Havana Bar & Grill is one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood. They’ve made a nightclub atmosphere work during the pandemic with table service, food that you can actually order, and amazing drag.
Havana Bar & Grill is one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood. They’ve made a nightclub atmosphere work during the pandemic with table service, food that you can actually order, and amazing drag.
We checked out Liyah Alize’s drag show at Liquid Zoo last week. It was exciting to see Liyah and Iroc Goodness again (who I first saw at Mr. Misster’s brunch) along with some performers that were new to me.
The show was technically billed as a “drag brunch” but with a 3pm showtime, it was really more of a tea dance show.
Brunch or not, this cast was excellent and the bar staff was very gracious when a performer got onto a table and sent several glasses flying (a true sign of a good show!)
Winter in Dallas creeps up slowly. There’s usually no dramatic changing of the leaves or snowstorms. You just look up one day and say, “I guess it’s winter now.”
That’s how the holiday season feels this year. It’s somehow Thanksgiving week, but the lack of travel or large Friendsgiving gatherings makes it feel like any other week.
At least we have some occasional dramatic fog to break things up.
The Comerica Bank Tower in fog.
The Last Virgin Drag Brunch was the first show that I went to after moving back to Dallas and we keep coming back!
The Virgin Hotel is one of the best drag brunch venues that I have ever been to. The Commons Club is bright, impeccably designed, and big enough to make social distancing easy.
Dallas drag queen Queen Duvet at drag brunch.
Besides the amazing venue, I also really love that the cast of this show changes frequently. This really helps to keep things fresh, although you can always count on the mainstays – Jenni P., Krystal Summers, and Queen Duvet.
One amusing thing about my dog walks in Oak Lawn is that there always seems to be a pair of brooding eyes following me — the neighborhood is crawling with black cats.
I am not sure whether these cats are feral or actually belong to my neighbors. However, someone is definitely maintaining food and watering bowls for them, which sometimes cause massive swirls of birds to pop-out suddenly from fields along the sidewalks.
We made it back to another drag brunch show at Mr. Misster in Oak Lawn. This time we were with our new Atlanta friends who definitely felt their oats at their first Cedar Springs drag show.
This week’s cast was:
The drag brunch show was fabulous (as always) and it was great to see Serene Storm and Kenya Blue return along with some new faces.
Kelexis Davenport hosting drag brunch at Mr. Misster drag brunch.
This brunch was catered from a new restaurant (which was a boot) but the mimosa towers made up for it and we were there for the show anyway. Still recommend.
You can catch Mr. Misster drag brunch every Saturday at 2pm. Reservations are available in-person at the bar and online.
Here are some photos from brunch!
Dallas’ gayborhood is buzzing about two new residential towers planned along Cedar Springs Road.
The high-rises would be built in the surface parking lots behind the gay bars on that side of Cedar Springs — JRs, TMC, Sue Ellen’s, S4, and Woody’s. The developer said that it would replace the surface lot parking and provide the bars with a medium-term lease.
Proposed new highrises in Dallas’s gayborhood. (GDA Architects )
Of course many people are exercised about change – the two primary complaints being increased prices and parking.
Both concerns seem misplaced.
I am a week into my membership at the local Equinox gym, and it added some unexpectedly refreshing structure to my daily routine.
Equinox requires advanced scheduling for both solo workouts and classes, providing me with a solid deadline either to end work and leave for the gym, or a strict bed time (in the case of morning workouts).
Being forced to leave my apartment for an appointment also helps me organize my day, because I cannot allow work to sprawl into the late hours of the evening.
Some of my neighbors in Oak Lawn went all out for Halloween — this house is covered in massive webs and spiders.
These decorations remind me of The Mist, a Stephen King book (and movie) that features giant killer spiders. However this house is a little less terrifying and definitely not the craziest thing in town — Apparently one house in East Dallas has Halloween decorations so gory and realistic that the police were called.
I think I’ll stick with the oversized spiders. 🕷
So after I restarted my workout kick, I quickly realized that my apartment building gym would not cut it. The gym is pretty small and my neighbors have no problem packing in the room.
After some hemming and hawing, I decided to join the Equinox gym in the neighborhood. The gym is large and the distancing is pretty decent for Texas. I also like that the membership comes with unlimited classes.
It has been about a week and everything hurts — I forgot that working out means constant soreness. Hopefully, this is just a learning curve and I’ll be less miserable in a week or two. But for now, it’s constant whining and griping.
The good news is that I haven’t quit halfway through a class or puked yet, so that’s a minor victory. And, several of my neighbors are considering joining the gym, so maybe soon my workout misery will have some company. 🏋️
A water fight is not the only thing going on at All Tea, No Shade Drag Brunch in Deep Ellum – there was also another great show with host and DJ Dezi 5 and hosts Bleach and Barbie Davenport Dupree.
The guest star was Mocha McVenti Amor, a queen who I was unfamiliar with, but who danced the house down! Bleach and Barbie were also great, although I think Bleach may have mortified a poor woman who decided it was okay to bring a kindergarten-aged child to the show. (Whoops!)
