Big Gay Frat House Blog

Future Chefs

In addition to the Men's Dodgeball that our friend DJ Go is promoting through the SF Rec & Parks Department, we have another friend conducting an event sponsored by Rec & Park:

Future Chefs

Our friend Matt, soon to graduate from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy, will be conducting a class teaching cooking basics for youth and adults alike who really know very little about cooking but would like to learn more.

A free demo will be held on September 2, 2011 (today!), and then the classes will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. every Friday at the Eureka Valley Rec Center, 100 Collingwood Street (at 18th), San Francisco.

The fee for the entire series is $48, but scholarships are also available. Call 415/831-6810 for more information.

Strip Pool at The Cafe

You never know what hijinks will ensue when the alcohol starts flowing. Last week we managed to talk two friends into playing a spontaneous game of strip pool at The Cafe -- and not in the wee hours of night but during happy hour, no less! 

Sadly, the California ABC won't allow for full nudity in bars, so they could only go down to their underwear. (Perhaps next time we'll get boys to wear a jockstrap under their skivvies. Or maybe we should change ABC regulations?)

You never know what's going to happen. Stop by and join in the fun ... and if you to play a game of strip pool, I bet we can persuade people to give up the table for one game.

Is it 5:00 yet?

This is where I'll be spending happy hour tonight. Perhaps I can entice a few cute boys to play strip pool? Or maybe recreate the infamous "shirtless Thursdays" night?

 

 

Favorite Bar or Club (Best of the Gay Awards)

1. Toad Hall
2. Club 8
3. The Cafe
4. The Mix

The boys of the Big Gay Frat House are a pretty diverse bunch in our interests, and as a result, our friends who've joined our mailing list and have come to our events also cover the spectrum of the gay community. There are those who only go out for happy hour and are home in time for prime time on TV. There are those who only go out to the late-night weekend events. Some can only be dragged out for special events or fundraisers once in a blue moon. And some hardly ever stay in.

In the end, Toad Hall appealed to the broadest mix of our voters. It has booth and table seating indoors to catch up with friends, a DJ and dance floor on busy nights, and one of the nicest outdoor smoking patios -- nice enough that even nonsmokers often hang out there. Oh, and some of the cutest bartenders and floaters in the Castro, which it shares with its sister bar, Badlands, across the street. Toad Hall placed in four of our Best of the Gay categories, winning in three of them.

In a bit of a surprise to us, second place went to Club Eight on Folsom Street. They host an array of diverse events which helped when it came time to get out the vote.

Third place went to The Cafe, where one of the BGFH boys can be found rather frequently (and has over 8,000 photos there to prove it). Though Boy Bar on Friday nights first brought us back to The Cafe, their Sundays with go-go dancers as well as super inexpensive hot dogs and hamburgers have made it one of our favorite weekly events. The Cafe placed in seven of our 2010 Best of the Gay categories, more than any other bar.

Fourth place went to The Mix, a gay bar with the distiction of being the first to open in the Castro (6:00am every day).

Go back to The BGFH's Best of the Gay Awards for more winners.

[Note: The Best of the Gay Awards are nominated by friends of the Big Gay Frat House. It's a completely unscientific opinion of those people on our mailing list or friends on Facebook who bothered to vote. Please leave a comment to express your own favorites ... and join our mailing list to be able to vote next year.]

Favorite Fancy Cocktail (Best of the Gay Awards)

1. The Juanita MORE! at QBar
2. Juicy Lucy at The Mix
3. Tommy Margarita at The Mix

There are several places in San Francisco that have menus of their own house specialty cocktails. Martuni's, Sugar Lounge, Catch, and Blackbird all come to mind. And many bartenders pride themselves on their own inventions. But even so, we knew this would be a challenging category for our voters.

But a few specialty cocktails managed to surface, and topping the list by a landslide (perhaps because I've bought one for so many people) was The Juanita MORE!, a special drink at QBar named after legendary drag queen Juanita MORE who throws a Wednesday party there called Booty Call. (And yes, that is exactly what I am drinking in this photo taken at Booty Call.)

The cocktail calls for crushing fresh mint leaves and then adding chocolate syrup, Blackberry Stoli, blackberry puree, and fresh lime, which is shaken vigorously with ice. The cocktail is then strained and served up in a martini glass with a final layer of champagne poured on top. Amazing! Be sure to tip heavily on that one, because that takes a lot more work than my usual vodka soda with a squeeze of lemon.

Second and third places went to cocktails served at The Mix: the Juicy Lucy and the Tommy Margarita. We haven't tried them yet, but that can be easily remedied.

Go back to The BGFH's Best of the Gay Awards for more winners.

[Note: The Best of the Gay Awards are nominated by friends of the Big Gay Frat House. It's a completely unscientific opinion of those people on our mailing list or friends on Facebook who bothered to vote. Please leave a comment to express your own favorites ... and join our mailing list to be able to vote next year.]

Favorite Casual Dining Establishment (Best of the Gay Awards)

1. Harvey's
2. Blue
3. Home
4. The Cove Cafe

When we came up with this category, we kind of assumed it would be dominated by take-out and fast food. The Castro is home to dozens of places where you can get a quick burrito, burger, or pizza by the slice. But as it turned out, votes for those types of places were diffused across the many competitors, and the winners were all somewhat nicer sit-down places.

