texbearjoe

Unfortunate.

It takes an exceptional situation for me to walk out of a restaurant, but Starbelly achieved exceptional status. I want to like it, and I certainly know friends that have enjoyed it, and I've had some decent meals there, but on two occasions I've ordered pizza, and the whole system in the restaurant seems to reveal a chasm of profound unknowingness. The first time, I had some sort of cheese pizza (cave aged gruyere, thyme, mushrooms, roasted onions: why can this restaurant across the menu identify beef as "Prather Ranch" and hazlenuts as "Oregon" and Gruyere as "cave aged", but they can't actually tell you what type of mushrooms are on the pizza, well, that's just me), which, after finally getting it, was nauseating. Gruyere is an oily cheese - wonderful in fondue, but on this pizza, perhaps along with the 'roasted' onions (isn't that practically the definition of onions on a pizza), created a slimy mess which literally dripped with oil. The pizza itself was basking in a pool of its own oil. The slimy gruyere and onions happily slid off the slice into the oil pool on the pizza pan when you picked up a slice, meaning you had to kind of re-assemble the pizza with cutlery to actually eat it - don't think of touching the slice. Unfortunately I did so which immediately coated my fingers with unpleasantly fragrant unctuous oil like melted vaseline, I'm sure somehow managing to coat my body like a special effect from "The Matrix". Nauseating. Well, I decided to give the restaurant a second chance, and in another visit tried a different pizza - pizza margherita, with fresh mozzarella and basil. So simple, what could go wrong with tomato and cheese coated bread for $15? I threw caution to the wind, and even asked for chorizo also on the pizza. After waiting too long (should we say something?), out came the pizza. I picked up a slice, and what normally I'd expect to find - a crisp crust with a thin tasty layer of tomato, warm-brown bubbly cheese, some fresh basil and chorizo - was actually apparently a can of tomato soup served on a flat wet bread round with a cheese crust - sort of a tomato version of onion soup gratinee, with the croutons around the soup instead of in it. This was revealed to me when I picked up a slice, and naturally the entire tomato/cheese/chorizo/basil complex slid off with a plop into the pool of tomato soup. I know it's asking a lot, but when you offer pizza on a menu, it would really help to actually be able to serve, you know, edible pizza. My guest and I got up, laughing, and took the pizza to the main cash register, with the poor waiter, and said we had to leave, here was $10 for the ice teas, the pizza was inedble for a second time. They were of course mystified why I didn't find the pizza staggeringly delicious until I pointed out it was actually tomato soup on a flat metal plate disguised as food. When they saw the soup-like pool on the pizza plan, the sad pizza slice echorche (that should have been the menu description), with doe-eyed sadness they bid me adieu with apologies for their inability to serve, well, food. The mystery lies unsolved in my mind. How could the cook get something as elementary as pizza wrong, over and over again in different variations? Did the waiter servicing the pizza not notice the pool of oil/tomato juice on the pizza slopping in the pan? Did patrons not think pizza slice echorche was unacceptable? Had nobody every complained? Did the front-of-house people think that they should not call a manager about pizza soup? Alas.

The restaurant version of Boboli?

I recently dined there and ordered a "Genovese" pizza - after scanning the menu to try to find a pizza with, well, meat, and not feeling like eating salami on a pizza (the only option). I got a pizza crust with slices of potato drizzled with Pesto, and apparently a "nanoparticle" dusting of Parmesan - yes, the only protein. CSI Miami would find their protein sequenators having to be turned on "high" to find the Parmesan protein particles. I know it's my own damn fault for ordering it but something in my head told me that I might be crazy - a restaurant wouldn't really serve a large sheet of carbohydrates (well, some protein) covered with... more carbohydrates! That's an entree! Well, I'm really amazed that here's one of the "best restaurants in the city". The restaurant claims that for them the most interesting part of the pizza is the crust - perhaps that says it all. They certainly have a laughable set of toppings on the menu, unless you select your own toppings, but then... I'm not sure I'm going to "one of the best restaurants in the city" to, in effect, have to place myself in the job of being the chef in order to come up with a pizza recipe that has an adequate balance of protein, carbs, and perhaps vegetables. If you want a "concept" pizza, probably fabulous - in fact, I suggest bring in a Boboli with you from a local Safeway and ask the chef to go crazy with the spoonful of cheese dust and a hint of flavor, but if you want an adequate pizza, I'd go elsewhere. They resemble very little the pizzas I enjoyed in Italy, which didn't focus exclusively on the crust. They actually focused on the balance between crust and savory toppings.

Doesn't go with the flow

I've tried to figure out how the bar works, but as other's have mentioned, you end up getting kind of trapped on a level, with poor circulation, and not a good view. I'd hate to be there if there was a fire. Bartenders friendly, and on one of the party nights I'm sure it's fun, but the bar had an unfortunate problem with the more it gets packed, the less fun it was because of... the flow - you simply can't circulate easily. Not sure it's worth a visit.

Always Entertaining

There's something about "shirtless thursday" for guys to get free drinks that is a combination of endearing and avaricious that is great. I found the crowd sexy and very mixed in ages, sizes, muscles and hairiness, and I don't have a type so it was perfect for that. No bar has friendly people until they've knocked back a couple of drinks so the evening definitely gets better as it goes on. Can be very flirty, sleazy, or even primpy depending on the crowd's mood. Great place to meet anyone from a half-naked Military doctor to an over-endowed daddy that can kiss like hell. But, alas, then the lights go on and the free drinks are over, and the bar clears. Worth a visit.

