chrisjur

I do really enjoy Boxers and it has been a refreshing addition to the NYC scene. I've found that it is also now attracting a great crowd for a good Sunday Funday, usually from 3-4pm onward.

Oh, and the $6 bar pies aren't bad either. That big, expensive pizza oven does the job quite well...

dddane

Being from Chicago I don't quite see the love for Sidetrack.. It is a "go to" place for everyone, and great to go to with friends. But I honestly can't think of ever going there and meeting or talking even small talk to anyone whom I wasn't already friends with. People don't have attitude here, which is nice, but they're all occupied watching videos and its loud. As a visitor I don't know how enjoyable that would be, except to kill time watching videos (and someone mentioned they miss the roof bar... I don't know what the reference is to, but they built a new roofdeck/very nice bar on the roof that's seasonally open since at least 3 seasons ago). Cocktail next door is pretty much the same crowd as Sidetrack, worth checking out. They just expanded into the space behind them and there was talk of them having a permanent strip area (which they already have on some nights in front, people rave about them actually). Jaquelines is a nice small neighborhood place w/ a mixed crowd, and it keeps pretty busy. The Closet is known as a lesbian bar but fun for girls and boys alike. Berlin is the best place for hard core dance club with little attitude, usually makes for a really late night. Spin is a good mix of age, dance/bar--the later it gets the younger the crowd gets, particularly on Wednesday $1 drink night. I wouldn't send an enemy to Hydrate, gross. Minibar=pretty boys everywhere with a lot of energy but a lot of attitude and baggage. +1 on Crew being a nice gay sports bar with pretty decent food (it's further north of boystown, in Uptown but you can see the Lawrence red line el stop from it practically. It's right around the corner from Andersonville which lately has turned into the second gay neighborhood of chicago, it seems to be where gay couples and lesbians are gravitating to actually live)

In Madrid we enjoyed Black & White... met a couple and chatted w/ them for quite a long time. pretty mixed crowd, calmer upstairs and dancing downstairs.

In Zaragoza Spain there's very little comprehensive/useful info out there on the web but I would caution against going to Mick Havanna unless you're looking for a prostitute or drugs. there's a back room where I think the main occupants are prostitutes and their clients. that person being all friendly to you isn't being nice because he wants to meet a friendly American! "50 euro for both" was the parting plea, which left me uncomfortable enough to divvy up my cash in every pocket and crevice imaginable as we were leaving.

In Bilbao we went to Bar Septimo Cielo, which had gotten some pretty rave reviews as well. but again, I think 2 out of the 5 people in there were prostitutes. I'm not a "dance club" type person but after the above excursions trying to find a neighborhood type places in Spain I think dance club is the way to go to be safe.

In Montreal, Le Drugstore is a good mixed crowd place. pool tables in the basement. I'm fairly sure Montreal is home to several of the best strip clubs on the western hemisphere.. :]

MSP ... The Saloon was a good mixed crowd, one room quiet/saloonish the other booming dance party. anorexic twinks stripping full on in the shower was mildly entertaining.

jamesteroh

[QUOTE=dddane;15369247Jaquelines is a nice small neighborhood place w/ a mixed crowd, and it keeps pretty busy.[/QUOTE]

I didn't know Jacqulines was mixed. I will have to check it out next weekend when I am in Chicago. I stay at the Hawthorne terrace sometimes and if I am put in the annex I am sometimes literally right above that bar. I like rocks across the street and down about a block as well for a mixed crowd and good food

carloserodrod

1. Cain Dance Club. Montevideo, Uruguay. ^
2. Bunker. Santiago de Chile. ^

dddane

well don't ask me what it's a mix of. it's an all gay mix of...something. pretty sedate the few times i've been there

Wang's is another place around that block... no sign on door, but easy to find because it's connected to Wakamono sushi (3317 n broadway). mostly young 21-39 guys. it's pretty quiet weeknights (can be at times what you'd consider "dead"), can be pretty loud/busy weekends. it's actually pretty much the only place i ever go out to as far as drinking. Rock's isn't a gay bar ;p

jamesteroh

Jacquelines always looks dead whenever I have walked by there even on weekends. I knew Rocks wasn't gay But it is convenient to the hawthorne and while the crowd is mainly str8, I have seen a couple gay guys in there before and the crowd is always friendly.

I wish they would open up a NICE gay bar in the loop.

Tom Ford

Been to bars all over, but my best experiences have been at the London bars/clubs.

Clubs:
G-A-Y
Heaven
Popstarz

Bars:
Ku Bar
The-edge
Freedom

There are more worth visiting, but I really can't remember their names

anonplz

Haven't tried the pies, but yes, refreshing is a good word for Boxers. I mean, New York has a scene for just about everyone. Why not gay jocks? I guess Gym is the closest approximation of what Boxers is, but Gym is always packed, which can be fun, but not all the time. Boxers is comfortable and yes, Funday is my preferred day to go.

DLNYC

I really enjoy Parking (Le Parking) in Montreal. Have fun everytime I go. Love the Quebecois---so friendly, and generally in posession of something else on which I place much importance. I used to be really into Barracuda in NYC, but it's lost its charm. When I'm feeling REALLY cheesy, Fire in London (Vauxhall) is fun.

And how can I forget the mack daddy, Berghain in Berlin?

jamesteroh

I agree baracuda has lost it's appeal. I was there Saturday night when I was in NYC for the holiday weekend. It is nice that we were able to find a place to sit down with no problems but that was about the only plus to the bar. I was also there the saturday after thanksgiving and both times the bar seemed to have more fag hags than gay men.

anonplz

To state the obvious (to locals), part of that is less about Barracuda and more attributable to the fact that Chelsea is an evolving neighborhood, unfortunately. Honestly, I wish it weren't true, but it is. When Barracuda opened, Chelsea wasn't exactly poor, but it was mixed, ethnically, socioeconomically, etc., i.e., it wasn't a destination for the average person, it was a destination only if you were gay.

Now, with the changes in the nearby Meat Market area and clubs there where celebrities can be seen, Chelsea is very whitebread, pricey and more hetero.

But you know, things change, so I should get over it, LOL. There are some really fun new places in Hell's Kitchen. @:-) ^

jamesteroh

What are some new bars in HK? I prefer HK since I usually stay at the hilton garden inn on 8th and 48th. The bars I go to have been around for a while (vlada, posh, ritz)

DLNYC

Indutry and Bartini. Unlike anon, I kind of can't stand HK. Much prefer the Chelsea crowd (HK inherited the old Chelsea stereotypes, plus a chunk of the theater queens, IMO).

anonplz

Yes, those were the ones I was thinking of. (Industry, rather)

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

I lived in HK for two years and hated it. Sketchey, scary street people, loser tourists coming over from Times Square, and constant horn honking. Actually, from 10th avenue west is not bad but around 9th avenue its truly disgusting. Some troll one night in the Amish market started screaming that I was the anti-Christ and starting throwing food at me.

I am back in the Village now (two streets away from the Chelsea border) and much happier other than landlord issues. Of course, it seems that I never spend any of my spare time in NYC (hello Miami, Rio, and LA) so going out in NYC is something I do like once every three to four months. I do like Boxers, there is room to spread out and I am not being bumped into by drunken queens spilling drinks or shirtless things that come from under one of the tunnels that do not appear to understand the concept of proper body weight and prunning of excess body hair.

Sorry I missed the DO. I was of course in LA.