All Tea, No Shade drag brunch has been extended from its initial run, so there’s still time to catch the queens Saturdays at The Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge at 2626 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75226.
We’ve had unseasonably cold weather in Dallas recently — days in the low 40s and evenings in the 30s. Everyone’s pressed, especially Gunter, the Chiweenie.
Gunter hasn’t gone on strike yet and refused to do his business outside (like he did in Minnesota), but after a few minutes outside he’s standing by the edge of the dog park, glaring and shivering.
A “funeral” was held for Redfield’s Tavern over the weekend to commemorate the end of the restaurant (for the gay community at least).
The Dallas Morning News published a story yesterday confirming the owners’ homophobic remarks that were secretly recorded by a former employee. The backlash to the recording was swift — the gays boycotted, the staff quit en masse, and the business collapsed.
Drag brunch has officially returned to the Strip on Cedar Springs – we went to the Mr. Misster drag brunch show on Saturday and had a blast!
Hosted by Jenni P, Saturday’s brunch featured Kenya Blue, Liyah Alize, Onyx Andersen, and Serene Storm.
Kenya Blue performing at brunch in Oak Lawn.
The brunch food spread was catered by Orno.
Overall, this brunch is a toot — It was one of the most relaxed brunches that we’ve been to in Dallas. The host seemed to be in her element and spent a lot of time on audience interaction. There was also a dance contest and a hilarious runway segment.
We popped into TNT Tacos and Tequila drag brunch a few weeks ago. This has definitely become one of our go-to shows and we even brought friends this time!
The cast for this show was:
This show also featured a massive birthday party of one of the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show, a nationally-syndicated morning show based in Dallas.
There was a special surprise at the end of the last All Tea No Shade drag brunch — a water fight featuring Bleach and Barbie Davenport Dupree!
It was deeply silly, hilarious, and a reminder of the irreverent joy of drag. You can look sickening and not take yourself so seriously.
All Tea No Shade drag brunch is every Saturday at The Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge in Deep Ellum.
There’s a shit-storm brewing in the gayborhood.
I recently heard a recording that is allegedly of two of the Redfield’s Tavern owners discussing how they really feel about their gay clientele and staff. The tape confirms rumors that have already been swirling about the owners being anti-LGBT — which I refused to believe since this place is basically the neighborhood’s busiest gay bar of the moment.
Why this matters: With most of the largest gay bars still closed, Redfield’s has become the center of many people’s social lives — like Cheers or the coffeeshop on Friends. It’s not uncommon to see some regulars there 3 to 4 times a week with the same groups of close friends. If you’re spending a significant amount of your free time and disposable income at an establishment, it’s devastating to hear that the owners don’t value your business or respect you as a person. (And also offensive, because you’re keeping their lights on).
The tape is worse than I thought. The alleged owners describe the large gay clientele as a “problem” and say several times that they are alarmed that the venue is becoming a gay bar. They also complain about the newly hired gay men, and suggest replacing them with women.
This bigoted behavior won’t be tolerated — this venue is in a predominately LGBT neighborhood and after 9pm (and weekends) Redfield’s was almost entirely gay. We are not a problem, but rather the people keeping the place afloat.
I am disgusted because just last night we were having a conversation with friends, and we went on at length about how much we love Redfield’s. But no longer –:I’m not giving another pink dollar to owners who casually discuss firing their staff just because of who they choose to love.
Good luck to them. But I am going to spend my money at places that support our community and don’t view us as a problem. 💅
Like many things, Halloween in the gayborhood is decidedly different this year. Normally, there is a sprawling block party, but this year it is all about small gatherings at restaurants and neighbors’ homes.
Some of my younger neighbors have rowdy packed parties (that we do not attend), but the events with the 30-somethings tend to be smaller and easier to keep one’s distance at. I think the lack of FOMO after a certain age definitely helps.
Plus, the food is better when the host has a World Market membership.
Drag brunch was not a “thing” last time that we lived in Dallas, so we were a little worried that weekend would be a little boring upon moving back. Fortunately, Drag brunch at the Virgin Hotel has assured us that we have nothing to worry about!
This drag brunch has an interesting rotating cast, and the venue is gorgeous. Also, brunch includes passes to the Virgin Hotel Pool Club, which normally charges $40/person, so the event guarantees a full day of entertainment and people watching. It’s worth it.
Here are photos from brunch!
We are on the Redfield’s Tavern patio when lights go out. After standing around for a couple of minutes, a waiter comes and tells us that a balloon got stuck in the powerlines outside, caught fire, and ended up blowing up the transformer in front of the restaurant.
“It’s on fire,” she says. “Hopefully it doesn’t mess up anyone’s car…”
I parked in front of the restaurant!
So, I run outside just in time to see flaming pieces of balloon on top of the car next to mine.
A burning item on a car outside of Redfield’s Tavern in Dallas.
I move my car as the bouncer extinguishes the flames with water from the bar.
Next time, I’ll just park on the side of the street like I normally do. 🏎️