Comedy of Errors

I was once in a restaurant in Charlotte where I swear to god the waiter said "I'll bearback for your Dessert" when clearing dishes. I cleared it up after a moment - he said "I'll be-right-back for your Dessert". So in Catch, I had the waiter misunderstand my food, and cause a halt to dinner - I received Steak instead of Salmon. I do speak English. Otherwise, the service was good, restaurant half-empty, and therefore not too loud, the Salmon was precision cooked but the fries I sampled were not crispy. Combined with my experiences in the past, it's usually a good restaurant, but not exceptional. You'll enjoy it.

Evolution Doesn't Exist QED

I went recently on the Friday before Folsom, advised to enjoy kind of a bearey muscley evening, and got in early (before the block-long line!) and have to say: I went there when I was still in school in LA - San Francisco was an escape (I am a Caltech Geek: Gay Sheldon for Big Bangers) and it was a revelation in the 80's to see a video bar - even though it was Juice Newton and Bananarama. Nice crowd, this friday, and more than a few recognized the notorious "texbearjoe" from bigmuscle.com but... it was still a video bar! In the same configuration! With the same... problems! In Amsterdam at De Spijker they would do things like show Looney Tunes juxtaposed with hardcore fuck films to mix it up, or in Paris early 90s they were doing video mashups of "The Thing" with "Push Push in the Bush". All I could think of was that I had walked into a "Literal Video" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA. Only three stars for proving you don't have to evolve to survive.

Worth the Trip

I was visiting family about an hour outside of Asheville recently, and convinced friends to avoid Chili's and Appelbys, and take an hour drive to Asheville for Cucina24. Wonderful to find a reasonably priced high-end food restaurant in the mid-south, excellent wine list, and between the rabbit, duck, tuna, and other choice dinner entrees, we had a wonderful time. Excellent and knowledgable staff, and I'm smitten with the fact that all of them have sexy black beards, but that's just me. The grissini are addictive. Enjoy.

Conde Nast Traveler Quality

I've stayed in many B&B's around the world, and I have to say that renting the lower apartment here was fantastic - full size refrigerator, complete kitchen, dining room, living room, large bedroom, multiple TV's, bedroom with a huge 4-person walk-in shower, and all adjacent to a charming patio, and beautiful garden. Excellent top-quality hand-cooked breakfast, and drinks in the refrigerator when I arrived. Some problems with wireless internet. Very close to Sainte-Catharine Street, and easy walking distance to all major gay venues. A Keeper.

Appalling

I have eaten Intestine sat in Borneo, live octopus in Seoul, Poutine in Canada, but nothing made me as nauseated as the staggeringly greasy, unappetizing non-food food served here. Completely disappointing. What's so hard about cooking a hamburger, rare, served in an appetizing way on a bun with some crisp (not mushy) fries? Couldn't wait to get out.

As Fred Flintstone Might Say

Abba-Zaba Do Come Here!

Gay Goodwill?

I just had an overwhelming feeling of going into a Goodwill store - clothing that looks, strangely, used, absolutely nothing compelling about the display merchandising, gobs of teeshirts and just overwhelmingly tired feeling. Much better off going to an "American Apparel" for kaleidoscopic teeshirt range, fun atmosphere, and less of a retail discount tag sale feeling.

Everything You Need

I was recently in Ptown for "Bear Week" (which for me was one day), and enjoyed a complete workout here. Small, and fairly tight layout of equipment (borderline dangerous), but not lacking any essential machines. Very friendly staff, easy to get to. Scrupulously clean locker area, with good communal shower. The men using the gym are extremely friendly, it's one of the only gyms where I've had, well, 10 or more introductions in an hour, along with someone following me into the shower area - but nothing pressured or unwanted, and definitely not public sex. Just very friendly, and with the way the men looked, everything from hot muscle daddies to tattooed pump boys, it's a real visual Smrgsbord. Very much worth a visit.

Something for Everyone

It's like the owner decided to add everything from a gym design checklist - weight training, squash, volleyball, swimming, cardio, yoga,... you get it. Very complete, spacious and well-put together facility in a beautiful location on Green Point in Cape Town, near the stadium built for the World Cup in 2010. Scrupulously clean lockerroom, steamroom, and sauna - minor irritation that the lockers can't accomodate US-style padlocks, had to buy a miniature lock. Equipment in gym is good, and well-maintained, but only one real smith rack, nothing for shrugs, and pec-decks are of a brand which manage to always stress my shoulders uncomfortably because they apparently are designed for people with arms roughly four feet long. Other than that... be prepared to fill out a detailed form for even a single day visit. Disconcerting to see 8 year old boys in the locker room - while this is clearly 80% gay in terms of men, it is truly a family gym, and hot glances and strategically draped towels will be quickly be put in an unerotic context with kids running around like junior high. Vast amounts of eye candy, but like some gyms, peculiarly un-inviting, very little talking going on among the gym-goers, and a strangely unjoyful atmosphere, like several gyms I've reviewed. Worth a visit however.

