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In D.C. Dream Day, we ask our favorite people in the area to tell us how they would spend a perfect day in the District.

D.C. has no shortage of nightlife authorities who claim to know the best things to do in city. But there are few who’ve managed to grow a following independently, in the middle of a pandemic that’s ravaged the events industry itself, quite like Jade Womack.

“I was born in D.C. and raised in Arlington, and I think having that kind of framework has been really helpful for a lot of my followers to know and learn about the city,” says Womack, who now lives in Adams Morgan.

Womack is the founder of Clockout DC, a nightlife blog that spun off into a popular Instagram account with more than 24,000 followers. The D.C. area native launched her project in 2019 while moonlighting as a bartender who was in search of things to do after hours. After working a long shift, the bar was the last place she wanted to find herself.

Womack usually scours dozens of sites before whittling down her final lists, which she often turns into aesthetically pleasing graphics for her Instagram page. In between Clockout and her day job as an energy economist, Womack also writes Washingtonian’s weekly Things to Do newsletter, further building her D.C. nightlife empire. Naturally, she has no shortage of places to go on her dream day.

I would wake up and take a shower, and since it’s my dream day, all my laundry would have been folded. I’d then go on a really long walk with my dog and escape the area. On my way to Dumbarton Oaks I like to go through Rock Creek Park. What my dog loves is watching the creek as we go by — [Dumbarton Oaks] has a beautiful creek path and has beautiful tall trees. They have these nice little benches where you can just sit and read a book all day and it’s not as traversed as Rock Creek Park. We’d walk around there on our way to Georgetown.

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Once we got out of Dumbarton Oaks, we’d walk down the hill past the International British School [of Washington] and go to Foxtrot and grab a coffee. If I’m hungry for some quick lunch, I’d get the Pig and Fig — it’s their prosciutto and fig jam sandwich. It’s really just heaven on Earth.

I love spending time with my dog and walking around window shopping, and one thing that I don’t think people know is that there are a lot of dog-friendly stores in Georgetown. I would window shop at Anthropologie and things would be like 90 percent on sale. We’d also stop by Lush and for some reason, I’d need soap, which would also be on sale.

On my way home, if I were to take P Street NW, I would stop at Emissary and get a cocktail, Kicking and Screaming. It’s a jalapeno-infused aguardiente, pineapple and ginger. Everyone should order one. And if I’m still hungry, I would get the arugula herb salad — and add the salmon filet.

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If I didn’t go to Emissary, then I would go to Tatte in Dupont Circle, but it would be my dream day so nobody would be there and I wouldn’t have to wait in a long line and somebody would watch my dog while I went inside and ordered food. They have this potato, mushroom and bacon shakshuka. It’s like a baked potato soup but better. It’s a garlicky potato and it has a nice sourdough bread to dip them in.

I’d then walk toward my house to Lost City Books. They have a great selection of books and I really enjoy how they highlight lots of not known authors. It’s one of those places where you feel like you’re a neighbor.

I’d probably start my night at an art opening. What I really like about Homme DC is that Amir [Browder] really selects the artists he chooses for his perspectives. And DC Arts Center and Arena Social Arts, too. For someone who’s grown up here, you kind of have memorized the permanent collection of every major museum at this point. So it’s always nice to see fresh new artwork.

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I don’t think many people know this, but the MyTix program at the Kennedy Center, if you’re under 30 you get heavily discounted tickets to the opera or anything really. And you can buy two tickets — the [other] person does not need to be under 30. On my dream day, I would have gotten the best tickets to see “Carmen.”

The Mexican Cultural Institute usually has these awesome lectures and tastings. I always enjoy going there — it’s one of the most beautiful buildings in D.C. Or, I would go next door to the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain. They host some interesting art events, exhibits, performances and film festivals.

If I were to go to a film festival, I would go to the Environmental Film Festival. Or, as an example, the National Museum of Asian Art has lots of virtual film festivals. They used to show some of the films in person. Or the D.C. Independent Film Forum.

Somehow all my friends would come into town, and we magically descend upon our night out. I would go to Tiki on 18th, which is run by this guy named Jo-Jo [Valenzuela]. I’m Chinese Filipino, and they have the best pancit, I think, in the city.

I really love the food at Anju, so we would get dinner or just drinks there. Then afterward, we would go bar hopping. Last Call is a bar where you can meet people. It’s a bar where you wouldn’t feel weird to go up to people and meet them. I would go to the Green Zone. Green Zone has amazing cocktails, but don’t sleep on the za’atar pita chips.

Then I would go the Gibson, Jane Jane or the Passenger. If my friends decided to disperse, and there are only one or two people, go to the Gibson and get a great cocktail. Passenger, that’s more a rowdy bar where if you have a large group you could totally just go in there. But the cocktails are great and the decor is wild. And then, got to go to Jane Jane for the Cheez-Its and decor.

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