover
is $3.
Half Moon Bar-B-Que
8235 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring. 301-585-1290 www.halfmoonbbq.com
- As college students in Washington, Martin and Carrie
Mayorga started a cigar importing business, which
soon became a coffee importing business, which soon
became a coffee roasting business, which soon became
Mayorga Coffee Factory, a hip and huge coffeehouse
in Silver Spring, which soon became many Mayorga coffeehouses
in Montgomery County. On Saturday nights, two of those
venues—the original location on Georgia Avenue
in Silver Spring and a new one on Wisconsin Avenue
in Bethesda— feature live music. The styles of
music—reggae, Afro-Cuban jazz and tango, to name
a few—reflect the countries where the Mayorgas
buy their coffee. The Saturday night scene at the
Silver Spring store, which has had a liquor license
for a while, is well established—a diverse, eclectic,
well-dressed crowd cozies up in tobacco-colored comfy
chairs with exotic cocktails or “loaded lattes”
in hand, and grooves to the music. The Bethesda store,
which just got its liquor license, hopes to establish
the same kind of hip Saturday night vibe.
Mayorga Coffee Factory
8040 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring. 301-562-9090;
8201 Wisconsin Ave.,
Bethesda. 301-907-3081 www.mayorgacoffee.com
Exercise—but not much effort
- Bowling has come a long way since the ancient Egyptians
invented a primitive form of the game in 3200 B.C.—or
since German monks introduced the game as a religious
ritual between 200 and 300 A.D. On Saturday nights
at Strike Bethesda, bowling has a decidedly secular
feel, with pulsating music, flowing beer, videos projected
on giant screens and rock-concert-like lighting. Strike
Bethesda was transformed in 2001 from a traditional
bowling alley into a “retro-funk, nightclub-n-bowling
center”—and it’s become a Saturday
night hotspot. Open until 2 a.m. on Saturdays.
Strike Bethesda
5353 Westbard Ave., Bethesda 301-652-0955
www.strikebethesda.com
- Ever wondered why ice skating rinks are packed
in the winter when it’s cold outside, but nearly
empty in the summer when it’s hot? Area skating
rinks offer a break from the heat and humidity with
Saturday night public skates. Or you and friends can
rent a rink for a private skating party. Rates
are in the $250 an hour range.
Cabin John Ice Rink
10610 Westlake Drive Rockville. 301-365-2246 www.mc-mncppc.org/parks/
enterprise/ice/index.shtm
Rockville Blades
50 Southlawn Court, Rockville 301-294-8101
www.rockvilleblades.com
Wheaton Ice Arena
11717 Orebaugh Ave. Wheaton. 301-649-3640 www.mc-mncppc.org/parks/
enterprise/ice/index.shtm
(No public skating on Saturday nights at Wheaton,
but private party rentals are available.)
The old ballgame
- It doesn’t get much better than this: A baseball
game. A beautiful
summer night. A first-class field with seats so close
you can hear the players talk. Ticket prices that
max out at $7. And it’s all just miles away.
That’s exactly what you get with the Bethesda
Big Train, a group of talented college players who
play in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League
at Shirley Povich Field in Cabin John Park and—get
this—use wooden bats.
Big Train alumni include Orioles minor leaguer John
Maine (who pitched 32 innings for the big club last
year) and Steve Schmoll, a Magruder High School and
University of Maryland grad who was
effective pitching for the Dodgers this year before
being sent to the minors. There are also Cal Ripken,
Sr. teams in Rockville and Silver Spring-Takoma Park.
Bethesda Big Train
301-983-1006 www.bigtrain.org
Rockville Express
301-279-6780
Silver Spring-Takoma
Thunderbolts
301-270-0598
www.tbolts.org
Potomac Crossing
- Who knew historic and charming Leesburg, Va., is
only a few miles drive from Montgomery County? It
is if you take White’s Ferry in Poolesville to
get there. White’s Ferry is a cable ferry that
crosses the Potomac every 20 minutes between 5 a.m.
and 11 p.m. It has been transporting passengers and
vehicles (no longer do livestock climb aboard) for
over 180 years. Once you reach the Virginia side,
Leesburg is only a short drive away. And once you
reach Leesburg, there are many restaurants to choose
from,
including Lightfoot (American), Eiffel Tower Café
(French) and The Mighty Midget Kitchen (BBQ). On the
return trip, make sure you have your round-trip ticket
or $3 for the one-way fare handy. During the 1930s,
Chief Justice Evans Hughes reportedly took the ferry
to Virginia and on his return asked the ferry captain,
“What would you do if I didn’t have a dollar?”
Replied the captain: “If you don’t have
a dollar mister, you don’t belong in Maryland.”
White’s Ferry, 301-349-5200 for directions to
the dock.
Lightfoot, 13 N. King St.
Leesburg. 703-771-2233
Open Saturdays 11:30 a.m.
to midnight
www.lightfootrestaurant.com
Eiffel Tower Café
107 Loudoun St., S.W.
Leesburg. 703-777-5142
Open Saturdays for dinner
5:30 p.m.-10 p.m.
www.eiffeltowercafe.com
The Mighty Midget Kitchen
202 Harrison St., SE, Leesburg
703-777-640
Open Saturdays 12 p.m.-8 p.m.
The Great Outdoors
- What would summer be without outdoor movies? The
Comcast Film Fest to benefit NIH Children’s Charities
is housed on the grassy expanse outside Strathmore
Hall, and will feature major motion pictures such
as “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
on Saturday, Aug. 13 and “Spiderman 2” on
Saturday, Aug. 20. Admission is free for the movies,
which start at 8:30 p.m., and refreshments will be
available for purchase from various local vendors.
Strathmore Hall
10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda
301-581-5100. www.filmfestnih.org
Dance, Dance, Dance
- Some people use alcohol or drugs to transport themselves
to a better time and place. We suggest a healthier
and safer alternative: dancing on Saturday nights
at the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park. Built in
1933, it has 7,500 square feet of dance floor and
is designed to accommodate 1,800 dancers. On Saturday
nights nowadays, the ballroom is the scene of a dance,
with dance styles alternating each week and including
waltz, swing and salsa. There’s always a large
contingent of beginners; in fact, during the first
hour (starting at 8 p.m.) dance lessons are provided.
The music is live and many of the dancers dress in
the fashion of the week’s dance style. Plus,
there’s no drinking or smoking (or air conditioning).
The whole scene leaves dancers with the feeling that
they’ve been transported to a simpler, gentler
time. And with ticket prices ranging from $7-$15,
a less expensive time as well.
Glen Echo Park
7300 MacArthur Blvd.
Glen Echo. 301-492-6229
www.glenechopark.org
- The Yacht Club of Bethesda is part singles bar
and part dance club, but with Tommy the Matchmaker
running the show, it’s all shtick. Over-40 singles
predominate—but many couples come to dance and
take in the scene. The scene usually consists of Tommy
the Matchmaker announcing new arrivals and pairing
up the pair-worthy. The club is open Saturday’s
from 8 p.m.-2 a.m. There’s a $15 cover charge.
The Yacht Club of Bethesda
8111 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda
301-654-2396
www.yachtclubofbethesda.com
- If you don’t feel like dancing yourself, then
we suggest you go to the Tel-Aviv Café and
watch a dancer of another kind—a belly dancer.
Yasmina has been dancing at the Tel-Aviv Café
for some 10 years. (She does the belly-dancing equivalent
of a marathon every Saturday night, performing at
other venues before and after the Tel-Aviv Café!)
At Tel-Aviv, Yasmina captivates patrons, balancing
drinks on her head and grabbing dance partners with
her scarf. Her performance begins between 9 and 9:30
p.m. and the restaurant is open until midnight.