Puts the "men" in "Amenity"

Unusually well-thought out boutique hotel, lush plantings inviting you into a faux-colonial mansion, small number of rooms, but each one complete with great bathroom, lots of drawers and clothing storage, and most with private terraces and flat-panel TV, and so on. Fantastically attentive staff, and all details simply and invisibly taken care of, from parking to gym passes to quick cappucino to great Cape Style breakfast cooked to order. I wish I only had more time to appreciate. Apparently featured in a recent Kirstin Bjorn Video. Only drawback was that it was not really close to the gay areas, though very close to beach. I prefer quiet to super-convenient, but check a map.

Friendly and Busy in Mid-Winter

I had chance to visit Cape Town in their winter (Northern Hemisphere July), and even with so-so weather, a reasonable turnout, and very friendly atmosphere with patrons milling in and out. The "action area" was closed due to the police having actually seen someone (shockingly) exposing themselves, either beside the sling, or the glory holes. I wasn't clear in the explanation. Totally a surprise naturally. Part of a very large group of bars on the Napier Street block

High End Bistro at Great Value

I had a Bresaola and Rocket Salad, Mushroom Risotto, and Roast Chicken for dinner, all was perfectly prepared (Risotto can be tricky, but was perfect and creamy) to high-end restaurant quality, but all put in an easy, accessible bistro-style setting with friendly quick staff, and very good value for the price. Part of a large collection of restaurants in an interior Piazza in the Cape Quarter area. Worth the trip.

Home Decoration A-GoGo: Limited Tourist Charm

A nice shopping area with decent bistro-style restaurants, it definitely gives you a not-in-Africa feel, except for some of the African themed shops. I only detected a single shop for men's clothing "bespoke shirts", which isn't too useful for tourists (ready to wait for a custom shirt), and likewise the vast array of home decoration shops (and surrounding the area) aren't particularly tourist friendly unless you're happy to cart a 7-foot vase 9000 to 18000 miles back home. Some of the more interesting shops were a high-end audiophile shop, but of course then you have to use South African electrical connections; a beautiful shop of leather office goods which I wanted to buy everything of, but they didn't have an iPad portfolio. Chocolate shops, green shops, a lot of little knick-knack type shops, but also many nice bistro-style restaurants. Good atmosphere.

One of the more Bizarre Hotels I've been to

But cheap cheap. Interior is a kind of budget "Enchanted Tiki Room" with convoluted paths to walk around, and no convenient stairway to 2nd floor. Friendly staff, Spacious rooms. Wish they had covered parking in Phoenix. Good pool, loads of towels, free breakfast with good omelet chef in the AM.

Wrong Night?

Went in on a recent trip to Phoenix. Bartenders were not, well, friendly, interior wasn't anything to write home about. Patio had a lot of larger men. An overweight barback in track pants and dirty teeshirt shuffling around picking up empties kind of put a stamp on the entire experience. Didn't bother to finish my drink.

Sport Lite

If a gay dorm room for a guy wanting to be sporty for straight friends in a Pac-10 school could be turned into a bar, well here it is. Couch, pool exposed brick, flat panel TVs... All it missed were the WII setups and beer tubes. Otherwise, utterly conventional video bar with video bar attention problems. Efficient if humorless bartenders, adequate selection of drinks. Since nobody seemed to be actually watching the world cup (Japan vs the Netherlands night I was there) the video hypnosis problem wasn't so bad. I found it amusing that no fewer than 18 men were wearing plaid long baggy shorts and grey teeshirts. I hadn't seen such an unsexy bar uniform since, well, college. Conservative, conventional, clearly neighborhood bar that really only has location going for it.

Shock of the Old

There's a certain irony of course in 'comfort' food as elevated eating - meatloaf and mashed, steak and fries, iceberg chunk lettuce. Irony doesn't work when you see exactly the same menu at so many gay restaurantes. Mid-end Bistro food well-prepared, unsurprising drinks, friendly reliable staff. Just not a place to go to to have the palate tickled. Identical menu, format, and style to a dozen ironic 'comfort food' restaurants in LA, SF, NYC, Chicago and the like. A Gay "Houstons" if you will with the price tag to go along. Nice eye candy in the crowd.

Comfort-able

What? Another 'comfort food' restaurant in NYC? Is it Cafeteria? Is it Elmo? No, it's Dish - meatloaf and mashed, pan-roasted chicken, steak and fries. A more varied menu than most comfort-food restaurants (apparently endemic in the gay world), friendly attentive staff and good drinks. Food perfectly prepared, and with an accent on low-carb lifestyle feed for bodybuilders leaning out. Less expensive than other comfort stations, would recommend this as the best alternative of the bunch.

Bistro-a-go-go

I have a paranoid feeling that all mid-level gay-area restaurant menu designers all read exactly the same magazine because they basically all serve almost identically the same food. I had dinner at "Cafeteria" earlier this week, which had meatloaf & mashed, pan-roasted chicken, hangar steak, iceberg chunk salad, and then came to Elmo, and what did they have on the menu - meatloaf & mashed, pan-roasted chicken, hangar steak, you get the picture. Utterly predictable, but well-prepared food, bistro style (better than diner, worse than restaurant), friendly attentive staff (or was it my 19" arms in a skintight shirt), and expensive. Frozen margarita served in a glass tumbler seemed to lack a certain, uh, flair. Similar to Cafeteria, similar to similar restaurants in LA, San Francisco, and so on. Heavy on huge-muscled eyecandy as patrons.

Dynamic Tension

This is one of the best equipped gyms I've been to, I literally can't find a single piece of equipment that it lacks. Huge sprawling but comfortable layout, easy to safely navigate, and vast variety of facilities - from basketball to racquetball swimming and more. Locker rooms require padlocks, to get to restroom you must walk through wet area. The changing area has hateful carpet - just love walking barefoot over wet carpet. What's peculiar about this gym - been there several times at different times of day, is that it is about the least cheerful gym I've ever been to. Nobody seems to be enjoying their workout, and the cruising is tense, to say the least. The gym has a few hot men, but also a vast army of late-teenage and early-20's gymrats that cluster in 3's and 4's around equipment and flail at pumping iron unconvincingly, or even drop/throw weights to make butch noises. There are even occasional heroin-thin tattoed gothboys juxtaposed with major Chollo style homeys. I'd have to say it's visually interesting, if not particularly inspiring.

Friendly Refuge

Coming in later in the evening, the restaurant was miraculously open until midnight, which is a good thing. The interior is darkish, bit of 70's ranchburger low-ceiling style, but in a comfortable retro way. The Matre d' asked if I'd prefer to sit in the empty restaurant area, or at the bar - serving food - with a few other patrons, which was clearly sensitive to being a single person eating - to be around others was nice. Bartender friendly without being insincere, and very prompt. Good menu of bistro food and tex-mex with a twist. Had blue corn enchiladas with shredded chicken, and was served perfect proportions, not smothered in high-fat sauces, and to my astonishment perfectly grilled vegetables and small portions of rice. Very healthy food, perfectly prepared, great setting, and worth it to enjoy a late nite dining experience.

Breathtaking

I don't know why I went in this shop, which is hard to find - a microscopic sign by the door "Halloween", and a glance in to the almost lurid antique interior - I had to go in. While purporting to have "custom jewelry", that would be like calling the Smithsonian "a bookstore". From the squid-themed balustrade of the staircase to the naked-men sculptures, strange antique and custom jewelry displayed like Victorian Curios in cabinets, and endless bric-a-brac that would take enjoyable for hours to go through, this shop reminded me simultaneously of the TV program "Friday the 13th" and something nightmarish from an H.P. Lovecraft Novel. I'm sure something evil is lurking in a well in the basement. Well worth a side-trip.

But Try to Buy the Clothing...

I'm a big boy, I admit - 5'9", 240 lbs, 19" arms, 48" chest and 36" waist. I don't buy off the rack much in gay shops, but G-Star usually has something nice and big. The strange thing in this shop however is that not everything is for sale. The great G-Star shoes and boots aren't - available only at some other shop somewhere. Very annoying. I give the shop an OK - I'd like it if they actually had all the clothing they had on display - to purchase.

Not Traveler Friendly

Traveling worldwide for my business, you occasionally hit gyms that aren't worth it. While David Barton has a good reputation, you won't be able to get in. Lowest rating. Locals may rate it high, but it's irrelevant if you can't use it.

Classic Neighborhood Bar

Straight out of a TV show, in many ways. Good drinks, friendly staff, and a crowd that covers many bases - daddies, bears, cubs, muscleguys, businessmen, pendleton plaids, cruisers, drinkers, and clearly a lot of friends. Friendly atmosphere for strangers, not particularly cruisy but I've always found it easy to meet handsome men. I always go here as the start of the evening in NYC, it's a comfortable end-of-day, without being cliche.

A Classic Eagle Leather Bar

The Color is Black, the Justification is Honesty, the Material is Leather, the Fantasy is Danger, the Aim is Ecstacy (paraphrasing Sontag). Classic Leather as only NYC can cater to - eye-popping bartenders, out-of-control (later) bathrooms, dark spots, endless cruising, too much, too hot, and lots of fun. Generally quiet weekdays when I've been there, hopping on Fridays and Saturdays with virtually any taste catered to. If you're shy, probably is a problematic place, but if you're type-A, boisterous with an exhibitionistic edge, a trip. And we're speaking real leather feel. Worth a special trip, but be warned - primarily during a special event or weekends.

Good Clean Sleaze for the Whole Family

Nominally leather - though the crowd takes it more seriously than most "leather" bars, this place has classic out-of-control bizarre biker bar fee - dark, red lighting, simulated B&W "hidden camera" video, truly nasty bathrooms, pitch black corners, but endless cruising and very hot men. All your favorites from bigmuscle.com, bigmusclebears.com, all in various stages of undress. There is a faintly out-of-control atmosphere here close to classic leatherbar feel. Friendly but cautious staff, reasonable prices, and always a good atmosphere. You can be whatever you want here.

Old-Fashioned Restaurant-Bar

A very comfortable old-fashioned Restaurant Bar combination, completely reliable. Like "Garden District" in LA perhaps, or the feeling in Dallas "Mining Company", this Ft. Lauderdale institution is an old reliable for meeting huge crowds of guys (emphasis on crowd) in a traditional low-ceiling, dated-decoration bar from the 80's. The outdoor menu is pure Diner, with (for example) delightfully greasy hamburgers served in paper-lined baskets (complete mess on table guaranteed). The food crowd, same as the night crowd, has a heavy emphasis on high-alcohol drinks rather than beers. Loud, fun, marginally cruisy, fun with a crowd of friends, or perhaps a throng of visitors in Ft. Lauderdale just before their cruise departure.

