D.C.-area nightlife, events and dining

Don't let the pictures of salami on the wall scare you away: Etto is a great new date spot for vegetarians. The newest addition to 14th Street NW boasts a devotion to charcuterie, but if you look past the cured meats, you'll find inventive vegetarian small plates that aren't overtaken by dairy.

While this Alla Romana pizza isn't one of the vegetarian options at Etto -- it has anchovies -- there are inventive options for meatless meals here. (Maura Judkis/The Washington Post)

Etto's Saturday menu sported nine vegetarian options, four of which were daily specials. Some of the veg-friendly choices include cauliflower with pine nuts and saffron, porcini salad with Parmesan and chive blossoms, and roasted baby leeks with Marcona almonds and golden raisins. While most of the pizzas are topped with either anchovy or salami, they sport enough other ingredients, like rapini and capers, that they wouldn't suffer if you asked your server to hold the ham.

Best of all, Etto adds a different feel to Logan Circle, where rapid growth has brought restaurants that grow bigger and noisier by the week. Corner windows keep the space bright, and the restaurant is intimate, with only 42 seats. Here's hoping you'll be able to snag one of them.

Etto, 1541 14th St. NW. 202-232-0920.

"J.J. Abrams's second tour on the Holodeck did not go as boldly as the studio hoped."

The Attacca Quartet performs works by John Adams and others on Wednesday. (Attacca Quartet)

The Going Out Gurus recommend free things to do for every day of the week:

MONDAY

'Love Person'

Sanskrit text, ASL and innovative communication come together in this theater piece by Aditi Brennan Kapil to create an unlikely love story. Ram, a bookish poet, falls for Vic, who introduces him to her sister, Free. As Free, a deaf signer, begins to read Ram's work, the two develop a hybrid language of their own.

7:30 p.m. The Fridge, 516 ¹ / ₂ Eighth St. SE. www.thefridgedc.com.

TUESDAY

Daft Punk listening party

The new Daft Punk album, the band's first proper release in eight years, has been hyped to the extreme. To celebrate its release, U Street Music Hall will be spinning "Random Access Memories" on vinyl through what might be the city's best sound system (at least for dance music). Those who arrive early get free posters and other merchandise. If you're younger than 21, you'll have to drop $5 to get in, but the party is for attendees 18 and older.

8 p.m. U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St. NW. 202-588-1880. www.ustreetmusichall.com.

WEDNESDAY

Attacca Quartet

As part of American composer John Adams's week-long residency at the Library of Congress, New York's Attacca Quartet is performing works by Adams, Leos Janacek, Timothy Andres and Beethoven. The ensemble made a name for itself in part through acclaimed performances at Manhattan's Le Poisson Rouge, and the group's rapport with Adams is well-established.

8 p.m. Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. 202-707-5502. www.loc.gov.

THURSDAY

'Flags of Our Fathers'

In this World War II film from 2006, starring Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach, director Clint Eastwood examines the iconic moment when six U.S. soldiers raised the American flag on top of Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi. The film questions the traditional version of the story and follows the troops to see how the event affected their lives.

7:30p.m. Library of Congress — Packard Campus, 19053 Mount Pony Rd., Culpeper. 202-707-9994. www.loc.gov.

FRIDAY

Christopher Lynch

As part of the series of Friday mid-day recitals at National City Christian Church, Christopher Lynch, a member of the American Guild of Organists from Bloomington, Ind., will be playing the church's five-keyboard M ller pipe organ. Lynch will perform Edward Elgar's "Imperial March," as well as classics by Mendelssohn, Bach and Louis Vierne.

12:15 p.m. National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Cir. NW. 202-797-0103. www.nationalcitycc.org.

SATURDAY

Corcoran's summer Saturdays

Today marks the start of the Corcoran Gallery of Art's summer of Saturdays with free admission. Be sure and catch the soon-to-close exhibition "How Is the World? Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Photography." Works by such well-known photographers as Edward Burtynsky and Hank Willis Thomas are on display, as well as by such lesser-known artists as Kate O'Donovan Cook, who specializes in unusual self-portraits.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St. NW. 202-639-1770. www.corcoran.org.

SUNDAY

'Summer Blast Off'

Kick off summer with the U.S. Marine Band and a picnic at Wolf Trap, and stick around for a fireworks display at about 9:45 p.m. Get there early; it's first-come, first-served. The gates open 90 minutes before the show.

8 p.m. Wolf Trap, Filene Center, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna. 703-255-1900. www.wolftrap.org.

Just look at that thing. (AP Photo)

The Washington Kayak Club will meet for a friendly paddle Sunday morning at Fountainhead Regional Park in Fairfax. It's Hawaiian Shirt Day (!) according to the group's Meetup page. But it's more than that: It's the "Second Annual Tom Selleck's Mustache/Hawaiian Shirt Paddle Day." What more could you possibly need to know about an event that combines paddling with the majesty of Hawaiian-print shirts and the grandeur of Selleck's soup-strainer?

(Because this blog's readers might not have been alive or cognizant in the early to mid-'80s, Selleck is more than just the subject of Selleck Waterfall Sandwich; he starred as an Oahu-based private detective on "Magnum P.I." from 1980 to 1988.)

Here's more from the event's organizer, Hector Alers: "I grew up watching Magnum P.I. and found that although I didn't have [Selleck's] dashing good looks, I did possess his silly character. So the rest was easy. Keep a Hawaiian theme and add a thick mustache for good luck."

Alers, whose favorite Selleck movies are "An Innocent Man" and "Runaway," has been a member of the Washington Kayak Club for four years. He expects a Selleckian paddling party of 30 when the group departs at 8:30 a.m. "The most important thing about growing a Selleck Mustache," he said, "is trying not to hide that charming smile." (Tell that to those willing to pay $5,000 for a mustache transplant.)

Paddlers without facial hair need not worry, as Alers is providing a 'stache stash: "This year I made all the mustaches out of black furry fabric and Post-It adhesive poster squares; which, of course, are Tom Selleck approved."

This week, the Post's food critic released a baker's dozen of new star ratings in his annual Spring Dining Guide, which takes a second look at previously reviewed restaurants. The places you'll find included are definitely deep cuts from the archives, names that may not be on the tip of your tongue, but destinations worth knowing about -- or avoiding, as the case may be.

Tom Sietsema takes a fresh look at 13 restaurants he has previously reviewed

Somen noodles with pickled cherry blossoms, mountain vegetables and green beans at Makoto. (Joseph Victor Stefanchik for The Washington Post)

The list includes a bucolic farm setting that's a more budget-friendly way to have an Inn at Little Washington experience (and likely a shorter drive); a museum cafeteria on the Mall where the menu changes seasonally; a 25-seater that bans shorts, shoes, phone calls and excessive cologne or perfume; and a "sprawling zoo" of a restaurant that Sietsema calls a cross between the Cheesecake Factory, Taco Bell and spring break.

Let's go inside the ratings:

Highest: 3 (out of 4 stars) for Makoto

Lowest: 1/2 star for Lauriol Plaza (that aforementioned "zoo")

Biggest jump: Wit & Wisdom, up one star (to 2 ) since it was reviewed in 2012

Biggest drop: Cubano's, down one star (to 1) since it was reviewed in 2003

Loudest: Al Tiramisu (91 decibels)

Quietest: Restaurant at Patowmack Farm (64 decibels)

Before you dive into the guide (which is just as pretty looking on your smartphone or tablet), watch this video about a museum cafeteria like none other. The video includes your best chance to get a glimpse of that man of mystery, Tom Sietsema.