What places can I go for a fantastic evening out in Washington, DC?

I have lived in the Washington Metropolitan Area my whole life. I want to get some opinions because sometimes it seems I do the same thing every time I go out for the evening. Please recommend a fantastic dance club (clean and great fun atmosphere, if its a gay club that doesn’t matter, I am open to any suggestions), and a really really nice restaurant. If these places can be in nice areas and not the sketchy ones, that would be great. One time someone recommended Town dance club and I just felt extremely unsafe getting there and honestly that club was so not worth it (rude people and bad atmosphere). Later this month I have a friend visiting me and i want to show him a fantastic time in Washington, DC, so any suggestions would be extremely helpful and greatly appreciated.