Going Out Gurus

We answered a ton of questions about the upcoming holiday festivities, in addition to queries about anniversary dinners, bars for first dates, Fort Reno policies and hookah smoking practices.

Read the full transcript here. Got comments? Leave 'em below or submit them to next week's discussion.

Happy Fourth!

-- Julia

July's live music calendar is highlighted by visits from some Wu-Tang Clan members, Frank Black's newest band and African sounds new and old from Occidental Brothers Dance Band International and King Sunny Ade. Five here, 15 more after the jump.

M. Ward brings his sterling indie-Americana to 9:30 club. (Autumn DeWilde)

"Young Hearts Spark Fire" - Japandroids (DC9, July 8)
This Vancouver duo creates an appealingly crunchy sound with a nostalgic streak ("I don't wanna worry about dying/I just wanna worry about those sunshine girls").

"Paper Bombs" (MySpace stream) - Lo Moda (Fringe Festival, July 10)
The Baltimore art-rock group plays quirky, low-key pop that on this track recalls the Vaselines.

"Staten We Go Hard" - Raekwon (Merriweather Post Pavilion, July 12)
Wu-Tang's Raekwon responds to Jay-Z's toast to Brooklyn by praising his own borough, and, of course, the Clan: "S-H-A-O-L-I-N, we kill again."

"The Quitter" - NOFX (Merriweather Post Pavilion, July 14)
The pop-punk torchbearers have been playing snotty, hook-filled songs for 25 years. That makes the band approximately twice as old as some of the kids who will be pogoing during the set at Warped Tour.

"Confetti" - Young Mammals (Velvet Lounge, July 15)
This Houston band sounds like '90s-era Flaming Lips -- gleeful, psychedelic, noisy, catchy, weird and fun.

When it comes to theater, Fringe Festival dominates the scene this month with 100+ performances across the city. But if you're looking for something a little more mainstream (and possibly more of a sure deal), we're serving up a preview of all of the non-Fringe theater July has to offer.

The Tony-winning rock musical "Spring Awakening" comes to the Kennedy Center this month. (Paul Kolnik)

But before we move on from Fringe, it's worth mentioning the festival's free preview tonight at RFD. Open to the public, the sneak peek features a taste of about 20 performances. (July 1)

On the heels of its big Fantasia-headlining production of "The Color Purple" (June 30-Aug. 9), the Kennedy Center is mounting another big summer performance. The coming-of-age story of "Spring Awakening" took the Tonys by storm in 2007, and you can get your chance to see why this show, with a score by Duncan Sheik earned the honor of best musical. (July 7-Aug. 2)

Make a splash at a holiday weekend pool party. (Dakota Fine/dakotafine.com)

The Fourth of July means a long weekend with plenty of pool parties and late-night throwdowns, but we also have Michael Jackson tributes, stellar lineups of globetrotting DJs, go-go bands and an appearance by Jay Reatard. And hey, if you couldn't get Sonic Youth tickets, the Velvet Lounge offers the next-best thing: a lineup of "noisy, out-there" artists, including a member of Animal Collective.

The competitors -- all of which can be yours for less than a buck each.. (Fritz Hahn/washingtonpost.com)

Last year, I convened a panel of friends and coworkers to taste and rate Caribbean beers. This time around, we took on domestic canned beers in search of the perfect brew for a holiday weekend cookout. We were looking for one with broad appeal, one that people could enjoy all day in the afternoon sun and one that was cheap. How cheap? My only rule was that each individual beer had cost less than $1, or no more than $6 a six-pack.

Okay, so the picnics I wrote about probably won't come in such an adorable basket. But hey, good takeout doesn't require fancy presentation. (Julia Ewan - The Washington Post)

The Fourth of July is a holiday made for picnics. If you plan on taking advantage of the day off on Friday and packing up your own, the Food section's got you covered with a slew of fried chicken and portable dessert recipes. But if you're feeling a little lazy before trekking off to the National Mall's fireworks display, the following nearby restaurants can hook you up with grub, to-go.

It seems pretty un-American to celebrate our country's independence at a French restaurant, but of many downtown restaurants, Cafe du Parc's offerings sound the most intriguing. From 5 to 9 p.m., the restaurant will serve a holiday-appropriate, to-go menu of grilled chicken, hamburgers, pork ribs and french fries from a grill on its patio. Crepes will be available as well. Prices range from $8 to $15. Diners with a little more time on their hands can reserve a table on the outdoor terrace and listen to the sounds of Jumpin' Jupiter.

Good Stuff Eatery is going the all-American route, serving its usual burgers, fries and milkshakes. The restaurant is planning to set up a shorter to-go line that offers a lunch bag with a burger, fries and a soft drink. You can't get a milkshake if you opt for the quicker line, but this is a good option for those coming in from the East.

Hill Country, the big barn of a barbecue joint in New York, is coming to Washington, courtesy of its founder, Bethesda native Marc Glosserman. While the self-service restaurant is still a year away from opening in Penn Quarter (at 410 Seventh St. NW), some of us are already licking our lips in anticipation of a slab or two of the signature dry-rubbed, slow-smoked brisket and ribs.

Like the original in Chelsea, the 250-seat Hill Country in Washington will take its cue (pun intended) from Kreuz Market, the famous barbecue destination in Lockhart, Texas, where the meat is sold by weight at a counter and presented on butcher paper. With his second location, Glosserman is once again aiming for "faithful replication": the wood for the fire will be Texas post oak, the drinks will include Big Red cream soda from Waco, Texas, and the desserts will use Blue Bell brand ice cream.

The secret to good Texas barbecue? "It's not what you put on," says Glosserman, whose father hails from Lockhart, "but what you leave off." Nix any sauce. His meats are simply seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper and cayenne.

Food won't be the only draw at Hill Country, which is expected to debut in July 2010. Along with baked beans "with burnt ends" and PB&J cupcakes, restaurant offerings will include live music by country, blues and southern rock acts.

To which I say, yee-haw (and pass the paper towels)!

-- Tom Sietsema