Hardcore and World Class

There are a handful of gyms where when you go that you disappear into the world of bodybuilding and become part of the scene, in an almost mystic way. Quads Chicago, Gold's Venice - and World San Diego. If you want to be inspired by the big boys - name a dozen guys from the muscle mags - they'll be here. Cavernous, very well equipped, this gym has everything you could want for a simple, complex, or serious hardcore workout, cardio included. It's very no-nonsense, and the grim locker room is probably part of the design (complete to the suspiciously grimy-looking carpet). But the men - freaky, monstrous, house-sized, whatever you want to say, this is very much where they appear in their ripped-collar shirts, baggy pants, calves like cantaloupes, shoulders like cocoanuts, and asses like VW's. Worth a special visit. Not gay, but very much a gay presence.

World Class Country-Western

I have to say, I've never had anything less than a great time coming to this bar, and always find it hard to leave. It has a wonderful personality, a clear style and culture all its own on the dance floor, people are enjoying themselves and the music irresistable; when people have fun, you just can't help feeling good. It has a friendly "nothing dirty going on around here" feeling - you could take your mom - but at the same time you absolutely 100% have the chance to run into the hottie of a lifetime and trust that you will get laid in the steamiest way possible. Bartenders are friendly, prompt, and crowd cruisy, friendly, and always dressed to the teeth in C&W regalia to be seen nowhere else in the gay world. Worth a trip out on a Saturday Night in Dallas.

Huge Cruise Bar

This is a classic southern gigantic - cavernous - cruise bar. Usually a good crowd, adequate bar staff, and good eye candy. It tends to lack a focus, or personality - the kitchy "mining" theme is fun, but somehow doesn't link in with who shows up, I'm waiting for the lumberjacks to jump out from behind the wheelbarrows, and protest as I ravish them. It has my least favorite bar feature at times, gogo boys who are neither sleazy (see: John Waters), nor particularly erotic. The bar has a strangely hygenic feeling to it. But, still, enjoyable for what it is.

A Drinker's Bar

The dozen or so times I've been to this bar, the only reason that struck me that people go - as a local bar - is to drink. The cruising/crowd is very uneven, and it seems to be well on it's way to being an "old timer" bar in some ways. Couple of visits on sundays - perhaps for TBRU (Texas Bear Round Up) - the beer bust atmosphere - outside - was great, lots of eye candy, and friendly feeling all the way around. The description of this bar is "tinged with leather" - it is one of the least "leather atmosphere" bars I've ever been in. Try on a spring/summer/fall Sunday, but unless with a group I would find a weeknight not worth the trip.

Good Basic Bar with Leather Trimmings

A nice place to go for an evening out in Dallas, this like many Eagle bars is nominally leather, but actually what would be called a "cruise" bar, with occasional leather trim. Upstairs balcony for watching the crowd and getting groped, pool table, multi-level seating areas throughout, a very good layout for ... cruising. In 10 years of visiting Dallas, I have never felt the least urgency to wear more than a leather vest to this bar, in part because it's stinking hot in the summer, and in a world of teeshirts and jeans, it seems overdressed even in winter. Not the faintest hint of leather danger or excitement sparks the place, but if you want to see hot men, throw back a couple of beers, and enjoy the music and scene, this is an old reliable.

Shabbaceous Chic

A wonderful hotel to stay in, and fantastic service, from the moment you step out of your car, checking in, to the room, the bars, and the staff. The interior has a great 19th century Americana feel, from the brass "mail" chutes, to the elevators with rich marbles. Unfortunately, what would make it a great hotel would be a revamp - the hallways, rooms, furniture, and so on are slightly shabby, and not in a chic way - just worn. Not uncomfortably, and certainly not in a way that would make you walk out, but for the price level, this hotel is competing with the (newly refurbished) Intercontinental, upper-end Hilton, and upper-end Marriott chains, and it doesn't bear the comparison well. Very good location to get to from the freeway, minutes away from the Dallas Gold's Gym (by car), and walking distance to a lot of bars and restaurants in the center of the gay main street.

Classic Leather Bar Feel

Powerhouse is what many leatherbars aspire to, but don't quite get to. An enticing combination of faint sleaze (backroom with smoke and very friendly men), boisterous friendly crowd, and testosterone-fueled and alcohol-fueled cruising always makes for a good time when I visit SF. The friendlier you are, the friendlier the crowd. My only quibble would be that it doesn't really "feel dangerous" and exciting. It's a good basic sexy leather place, but not a great place - neither legendary, nor pushing any boundaries. "Old Reliable" might say it all.

Evolving - Always Different

I must say in all the years I visit San Francisco, it's very difficult to predict what I will see when I go into the Lone Star - sometimes eye-popping musclebears, sometimes a daddy convention, sometimes very empty but with a few high-quality hotties. Sunday's has a legendary beer bust which is worth going out of your way for - as the crowd becomes more lubricated through the afternoon, definitely becomes super friendly. You do have to put up with all kinds of smoke outdoors, from cigars to "medical marijuana", but well that's life. Attentive and hot bartenders generally, clean setup for bathrooms and the like, always very enjoyable, but as I said - for a traveller, completely unpredictable. Usually worth a visit, and Sunday Beer Bust is worth going out of your way for, particularly in sunny weather.

