Create your own scandal!
By
Jeff Balk
Washington is divided into
Northwest, Northeast, Southwest,
and Southeast quadrants. The
Capitol building is in the middle, and
the street numbers fan out from
there. Avenues named for the states
cut through the grid at
angles. The gay sites are mainly
located in the NW and SE quadrants.
The Metro DC's subway system will
comfortably get you where you're
going in the daytime, and has
recently extended weekend and night
hours. Driving in DC
in the day is like any other major city--
slow moving-- but a car by night is a
great way to see the sights and bars.
Accommodations and more
As befits a tourist Mecca, there
are plenty of accommodation
options. For the gay visitor, Tande Reservations
(800-209-9408) can assist you in
finding just the lodging you want.
Two local escort agencies,
Agency Escort
Service, and
Capital City
Boys provide other comforts.
I recommend staying at two
local places. The Carlyle Suites (1735
New Hampshire NW) is right in the
heart of Dupont Circle. It is a nice
walk to many clubs, bars,
restaurants and shops
in the NW area. It is also just three
blocks away from the Metro. They
offer large suites with fully equipped
kitchens, laundry facilities, a bar and
restaurant as well as complimentary
access to a neighborhood health
facility.
They also have a sister hotel in
Georgetown called the Savoy Suites (2505
Wisconsin Ave., NW).
About four blocks away from
the Carlyle is a cozy bed and
breakfast run by a sweet lady named
Shelby: 1836 California (1836
California Street), a Victorian
townhouse built in 1900, now
beautifully restored in every
detail. Shelby will be up at the crack
of dawn getting a continental
breakfast ready in this elegant and
luxurious haven on a quiet street
midway between the vibrant nightlife
of Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle.
The house is filled
with an eclectic mix of period pieces,
oriental and contemporary art. There
are three public rooms, all with
fireplaces. Four bedrooms share two
baths, and the bedrooms are
furnished in period pieces with
modern comforts
including king-sized beds,
telephones, clock radios, and air
conditioning.
Bars, clubs, eateries and
shopping: in the SouthEast...
Right in the shadow of
Congress there's a funfest of dance
clubs, strip clubs, and a bathhouse
that sizzles all night. As one of the
few areas left in the United States
with completely nude male strippers,
this area is one of
the main reasons that gay tourists
visit the nation's capital.
A premier draw is the club
complex at
Wet/Edge
(52-56 L Street SE). The name
comes from the open showers at the
end of the bar, where naked young
men douse themselves and cavort
six or so at a time, the length of
the bar top. Bring lots of dollar bills
and plan to spread them around! You
can't touch, but you're sure close
enough to appreciate. Famous porn
stars perform here regularly and
have premiered their videos on the
monitors. One
night a month there are auditions for
all aspiring and uninhibited hunks.
The dance club next door at Edge
has a big floor and hot music, a quiet
area to play pool, and an inner
garden patio and deck.
Sheridan's
(713 8th Street SE) is the place to go
for steaks. They have an upstairs
restaurant with excellent food, and
the staff will spoil you. Sundays they
feature "Mom's Home
Cookin'"
with cowboy kabobs, barbecue baby
back ribs, and Cajun fried catfish.
Wednesday is prime rib night, and
they offer a three-course pre-theater
menu on Wednesdays. Downstairs
is the country-western bar of DC
where
Wednesdays feature Bimbo Bingo,
Thursdays offer dance lessons with
half-price burgers, while Fridays are
usually fund-raiser nights for a local
charity and Saturdays are packed
with cowboys. Located just across
the street from the
dorms for the Naval Academy, there
is also often good eye candy as you
park and walk to the bar and
restaurant.
La Cage
(24 O Street SE) is a newly renovated
club also with naked dancing boys
atop their bars competing for your
tips.
Nearby, Follies
(congressional Productions,
Inc.) (24 O Street SE) is
open 365 days a year. Their full-size
theater features X-rated flicks and
has nude male burlesque shows
where the guys come out into the
audience seats for closer inspection.
Ziegfeld's
(1345 Half Street SE) has DC's
premier drag shows, and their
adjacent club
Secrets has nude male
dancers-- usually favoring the
muscular and military types.
The Glorious Health
Club (24 O Street SE), a.k.a. the
Glory Hole, offers peeps, male erotic
video sales, and a health club.
Next-door is the
Club Washington (20 O
Street SE) bathhouse.
"Velvet Nation"
takes place every Saturday at the big
dance club Velvet Nightclub at the
corner of K and Half Streets SE, with
a young crowd, top DJs, weekly
themes, and featured celebrities.
Remingtons (639 Pennsylvania Avenue SE), is
another country-western bar in the
Southeast.
Bachelor's
Mill/Back Door Pub (1104
8th Street SE) is a local tavern, while
Mr. Henry
(601 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) is a
longtime gay-friendly restaurant with
sidewalk tables.
Banana Cafe and
Piano Bar (500 8th Street
SE) serves Cuban, Mexican, and
Puerto Rican fare.
...in the NorthWest
Crew Club
(1321 14th Street NW) is a gay
recreational facility. where you can
meet other guys without going to a
bar at any time, day or night. It's
smoke, alcohol, and drug free (a
smoking area is provided), and
sports
an all-American, clean-cut
atmosphere. The club boasts two TV
lounges with scads of channels, a
video lounge, a reading lounge, a
gym with free-weights, and a tanning
bed. It's 18-and-over, and
membership is not necessary.
The D.C. Eagle
(639 New York Avenue NW), the city's
most favored leather/levi and bear
bar, may also be one of the most
welcoming, down-to-earth, and
friendly bars anywhere. There are
three floors, with the
uppermost for the most
leather-dedicated. In back of the
second-floor bar is a dark and
seriously cruisy deck. There's a big
late crowd here. There's no attitude,
and it's easy to converse and make
friends. Eleven to midnight is a
fashionable time to show up. There
are many special nights held here,
such as their famous underwear
parties and Sunday "Bear
Blasts." Look for details on the
annual Leather Sabbat celebration
here, too.
