One of the interesting things about Washington D.C. is that there are dozens of truly mixed-spaces for LGBT and straight people. Unlike straight venues in other cities that throw one-off gay events, there are many places in the District that consistently have mixed crowds. (Basically, the “gay bar that your straight friends don’t know is a gay bar.”)
Shaw’s Tavern is one of these mixed-spaces. One of my favorite events at Shaw’s is the Sunday night drag dinner show — which is early enough to be a responsible ending point for a Sunday Funday.
La Bella Mafia performing at the Shaw’s Tavern drag dinner.
Attendance at drag diner varies, however I should have anticipated a huge crowd this weekend because of the holiday on Monday.
This Sunday, Juan and I make it to drag dinner right around showtime, and it is packed. There are no seats at the bar, so we grab a window table by the restaurant’s open kitchen. This table doesn’t have the best view, but late people can’t be picky.
We order food and appetizers. As the calamari appetizer arrives, I start watching this middle aged man arguing with the kitchen staff. I can’t hear exactly what he’s saying — maybe there was an issue with his food order?
After a few minutes, a manager shows up to the ongoing argument by the kitchen. The man raises his voice and then storms out of the restaurant’s side-door. Our waiter asks the kitchen staff to lock the door so he doesn’t come back in. I turn my attention to the appetizer and shrug off the exchange.
A few minutes later we hear screaming outside. I can see the man screaming near the trash can on the sidewalk. The manager asks if the door is still locked — it is.
The man bangs on the locked door briefly, and appears to wander off. Then, suddenly, there’s more screaming from the sidewalk and the windows behind our seats explode. Glass flies everywhere and the people seated around us gasp. The man had launched a bottle (or a brick?) at the window!
A shattered window at Shaw’s Tavern in Washington D.C.
Juan and I get up and dust off the tiny tempered glass shards. Our drinks and appetizer are glittering with glass.
Everyone is staring at us, but I am too irritated to be embarrassed. (And at least I didn’t get shot this time.)
The manager brings us band aids, and we linger for a beer at the bar before grabbing dinner elsewhere (the kitchen was already slammed and I didn’t want to wait.) The beers and appetizer were comped.
This weekend’s drag dinner may have been a bust, but I understand that a restaurant can’t control the craziness on the sidewalk. Can you imagine what could have happened if they hadn’t locked the side door?
Although this won’t be my last time at Shaw’s, next time I am definitely sitting at the bar. 💅
No Comments