One of the Best Eagles

One of the Friendliest Eagles in the US (And Amsterdam), reasonably easy to get to, not expensive, and usually something going on during the week. Attentive bar staff, outdoor dark area. Was there recently on a Saturday, and of the many clubs they support was there. Also, diverse crowd - hot older daddies, lots of musclebears, younger leather men, and everything in-between. Very comfortable.

Nowhere Else

I've been visiting San Francisco for work for years, and since I found Parker Guest House, I don't stay anywhere else. Great location, clean, very pleasant garden, comfortable while not luxurious rooms, and good bath setups. My only quibbles would be with having a better breakfast setup, 100% carb breakfasts are not my cup of tea; and the internet is not the highest speed imaginable, and for those of us on business, the desk setup is charming but not convenient. But, I put up with it instead of a big chain - as in all real estate there are three words: location, location and location. Walking distance to everything in Castro, tram stops, key parts of Market, huge range of restaurants, and miraculously you can actually rent a parking spot.

Top Picks

It's not easy finding good men's casual clothing that isn't a mass brand - Gap, Banana Republic (American Apparel excepted) - and at the same time is "fashion forward". I visit San Francisco frequently, and I always make time to visit Rolo to see what's happening, or in fact what will be happening in department stores 2-5 years later. Great selection, and for me being a big bodybuilder, they have sizes up through XXXL in some amazing garments. Very friendly staff, and always an enjoyable experience, with selection comparable to eclectic stores in London (Floral Street) Tokyo (Aoyama) and perhaps Maxfield in Los Angeles. Worth a special visit.

Comfortable

This gym has reasonably good equipment for a neighborhood gym, but has some clearly lacking areas, and would be impossible to fix due to size. As with the Sister Gym on Brannon, lacks amenities - particularly freely available towels. I greatly dislike locker rooms with any carpet, industrial or otherwise, I immediately have a "isn't clean" feeling. Steamroom is sequestered behind the showers, and is remarkably crowded all the time with friendly men. Parking is difficult peak time or not. Friendly staff, some very worn out equipment, but in general worth the visit - better than 95% of all small neighborhood gyms. My most frequently used gym for me in SF due to proximity to hotels and B&B's like Parker Guest House.

Always Enjoyable

One of the best gyms I've been to, and it has that sweet spot combination of very entertaining crowd, really well thought-out equipment, good layout, easy to use, and a fantastic friendly atmosphere. I hesitate to criticize but the locker room/shower area isn't ideal. There are no endless towels or other amenities which other top-end gyms would have. Parking can be complex when crowded, amplified by the general SF antipathy towards cars. Worth a visit.

All-In-One

When I go to buy "brown bottle", I cringe embarassedly and run, hoping nobody sees me, through the front part of this tarted up sex shop - how many rainbow and/or penis-themed and/or faintly raunchy themed placemats does the world need? The back of the store has a reasonable selection of necessities of gay sex - lube, condoms - as well as more advanced implements of pleasure - "Fleshlights", cattle-prod shaped things, and endless new DVD's - and I find no shame in them whatsoever. But I find the gay version of the Dollar Store in front sad, and dated except for retro tacky embarrasing gag gifts - Wow! Rainbow Colored Knitted Toilet Paper Covers! Who'd have thought!

The Big Mix

It's hard to be fashion forward, mid-stream, and retro at the same time, offensive but alluring, but American Apparel does it (sounds so American, really)... Shorts for men that are actually... short. Endless low-cost teeshirts at a striking range of quality, sweatpants, hoodies, if it's cheap, cotton, and can be in a rainbow of colors and sizes, they have it here. But... there's more - XXL gold spandex leotards; neon green tanktops; soft-as-butter oversize lycra teeshirts; and even more. Puts traditional "Gay" shops - M2M in Houston, All American Boy in LA/SF to shame, and at the same time shows up The Gap for how overpriced they are. Always a pleasure to shop here - bare-bones, well-thought-out interior (the clothing shop version of an Apple Store), and not infrequently shocking gay magazines thoughtlessly put out on coffee tables for straight girls to ogle.

Giving Pause

A wonderful museum space devoted to almost totally black (with hints of purples) paintings by renowned US Artist Mark Rothko. A combination of the monochromatic interior and the volume of the space itself provides a contradictory acceleration towards a moment of rest and contemplation. I'm not a "spiritual" person, so seeing it once or twice was enough to get the feel of the place, but well worth a visit.

World Class

A special place to visit, and for art aficionados, a breathtaking experiencing of seminal Surrealist and Modern art. From the most iconic Magritte's and Dali's, to Flavin (in it's own museum, a fantastic installation), Rothko (his own Chapel, world-famous), Twombley (his own Gallery), and much more - rotation through the museum's collection gives you a wonderful view that changes frequently. The Museum itself - Renzo Piano's first building in the US (think Paris Beaubourg), beautiful old Oaks, spacious lawns, and surrounded by old Houston bungalows all painted a similar shade of... puce. The entire neighborhood is subsumed, organized, and put out, for free, to enjoy art in a context that I've never seen before. Worth a special visit.