First place went to Harvey's, named in honor of the assassinated SF Supervisor Harvey Milk. (Folks who've been in the City more than 15 years will remember its previous incarnation as the Elephant Walk.) The walls are adorned with blown up photos provided by the GLBT Historical Society of Harvey Milk and the Castro in the 1970s. They also have a full bar and a rather elegant cocktail menu.

Second place went to Blue, a nice little restaurant on Market that is perhaps best known for having more than four different variations of macaroni and cheese. Third place went to Home, on the corner of Church and Market. Their weekend brunches include a make-you-own bloody mary bar. (Why are we not surprised that two of the winners have full bars?) Fourth place went to The Cove Cafe, a comfortable diner on Castro Street that is so casual, they don't even bother with a website.

Go back to The BGFH's Best of the Gay Awards for more winners.

[Note: The Best of the Gay Awards are nominated by friends of the Big Gay Frat House. It's a completely unscientific opinion of those people on our mailing list or friends on Facebook who bothered to vote. Please leave a comment to express your own favorites ... and join our mailing list to be able to vote next year.]

Favorite Place for Elegant Dining (Best of the Gay Awards)

1. 2223 Restaurant
2. Boulevard
3. Eureka Restaurant and Lounge
4. Foreign Cinema

San Francisco is a haven for foodies, home to legendary restaurants like Farallon, Gary Danko, and Tarantino's¹. But though the City has some amazing places to eat, the Castro itself isn't exactly known as a place for elegant dining. We didn't specify that the nominees had to be in a gay neighborhood, or even gay-owned, but it's not surprising that the bulk of our voters looked a little closer to home. Even so, two of the runners-up are definitely not in the 'hood.

The winner, 2223 (named for its address on Market Street), probably is the fanciest restaurant in the Castro. The rosemary leg of lamb is yummy.

Second place went to Boulevard on the Embarcadero. We all went for a BGFH birthday dinner once and it was amazing. Highly recommended for special occasions, but be prepared to spend a mint.

Third place went to Eureka Restaurant and Lounge, located next to the Midnight Sun on 18th Street. (This was my vote for rather sentimental reasons.) Fourth place went to Foreign Cinema in the Mission.

Go back to The BGFH's Best of the Gay Awards for more winners.

[Note: The Best of the Gay Awards are nominated by friends of the Big Gay Frat House. It's a completely unscientific opinion of those people on our mailing list or friends on Facebook who bothered to vote. Please leave a comment to express your own favorites ... and join our mailing list to be able to vote next year.]

¹ Okay, I'm not qualified to know how legendary it was, but it was originally owned by my uncle Joe so I threw it in.

Favorite Place to Go to Brunch (Best of the Gay Awards)

1. Barracuda
2. Harvey's
3. Lime
4. Starbelly

The first time someone told me they were going to Barracuda for brunch, all I could think of was "Gross! Sushi for brunch?!" Apparently someone there agrees that it's not exactly what many of us would consider a traditional brunch because in addition to sushi and other Japanese cuisine, their brunch also includes more typical American fare such as french toast and monte cristos -- and, of course, all-you-can-drink mimosas for $7. We might add that it is the best sushi place in the Castro, with a $10 all-you-can-eat sushi buffet on weekdays, but that's besides the point.

Second on the list is Harvey's, located on the corner of 18th and Castro, probably the gayest intersection on the planet. Third on the list is Lime, famous for the loud club music they blare during brunch. Not exactly the easiest way to nurse a hangover, but the $6 bottomless mimosas will provide a little hair of the dog. Rounding out the list is Starbelly, located on 16th Street at the former site of Askew (and, for old-timers, Josie's Cabaret and Juice Joint). Our favorite was the fried egg sandwich with two-year aged cheddar, but it sadly doesn't appear to be on the menu any longer.

Go back to The BGFH's Best of the Gay Awards for more winners.

[Note: The Best of the Gay Awards are nominated by friends of the Big Gay Frat House. It's a completely unscientific opinion of those people on our mailing list or friends on Facebook who bothered to vote. Please leave a comment to express your own favorites ... and join our mailing list to be able to vote next year.]

BGFH's Best of the GAY Nominations

The Big Gay Frat House is launching our annual Best of the Gay Awards (with all due credit to the SF Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay awards), where our friends and supporters can nominate their favorite LGBT places and things to do in San Francisco.

Please note that the nominees must all be in San Francisco. By including your email address, you will be able to change your votes if you choose -- simply resubmit a fresh ballot with the same email address, and we will only consider the most recent submission for duplications.

The deadline to submit your nominations is 12:00 midnight PDT on Sunday, May 16. That gives you about three weeks to vote.

We reserve the right to remove submissions that we perceive to be spam or are submitted for other hostile reasons.

NOTE: Nominations are now closed. You can find the results at The BGFH's Best of the Gay Awards.

Girl Drink Drunk .... the origins

Could this classic "Kids in the Hall" skit be the original inspiration for our fundraiser, Girl Drink Drunk?

Come to our charity fundraiser on Saturday, February 3rd to experience for yourself being a girl drink drunk!