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!)
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.
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.
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!
Havana Lounge recently reopened on Cedar Springs Road with weekend drag shows. The lines for the bar have been insane, so Sunday’s afternoon drag show was our first time back.
On Sunday we made it back to drag brunch at TNT Tacos and Tequila in Uptown, Dallas. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite drag shows in town because of the food, drinks, and talent.
Finally, rounding out this week’s photo series from “All Tea, No Shade” drag brunch in Deep Ellum, we have photos of Bleach!
I was really excited to finally see Bleach perform live after following her amazing Instagram account for a while now. She’s definitely a stand-out member of the cast and brings a wild comedic energy that reminds me a lot of Alaska and Katya.
I also wouldn’t be shocked if Bleach is Dallas’ next Drag Race superstar (or even Dragula!) Perhaps the first queen to win both? Who knows! When you’re this talented, the possibilities are endless.
Here are photos from brunch!
Next up in this week’s photo series on “All Tea, No Shade” drag brunch performers is Tayanna Love.
We were not familiar with Tayanna before this performance, and I was pleasantly surprised. She took us to church and really excelled in intense lip syncs. She also busted out a cartwheel, which no one was expecting. Definitely a strong performer and someone I am excited to see again.
You can follow Tayanna over on Instagram.
Here are photos from brunch!
Next up in our round-up of “All Tea No Shade” drag brunch stars, is Kira Kennedy Chanel.
Kira was visiting from New York City, and only performed one number. However, Kira she had a great look and was a lot of fun. I hope to see more of Kira in the future, perhaps she’ll be back for another one of Kennedy’s brunches.
You can follow Kira on Facebook.
Here are photos from brunch!
I am continually surprised by how poorly LGBT events (and drag shows in particular) are promoted.
However, instead of reading people to filth complaining on Facebook, I realized that the marketing basics may not be common knowledge to everyone.
So, in the interest of helping all LGBT events succeed, here are the the basics of promoting a local drag show, according to me:
Overview — there are the three main components of promoting most drag shows:
This week, I am posting photos of the amazing performers at Nellie’s Drag Brunch. Today’s featured performer is Alexa Shontelle, who is known for high-energy performances, taking her drag show onto the streets in front of the bar, and literally hanging from the ceiling during numbers.
Nellie’s weekend drag brunch was one of my go-to events before everything shut down for quarantine.
There are a lot of drag brunch options in Washington, D.C., but what keeps me coming back to Nellie’s is the consistently strong cast of performers with fresh songs and outfits every week. Out-of-town performers also often supplement the regular cast, giving me the opportunity to see new talent.
The best place for a D.C. drag brunch this summer is Delaware.
Some of the District’s best performers have taken over The Pines Rehoboth Beach for a weekly Sunday drag brunch.
The restaurant is in Rehoboth Beach’s central tourist district and a couple blocks from the boardwalk. There’s also a sister gay bar across the street called Aqua Grill where people grab drinks after the show.
For the last two years, Nellie’s Sports Bar hosted the most diverse drag show in the D.C.-Baltimore area. “Snatched Wednesdays” celebrated its two year anniversary last week, which was also the last show.
Hosted by Baltimore’s Brooklyn Heights, this show featured a strong core cast that was augmented by talented queens from across the metro. The Snatched Wednesdays audience also reflected the diversity of the performers: you could find all ages, races, genders and orientations.
One of the closest LGBT spaces near my apartment is a gay-owned brewery called Red Bear Brewing Co.
I made it to the RuPaul’s Drag Race Hater’s Roast, which was at the Warner Theatre near Chinatown. Although I am used to seeing one-off Drag Race contestants at the bar, this is my first real Drag Race touring event.
The Hater’s Roast was hilarious, although there were an uncomfortable number of HIV and Holocaust jokes, (and at least a few Sahara Davenport digs). I was actually clutching my pearls during Mimi Imfurst’s set. I also was thrilled to see Miz Cracker, who looks as amazing in person as she does on TV.
Manila looked good, and Thorgy had her signature Muppet hair.
My last-minute ticket happened to be in the third row of the theater, so I got to make awkward eye contact with the performers. Maybe procrastination isn’t always such a bad thing…
We made the trek to Fort Worth this weekend for drag brunch at Urban Cowboy Saloon.
Overall, it was a fun experience and a great show.
Rocky Horror Picture Show-themed drag brunch at Urban Cowboy Saloon, Fort Worth, TX.
The drag brunch cast at Urban Cowboy Saloon, Fort Worth, TX.
The theme was purportedly “Rocky Horror Picture Show” but the drag queens performed at many non-Rocky Horror songs. This probably kept the show more interesting for people unfamiliar with the movie.
Here’s what I’m talking about this morning.
1. Dallas has some bills: Last week, The New York Times had a horrifying article about Dallas’ Fire and Police Pension fund.
The rundown:
The latest: Dallas Mayor Rawlings is pissed, so he sent a CYA letter to the fund on Tuesday, asking it to stop some of the most ridiculous withdrawal policies. TBD on how Dallas is going to avoid bankruptcy.
2. YouTube stars: Last night, we went to the Windmill Bar near the Dallas Medical District. Our twinkish bartender told us that he was getting his degree in communications so he could be a YouTube star.
This reminded me of an article from Fusion about the sad economics behind being a mid-level YouTube star. Basically, it’s a “winner-take-all” system where some vloggers are rich and “mid-level” vloggers (with 50k-200k followers) have to wait tables to pay rent.
The Verge has a fascinating article about a specific YouTube vlogger called Connor Manning, who is trying to make it in Hollywood. I think that’s our bartender in two years.
What a weekend! There were long dog walks on the Katy Trail, new restaurants, drag shows, and lots of new friends from all over the world.
There was John from Arkansas, Matt from Boston, Walter from Chicago, Carlos from Mexico, Victor, Geoffroy, and Kenneth – all from France… no one seems to be from Dallas, but so many people wind up here.
Well, except for Ty.
Ty is from Dallas. He’s the exception.
Most people are new and open to making new friends. It feels silly to point that out, but this is a huge contrast to Minnesota, where the saying was “A Minnesotan will give you directions to anywhere except their house.”
A full article about that is here, and my whining is here.
Pride flags hang over JR’s bar in Oak Lawn.
Having dinner at Ai Sushi in Oak Lawn (in the iLume building.)
We met one group of people at JR’s. Introductions were made, and people discussed where they came from and what they did for work.
Jack: “I am a Walmart manager.”
Me: “Oh that is so interesting! Our friend Jill works at Walmart too! I think she was Cedar Springs Taphouse. Let me text her.”
Jack: “Oh great…”
Jill arrives and Jack looks alarmed.