Superb Experience

This is what the fantasy gay restaurant experience should be like - fun waiters and waitresses who give attitude and then laugh at their own pretentiousness, overdone but nicely overdone interior (were those crematorium urns with white roses by the fireplace?) but, above all, superb food. Perfect Antipasto, slightly too much for one, just right for two, and good balance. We had duck breast, and Lobster/Shrimp/Scallops with tagliatelle, and both immaculately prepared and delicious. The back bar was packed with... handsome men enjoying cocktails. Exactly what you would like for a wonderful evening out, good men-watching, food, and atmosphere. Worth a special trip.

Great Find

Though this is supposed to be "Dutch" home cooking, being a Dutch national, and having lived in Holland (well, Amsterdam) for some time, I have a very hard time characterizing this food as Dutch, but no matter - fantastic restaurant. Was there on a prix-fixe night, and for $30 (BYOB) had a wonderful, innovative 3-course dinner that wouldn't be out of place in any of the top 100 restaurants I've eaten in. Unfortunately large portion for my pig-knuckle and rigatoni dish, but had a chat with one of the proprietors why I sent back 75% of the food - just couldn't eat it! Perfect french fries - always hard to do in a restaurant, perfectly cooked meat, a real treat. Great ambience - the interior of the restaurant looked clearly Dutch. Worth making a trip. Unfortunately, BYOB.

For Your Last Minute Nymphenburg Skull Needs

Fantastically strange gift shop, extensive perfume and scent section (which I find uncompelling) but otherwise showing a carefully curated collection of art, strange bronze, ceramic, porcelain, wood, glass, and unrecognizable metal dishes, plates, lamps, objets d'art - a white Porcelain Rhinocerous designed in 1770? Why not! Extensive collection of artbooks, many with wonderful gay and erotic themes that I visit to keep up with what's the latest from Taschen and other editors. Good CD collection, and endless plastic ironic knick-nacks. Worth a visit. Very gay owned and operated.

The Gay Restaurant of Our Imagination

You are in an Ivy-covered stuccoed French Bistro playing Piaf, under beautiful canvas umbrellas, in front of a golf-course putting-green quality lawn surrounded by lush flowers. Your food is served - buffalo hamburger with highly-seasoned perfect fries, or mushroom-artichoke quiche, or a goat cheese & honey crusted baguette salad with blueberries and truffled herb dressing. Sundays has the same with endless mimosas, and german-style bacon-and-egg pizzas from the brick-fired oven. Not super-gay, but with the adjacent ThompsonHanson antiques & high-end nursery - well, all the men owning/working there seem to be gay. If you feel like a semi-luxurious special lunch for two in a setting straight out of Elle Decor or Wallpaper, but perfectly prepared absolutely delicious, and inventive lunch food, this is the place. Worth a trip out of the way. They need to hold back on salt unfortunately, at times.

Guilty Pleasure

All my foodie instincts say "bad restaurant" - bad location, food with sugar in it, questionable art in the entrance, exposed airconditioner ducting, crowded with 20-somethings and vodkas, but I always enjoy this restaurant. It has a very mid-range mixture of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai food, and though I object to calling Moo Shu Pork (moo shi pork, mu shu or mu xu pork) "Fajitas", why not. The food has changed over the years, some of my favorite "fusion" dishes have disappeared, and the menu has become more elaborate. Much better than the equivalent at P.F. Chang's. They have fortunately improved the mausoleum-style lighting upstairs.

Circa 1984

In the future, we'll look back to 1984 developments of "gay restaurant" and begin to collect all sorts of thing - tacky lamps, decorative wooden molding, retrofitted verandas turned into rooms, restaurants with audible TV's, friendly waiters and waitresses out of "Queer as Folk" on a first-name basis, lots of alcohol before dinner, and above all, high-end diner food. Salads from your highschool cafeteria (Who knew there was that much Iceberg Lettuce!), standard items - Rack of Lamb, Chicken Piccata, Shrimp Scampi (god I loved Shrimp Scampi when I was 12 - I thought it was the height of sophistication in my brother-in-law's restaurant in Tuckahoe New York). Flash forward almost 30 years. I'm sure there is a fun crowd here for people watching, the same people that have come for the past 20 years. The kind of restaurant that is like a pair of old shoes. You take it from there depending on how you feel about that.

Once is More Than Enough

Barbecue has a long and storied history in the south, and I'm always curious where the better places are. I don't mind informal, but I found this eatery (not a restaurant, not a cafe or bistro) somewhat dirty feeling, and just not a pleasant experience, food, or ambience. There are other chain restaurants in Houston that do barbecue much better.

Your Mom Would Be Comfortable

Classic 1982 style High-End Italian - excellent, but not particularly inspired food (ok, Duck Ravioli is interesting) - Spaghetti Bolognese, Antipasti Misto, Lasagne, Eggplant Parmigiana... get the idea? Everything is prepared immaculately, but you receive the huge portions I usually associate with lack of quality. Good place for a safe, Republican lunch, but I wouldn't recommend making a special trip.

