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However, the capital city offers plenty of options for killing time in style, whether your feel like being an adult, indulging your inner child or just digging in to some great food. Columbia «*• Haunts Thursday nights, Five Points is hoppingto the sounds of banjos, upright basses and acoustic guitars thanks to Bluegrass Night at El Burrito. This locally owned and operated restaurant closes off its parking lot to create a cozy little area for an eclectic crowd to hear some of Columbia’s best musicians. The house band regularly invites guest artists to play with them, and the nights often turn into serious jam sessions. They start around 7:30 p.m. and play until 11:30 p.m. every Thursday night until early November when the weather gets too cold. El Burrito offers beer specials for the night in Bluegrass Night at El Burrito PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK Delany’s is Five Points’ Irish pub, and it brings out the O’Malley in all of us on Wednesday with Pint Night and the various Celtic music sessions, but intelligence is the key on Sunday nights. Or maybe we’re just talking random knowledge. Either way, Trivia_Night is a great way to pool your group’s collective gray matter and win beer glasses and the occasional bundle of cash. It works like this: you come in with a group, create a team (complete with name) and answer rounds of questions on various subjects. Whoever has the highest score at the end of the night wins pub glasses. Lots of teams come back week after week and participate in tournaments. The overall winner of the tournament gets a cash prize, thereby validating all that useless knowledge that’s blocking out the answers to that chemistry final. Trivia Night at Delany’s Non-Stop Hip-Hop Live Every Wednesday night at New Brookland Tavern, the DJs of the WUSC radio show Non Stop Hip-Hop take their talents across the river to spin underground hip-hop. Non Stop Hip-Hop Live is the best place to hear new and underground acts. Non-Stop Hip-Hop Live has brought in live performers like uaayssey, Kon vega ana Kweli. This past fall, it sponsored the Battle of the MCs, and it is a constant outlet for local hip-hop artists like Lyrikal Buddah and Fat Rat. PHOTO BY REGINA GOODWIN/THE GAMECOCK What the Nickelodeon Theater is to films in Columbia, Trustus Theater is to plays. Trustus has produced less-known and alternative plays and musicals for over 15 years. The theater also offers Trustus Late Night, a series that offers concerts, comedians, plays and The We’re Not Your Mother Players, which is the house improv troupe. Trustus Late Night will finish its 2001-2002 season Saturday, August 17 with an improv performance by The We’re Not Your Mother Players. The new season will start September 13 through 27 with “The Hamlet Project.” Showtimes are Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. and Fridays at 11:15 p.m. Trustus Late Night I PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/ THE GAMECOCK For those late night study munchies, you can follow everyone else down to IHOP for unhealthy, greasy pancakes and omelets, or you can try the fresh creations from the Pita Pit. The Pita Pit is a franchised operation on Greene Street in Five Points that has locations all over the U.S. and Canada, but it has the look and feel of a homegrown little hole-in the-wall joint. They offer a variety of meat and toppings to create pitas and salads, and they have a fine soda selection as well. Try the chicken caesar pita (the croutons add just the right amount of crunch) or the souvlaki pita with the special sauce (it makes you feel so much better than the boysenberry at IHOP). The Pita Pit stays open and delivers until 3 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, making it perfect for procrastinators. PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK Pita Pit PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK