Best gay bar in the United States

[+ 5280Dane]

What is or was the best gay bar in the United States?  What made it the best?  Maybe we can take this list and make a best of the best list and best of each State.

Only rule, it has to be primarily a gay bar.  Could be a strip bar, piano bar, disco, etc…. Just not a straight bar with a gay night.  

[+ 5280Dane]

My vote might be a surprise, but I vote for The Max in Omaha, Nebraska.  It has 5 bars, huge patio, 2 dance floors, and is always clean and well kept.  I’m my day they would turn away anyone who looked like they would cause an issue and rarely was there any problems.  Bartenders would know you by name and the owner Stosh and Bruce were very nice guys.  After more than 30 years it’s still the place to be on Saturday.

https://www.themaxomaha.com/

[maninsoma]

Two of my favorites:

The Flame in Ann Arbor.  I used to go there regularly in the early 1980s.  To some it might have just seemed like a dive, but my experience was this: A good jukebox with both some modern hits and older records like Girl From Ipanema and Theme From New York, New York.  Friendly bartenders.  Diverse crowd in terms of age and gender, though mostly men.  Friendly if you wanted it to be but cruisy if you were looking for that.  I still remember my last year living there: There was a hunky guy who always walked from his car to the bar (only about a minute walk) with no coat, even in the middle of winter.  It would be 10 degrees outside and he'd saunter in wearing a tight white t-shirt and jeans.  He was sexy and he knew it. 

Hole In The Wall in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, before they moved to their current location (assuming it's reopened).  The old location was long and narrow, making it possible to get a little action going on in the back and not be immediately visible to people walking in from the street.  It helped that they always kept the space very hot, encouraging everyone to take off their shirts.  I certainly didn't have a lean gym body but felt comfortable shirtless there because it was mostly populated by average guys.  The music was generally not what I'd listen to on my own but the DJs did a good job of selecting stuff that just created a somewhat dark, sexy vibe.  Beyond that, I just don't think I've ever seen a bar where the lighting and decor was so cool that I could sit there by myself for a long time and just enjoy looking around. 

I've certainly enjoyed some other bars, but those two stand out as favorites.

[+ Cock Eyed Optimist]

My vote has to be The Lucky Horseshoe in Chicago.  Primarily because it has stood the test of time.  I have been going there since the mid 80's, and I still like it even though I have been to many other stripper bars in the USA.  There used to be private parties, which were awesome, when the original owner Ben was alive.  Ben married the manager, and when Ben passed, his new husband took over and really spruced up the place.  (I had been expanded twice under Ben's ownership). I now has three connected bar rooms with two stages.  If you don't like the dancer in one, just walk to the other one.  I just feel at home when I walk into the place.

[Brak]

My favorite was Urge at 2nd and 2nd in the East Village NYC. It closed in 2015-ish? But they had a big rectangular bar, and at any given time there'd be 5-8 gogos (mostly beefy guys) dancing on the bar in their fruit boots and slowly making their way around it. If you were interested, you could look up and talk to them and they'd squat down and chat with you with their crotch right in your face. If you were in one of the corners of the bar next to the wall, sometimes they'd give you an even closer look >.>

Also the gogos would knock over drinks all the time so occasionally I'd accidentally spill my own and then tell the bartender the gogo did it so I could get a free refill 😅

Edited September 14, 2021 by Brak

[Brak]

But my current favorite bars are:

The Eagle NYC: Lots of space, great music on Rock & Roll Fridays, two trough urinals, awesome crowd when it's busy, and nooks and crannies for action to happen (which they seem a lot less strict about breaking up in recent years)

Powerhouse SF: Great theme nights, hot crowd, pinball machine, seedy atmosphere, hot gogos. What's not to love?

[Lazarus]

The Mineshaft in NYC Meatpacking District back when they really were packing meat there!

[Ganymede255]

I remember the Urge very well. It came close to being a classic hustler bar. I recall picking up a gorgeous Latino boy who was “sitting” at the side bar and taking him to the West Side Club.   We  stayed in touch for many months.

[+ Lucky]

If you haven't been to all of the bars, how can you say that one is better than any of them?

 

[John]

48 minutes ago, Lucky said:

If you haven't been to all of the bars, how can you say that one is better than any of them?

 

It's great to know favorites and to recognize that some are outside of major cities.

[+ Lucky]

4 hours ago, John said:

It's great to know favorites and to recognize that some are outside of major cities.

So is the question really  "What is your favorite bar?"

[TravelingLibra]

The Paradise in Boston (technically across the Charles River in Cambridge, MA). We lovingly called it the “parasite” for all the right reasons: strong drinks, loud music and plenty of dark corners. The basement dance floor was quite the place on Saturday night, complete with communal stall-less toilets without seats. Even their coat check (with tyrannical mandatory coat check policy - anything with a full length zipper - even in the dead of winter) was stuff of legend. Many a causal hookup was scuttled by one party being waylaid in that line at 2 AM…