Above Average Neighborhood Gym

Smaller neighborhood gyms usually have some glaring problem - too focused on upper body, or lacking in cardio, but this gym reminds me very much of other smaller neighborhood gyms, like for instance "Steel" gym in Manhattan/Chelsea. Trainers and professional bodybuilders have shaped the equipment acquisition and layout, so it well stocked and has what both starters and hardcore bodybuilders need. Less generous in cardio, small/tiny food/reception area, small/tiny locker area (bring a padlock) but somehow they all seem to work well together. My trainer brings me here to go through routines, rather than other gyms so they must know what they're doing. No towel service, no real amenities, "just the facts ma'am". Parking can be difficult at peak periods.

Big Bigger Biggest

This cavernous gym is well designed, though like many chain gyms lacks certain equipment hardcore bodybuilders will look for (I always look for a T-Bar row). Well laid-out, it will have a tendency to invite more members, but there are easily large groups of "bottleneck" machines that need more redundancy - a single Roman Chair for the entire facility, for example. Good light, very clean, lockers require padlocks. Heard some comments about problems with things missing from members. Parking can be very, very difficult at peak periods. Feedback is that some members are migrating to LA Fitness near the Galleria area. OK amenities (no shaving equipment for instance) but not luxurious, towel service. As chain gyms go, one of the better examples.

World Class

I've been to probably 100 gyms in the past decade around the world, and a few stand out quite clearly. Quad's in Chicago is butt-ugly, but hardcore and has fantastic equipment. Gold's gym in Venice is legendary, but lives up to the reputation. World gym in San Diego is a big hardcore mess, but a fantastic experience. FIT competes very well with these icons - it doesn't have all the equipment of some places, but it has the right equipment. They would improve with perhaps more higher-weight barbells, equipment for T-bar rows, less Free-movement equipment, but these are small quibbles. And as a friend said to me, in most gyms, 80% of the guys look average and 20% of the guys make you jealous. In this gym, 80% of the guys look like Men's Fitness cover models, and 20% are average. Scrupulously clean, well-lit locker rooms, standing tanning, private showers, steamroom & sauna, endless towels, shaving, deodorant and other amenities. Good food section, friendly staff, huge range of cardio equipment, and on and on. A superb experience, and highly recommended.

Almost Nothing Like It

Where else can you get goat, grasshoppers, and rabbit to nibble on with a fantastic margarita? Great and exciting menu to explore, wonderful service. Food is always amazingly well prepared, delicious, and perfect proportions. Having taken over a failing plumbing shop years ago, Hugo's brings high-end Mexican cuisine to the Montrose area, and in Houston I've simply not had anything even close to it's quality for Mexican. It's like going through a cookbook of very complex, fascinating food that you don't dare to try to prepare yourself. The mexican coffee is great as a finisher, with an amazing depth of flavor. My only complaint is that with the tin ceiling, Hugo's can be extraordinarily noisy when people are really enjoying their food.

Step Below a Diner

While you might feel this should be classic fun basic diner cuisine, something's gone wrong, and you are trapped in a Denny's that they forgot to clean at 2am. Unappetizing food, and the Pies - unless I managed to miss something between apple, peach, lemon, cherry, pecan, etc. - are worse than what you might get reheated out of a freezer at the local supermarket. Over 10 years, all of my friends have given up eating here, and I have as well. Well worth the effort to skip, an as for the "house of guys" - that was over a long, long time ago.

Fun Funky

Good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Menu hasn't varied much in 10 years, but the food is always well prepared, but they're great with a variety of egg dishes for breakfast, and good basic one-step-above-diner dinner menu. Portions bit on the too big side. Stand in line to order, food brought out ergo not a a real restaurant or cafe for that matter. Need more salads for lunch. Unpleasant desserts - huge spongy cakes that grandma may have liked. Funky Fun decor. Nice outdoor area (covered!). Plates of "demo" food at ordering line somewhat nauseating after they've dried out.

Why Not?

Easy for breakfast, and the menu, while not seeming to have changed in 10 years (but how many ways are there to make french toast?) is still a good one for breakfast. Thankfully they have a good selection of pure carb breakfasts balanced with lowfat high-protein selections. Bacon is routinely somewhere between rubber and pemmican, so I try to avoid it, but their apple pork sausages are great. Good breakfast crowd to watch.

Diner, not a Restaurant

Food is enjoyable, but definitely "not great". Service is good, the atmosphere is enjoyable, but the food is a good match for any diner. Outdoors in front is nice if not for mosquitos in the summer evenings, and the central outdoor area is trailer-park quality decoration and ambience. Sunday brunch cafeteria style was appalling, a once-only experience.

Those Were the Days

When I first moved to Houston, The Rip on Friday's and Saturday's was a place to see a lot of friends, and get your clothes saturated with cigarette smoke. Now it seem empty on the big nights, and except for major event nights - after a big party, perhaps LUEY, Halloween, 4th of July - it seem empty and a bit sad. Drinks are reasonable, and the location good. Unfortunately, no spark seems to animate it anymore. Certainly it's not a leather bar compared to Eagle or other venues. It would do much better to have events to draw a crowd other than simply being open. People have aged and moved on. They need to get a new focus.

Old Reliable

I travel a lot to DC for work, and I always look forward to a dinner at Annie's. While not a Ruth's Chris steakhouse, it's good food for the price, very friendly staff, and we always enjoy the crowd. They've recently vastly simplified the menu, so much of the "diner" food is gone, leaving a good basic steakhouse setup. After having sampled other restaurants on 17th street, it's clear this is one of the better ones, if not the best.