Attractive Dupont Circle is
home to one of the most pleasant
gay districts in America. Outdoor
cafes, bars, dance clubs, shops, and
interesting folk make for a pleasant
stroll. For some fresh air you can
relax at P Street
Beach, a grassy knoll along Rock
Creek at 22nd, for sunny-day tans
and later AYOR liaisons.
Your tour might begin with Lambda
Rising (1625 Connecticut
Avenue NW), among the world's top
gay bookstores, with one of the best
inventories of gay titles and
publications. They're open daily til
midnight. You
can get oriented here with
complimentary copies of the local
papers
Metro
Weekly and the Washington
Blade.
Up the street at the Leather
Rack (1723 Connecticut
Avenue NW) you'll find finely tailored
leather clothing and accessories,
toys, pumps, lubes and condoms,
video head cleaner, adult magazines
and videos, and
special items. You can shop at the
store seven days a week from 10am
to 11pm, or browse for on-line
discounts at
www.theleatherrack.com.
The Pleasure Place
(1710 Connecticut Avenue NW) is an
erotic boutique across the street.
For everyone looking for that
special club outfit or new underwear
to show off to your new DC friend it's
Universal
Gear (1601 17th Street).
Their store is packed with the latest
lines from
Lucky, Calvin, Diesel, and many
more. Their staff is friendly, and they
are located at the corner of Q Street
and 17th, right in the heart of the bay
bar scene.
The area's gay bars are
mostly old-time favorites that have
out-lasted some trendy upstarts that
have come and gone.
Fireplace (P
Street at 22nd NW) is a cruisy and
comfortable video bar on two levels
that packs a
big afternoon and evening crowd.
Mr P's
(2147 P Street NW) is a cozy,
neighborhood bar. Across the street,
the complex at
Badlands
(1413 22nd Street NW) with Omega
DC at the rear, is a
high-energy dance club and cruising
bar that packs in
as-many-as-they-can of all those
good-looking young guys lining up to
get in before closing.
On the other side of the Circle,
at J.R.'s Bar And
Grill (1519 17th Street NW),
it's "Happy Hour City,"
where chinos and button-downs are
standard cruising attire. They
sponsor events such as the recent
annual "High
Heel Race."
Nob Hill
(1101 Kenyon Street NW) is another
long-time neighborhood favorite.
Club
Chaos (17th and Q Streets,
NW) has dancing, dining, drag
waitresses, and Sunday brunch with
celebrity impersonations.
The Atlas dance party takes
place from 8pm Sunday nights at
Lizard
Lounge (1520 14th Street
NW) They have Tex-Mex cuisine here,
too.
On Fridays Tantrum provides
dancing "for boys who like
boys" at
Zei Club (Zei Alley, between
H and Eye NW).
If you're hungry, check out the
areas around 17th Street, from P to R
Streets; Dupont Circle; and the
Adams Morgan area around 18th
and Columbia NW. All offer a choice
of international restaurants and
cafes.
Hamburger
Mary's (1337 14th Street
NW) offers a wide array of
hamburgers and sandwiches, with a
bar as well.
Soho Tea and Coffee
(2150 P Street NW), with tasty
sandwiches and deserts, becomes
an all-ages gay hangout, especially
on weekend nights.
Annie's Paramount
Steakhouse (1609 17th
Street NW) has an upstairs video
lounge, and their restaurant of 50
years still specializes in steaks, with
seafood and pasta, too. They are
open most nights well after the bars
close for those late-night munchies.
La Frontera Cantina
(1633 17th Street NW) serves
authentic Tex-Mex food, while the
Cyberstop
Cafe (1513 17th Street NW)
is a funkily-comfortable cyber-coffee
shop with sidewalk seating.
Basics (1612 U
Street NW) is a neighborhood cafe
for fresh health-conscious cuisine,
breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The service staff at Mimi's
(2120 P Street, NW) are aspiring
singers and actors who give
performances throughout the
evening.
For a real locals' tavern in NE,
Delta Elite
(3734 10th Street NE) has a long
tradition, as does the restaurant
Two Quail
Restaurant (320
Massachusetts Avenue NE).
In nearby Virginia...
A short drive outside of DC and
across the Potomac in Virginia is the
Hunt Club
(2249 Huntington Avenue;
Alexandria, Virginia). Sunday nights
tear off your shirt for Sunday T Dance.
A top DJ is
always spinning, and the boys
behind the bar show it off as they
pour your drinks. Saturday nights are
Uncle Ron's Karaoke nights where if
you wear leather or a cowboy hat you
will get drinks at half price from
8pm-2am. Every
Thursday night from 9pm-2am
is BUMP-- there is no cover, and free
rail drinks from 9-10pm for all
shirtless men. You can enter at 18
and drink at 21. Located just two
blocks from the Metro yellow line,
Hunt Club also has plenty of
free parking.
For your social
calendar...
Area social clubs that sponsor
a variety of events include the
DC Bear
Club and the Centaur Motercycle
Club. You can investigate
and register for upcoming events on
their web site www.centaurmc.org, or
check with
the guys at Leather Rack if you want
tickets for future events.
| Author Profile: Jeff Balk |
|
Jeff Balk is publisher of EXP, a gay/les/bi/trans bar and
entertainment magazine serving
Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas. Jeff
hails from St. Louis, Missouri, where
he lives when not travelling for The
Guide.
|
| Email: |
expmag@aol.com |
| Website: |
www.expmagazine.com |
|
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