Location: 2101 L St. NW
Readers’ pick: Tonic

After a long day of work or classes on Wednesdays, gather your smartest group of friends and head over to Stoney’s on L Street for some friendly trivia competition or attempt to catch a glimpse of part-time waiter Luke Stone, who will appear on the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette.”

Trivia begins at 8 p.m. sharp every Wednesday night, but head over early to beat the crowds, grab a table and fuel up with some food and drinks before the games begin. The game is taken seriously at Stoney’s on L and the room is almost always completely filled, so make sure your team is prepared for stiff competition.

The bar’s trivia competition is broken into five rounds with each round covering a different category. The first round always focuses on current events while round four is always about music, and teams write down their best guesses to a series of questions on a sheet of paper.

When I dropped by to check out the trivia scene, teams were being tested on everything from the Revolutionary War to rare diseases. Teams needed to pool their brain power to answer questions these tricky topics, but the difficulty made the night even more exciting.

If your team’s knowledge reins supreme, prizes for the first- through fourth-place teams are awarded each week. First- and second-place teams win gift cards to the restaurant for $50 and $25, respectively, so they can enjoy food, but many champions opt to use their winnings to celebrate at the bar.

For a fun twist, the third-place team chooses between picking next week’s trivia theme or a free bottle of wine, and the fourth-place team will picks up whichever prize is left over.

With its coveted prizes and proximity to campus, Stoney’s On L’s trivia nights make for the perfect midweek break with some friendly competition.