Red Line to Relaxing: Besthesda Happy Hours

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WE KNOW YOU can't take a vacation this summer. Not only is everyone strapped for cash, but with so many people out of work, everyone with a job is working triple-time. A staycation even seems dicey. But you can make time for one night, right?

It's time to explore Bethesda. OK, it's not exactly Colonial Williamsburg, but it IS on the Metro, and we'll take convenience over butter churns any day of the week. And hey, anything is better than the same Capitol Hill hangout every day of the week.

If you're in the mood for pure relaxation, snag a booth at the Barking Dog. Weekdays between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., you can get $1 off every beer, rail drink, glass of wine or appetizer. After that, you can hit the teeny indie-house Bethesda Row cinema for a screening of "Summer Hours."

If you want something a bit more amped up, you want Union Jack's. It's a dance club that thinks it's a sports bar, or maybe a sports bar that saw one too many Harry Potter movies. But here are the facts: On Monday night, you can get half-price burgers, half-price games of pool and 22 oz. jugs of Miller Lite for $5.

But that's just where it starts. Bring your Stetson and possibly some business sense and ante up for the weekly Texas Hold 'Em tournament. It's free, and you can actually win prizes if you come in first, second or third place.

Just make sure to wring the testosterone out of your hair before midnight. That's when you turn into a pumpkin — er, when the Metro back to D.C. closes for the night.

» Union Jack's, 4915 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda; 301-652-2561. (Bethesda)
» The Barking Dog, 4723 Elm St., Bethesda; 301-654-0022. (Bethesda)

Photo by Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post