Tel-Aviv Café
4869 Cordell Ave., Bethesda
301-718-9068. www.tel-avivcafe.com
Emeril Envy
- You can admit it. You have Emeril envy. You watch
the Food Network and fantasize that it’s you
doing the basting, braising and babbling. L’Academie
de Cuisine in Bethesda can’t make you a TV star,
but they can help you to become a pretty good cook.
Every Saturday night L’Academie offers group
cooking classes for amateurs. (See related story page
54.) Saturday night classes in July and August include
“BBQ Workshop,” “Basic Knife Skills,”
“Dim Sum for Lovers,” “Magic Tofu”
and “Ways and Means with Greens and Beans.”
Private on-site classes can be arranged for groups
of 20 or more.
L’Academie de Cuisine
5021 Wilson Lane, Bethesda
301-986-9490. www.lacademie.com
Home Games
- Tired of the same old Saturday night dinner party?
Chef Bryan Davis wants to help. Davis, like many other
area personal chefs, offers cooking lessons for private
parties, right in your kitchen. “We do parties
where we demonstrate how we cook the meal and then
serve it, and instructional parties where we prepare
the ingredients and the guests do the cooking,”
says Davis, who co-owns Really Good Food. Davis recently
was hired to cook for a couple celebrating their 25th
anniversary. He cooked the meal in the couple’s
kitchen, explained each course as he served it, and
then cleaned up and was gone. For personal chefs,
cooking in other people’s kitchens can be an
adventure. “One time I was baking a lava cake,
which is a chocolate cake with a liquid center, when
the people’s oven died,” Davis recalls.
“We put the cake on the stove top and slowly
steamed it until it was done—and then served
a really good pudding cake.”
Some local personal chefs:
Bryan Davis, Really Good Food
301-585-0029
www.reallygoodfoodonline.com
A. Curtis Guyer, Curtis Cooks!
301-788-5631. www.curtiscooks.com
Brian Boots, Elegance Ala Carte
301-991-8350
www.elegance-ala-carte.com
Mitch Greene, Another Choice
301-779-0508
www.another-choice.net
- Clear out the family room furniture and roll up
the rugs—you and your friends are going to learn
to swing dance in the comfort of your own home. Many
local dance instructors will come to your house to
both demonstrate and teach a variety of dances—which
is great entertainment for a Saturday night party.
The king of in-home swing is Tom Koerner, from Northern
Virginia, who, along with his dancing partner (and
ex-girlfriend) Debra Sternberg, is a three-time Virginia
state swing dance champ. “A typical private party
is where the host/hostess have food and music (usually
a DJ), and we come and teach a short 20- to 30-minute
lesson to their guests,” says Koerner, who is
a divorce lawyer during the day. “We rotate partners,
so everyone gets to meet everyone else and it generates
a lot of conversation (and mayhem).” Sometimes,
Koerner warns, the lessons have unintended consequences.
“When we have the partners ‘couple up’
the man’s right hand should be on the woman’s
left shoulder blade,” he says. “However,
almost always the men end up with their right hand
on the woman’s bottom. When I point this out
(and they’re usually with someone they’ve
just met) everyone has a good laugh at their expense.
Especially if their spouse is looking on. That’s
when I mention that I’m also a divorce lawyer.”
Tom Koerner, 703-359-9882
www.gottaswing.com
- The personal chef has cooked you a gourmet meal.
The dance instructor has taught you to jump, jive
and wail. You’re bloated, tired and your feet
hurt. So what’s next? How about in-home spa treatments?
Relax & Rejuvenate of Washington offers a wide
variety of spa services for parties or for couples
who want to spend a romantic evening. Services include
rice and sake massage and brown sugar massage. “We
do a lot of couples massages,” says Suzanne Owen,
the firm’s founder and owner. “We send two
therapists who bring their own tables and music—along
with towels and robes.” Owen says one man recently
arranged a massage for his wife in their home, and
then he cooked her dinner while it was being done.
Nice guy.
Relax & Rejuvenate, 202-237-0242
www.relaxandrejuvenate.com
Freelance writer Carolyn Murphy lives in Bethesda.
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