From the top: PHASE 1, FREDDIE’S Beach bar and APEX (Blade photos by Henry Linser)
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Friday, October 05, 2007
Dining | People | Community | Nightlife
Since the displacement of the O Street warehouse clubs to make way for the new baseball stadium, the District’s gay dance options have been severely limited. Luckily, Apex is still going strong to prove that gay men will never lose their penchant for a giant dance floor and a good beat.
Apex’s most established regular event is Thursday’s college night. Boys with a college ID get in for free, and men who love them gladly pay the cover. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays also boast karaoke in the upstairs lounge. Unlike other gay Karaoke nights, the song selection is not all Elton John and show-tunes, though the drag host provides more than enough camp for those who want it.
With so many gay bars trying to provide a lounge feel for patrons, Apex is refreshingly old school. Techno music, creative lighting and an atmosphere perfect for meeting someone new make Apex a D.C. staple.
1455 22nd St., NW
202-296-0505
www.apex-dc.com
Freddie’s Beach Bar is a sight for bored eyes. The Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, Va., is hardly known for its local color. Made up mostly of high-rise office buildings and the series of underground tunnels that connect them, there isn’t much in Crystal City that couldn’t be found in any other suburb in the U.S. — besides Freddie’s.
Located on the one street in Crystal City with non-chain restaurants, Freddie’s décor fits its name, with umbrellas and string lights in abundance. Monday brings a popular trivia night, while the weekend’s biggest draw is karaoke. There are no too-cool District gays in attendance either — the crowd is remarkably friendly and enthusiastic about the song choices of others.
Freddie’s serves food as well, offering nightly dinner specials, but is renowned for its burgers.
555 S. 23rd St.
Arlington, VA 22202
703-685-0555
www.Freddiesbeachbar.com
Phase 1 is the epicenter of lesbian life in the District — as the only lesbian bar, it’s the site of concerts, fundraisers and drag shows, and the Phase attracts a wide-ranging crowd of women Thursday through Sunday nights.
Located in Eastern Market, the bar draws top talent from around the country — recent performers have ranged from local favorite Mara Levi to Bitch (of Bitch and Animal) to “L-Word” famous duo Goddess and She. While a number of D.C. lesbian bars or lesbians’ nights have been unable to stay in business, Phase has been open since 1970, making it the oldest lesbian bar in the country, and proving that the bar is more than just a phase.
525 8th St., SE
202-544-6831
www.phase1dc.com
In this year’s Best of Gay D.C. competition, Halo has pulled a rare triple win, winning rave reviews from Blade readers. There is no dance floor and no overly loud music at Halo, just two bars, plenty of comfy chairs and a high concentration of cute men.
Halo is quickly establishing itself as the most quintessentially D.C. of the local gay bars for those who prefer their men clean cut, professional and career-minded. The bar provides a giant bowl of wintergreen lifesavers at the door to ensure that breath stays fresh for whatever happens later in the night.
HALO |
Halo’s drink selection includes a full menu of flavored martinis and mojitos, making its two-for-one happy hour the most enticing on 14th Street. It’s easy to come in after work for a quick cocktail and wind up there four hours later, easing yourself into a crazy night out.
1435 P St. NW
202-797-9730
www.Halodc.com
Located in the center of Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon neighborhood, the Hippo offers something for everyone: a huge dance floor, a video room, a friendly bar and even pool tables. Wednesday Night Bingo provides a more sedate attraction for Charm City residents, but it’s the Friday and Saturday theme nights that make the Hippo a destination for gay club goers all over the mid-Atlantic.
1 W. Eager St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-547-0069
www.clubhippo.com
REMINGTON'S |
Remington’s, the District’s country-western bar, has a little something for every kind of cowboy. The happy-footed cowboy can indulge in some line dancing and the honky-tonk shark can show off his cue skills at the pool table.
Everyone attending Remington’s gets their own four-minute chance to become Gene Autry at Mama’s Trailer Park, the bar’s upstairs karaoke room. Named for a comment by one-time drag host Alexis DuCraix, who got a big reaction from the crowd after exclaiming, “It is hot up in this trailer park,” the karaoke fun starts at 10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday.
639 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
202-543-3113
www.Remingtonswdc.com
Annual drag show event “The Bowled & the Beautiful” is happy to call itself amateur despite having just completed its fifth year as a charity event at gay bar Cobalt.
“We are not politically correct,” says marketing director Robert Treadway. “Our performances are always a sign of the times. This year we had someone who did a medley [including] ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ and ‘Rescue Me’ and it was about the Minneapolis bridge collapse and the guy was from Minneapolis.”
The event, which is put on by volunteers from the Capital Halloween Invitational Tournament, a gay bowling organization, gives all its proceeds to Food & Friends and Whitman-Walker Clinic. This past year, “The Bowled & The Beautiful” raised more than $1,200 to split between the two charities.
www.chitdc.org
The best things in life never win awards until after they’re over, and this year’s double winner for Best Dance Party and Place to Meet Women is no exception.
B.O.I. Productions, which worked on Kitty Cat Lounge earlier this year, dreamt up Girl Confidential as a replacement for the end of Apex’s Saturday night women’s dance party, Liquid Ladies.
Originally held at Adam’s Mill bar in Adams Morgan, Girl Confidential moved to Fab Lounge. Ebone Bell and Brianne Croteau, who run the event, had just decided to end it in favor of producing a Wednesday night event at Andalu, 1214 18th St., NW.
Girl Confidential played mostly Top 40 at its dance events and hopes to promote a dance night at Andalu, as well.
“It’s pretty much the same idea, just a different night and, in my opinion, just a better space,” Bell says. “It’s pretty loungey, but there’s a dance floor … It has pretty much everything for everyone.”
www.eventboi.com
REPUBLIC GARDENS |
After being closed for two years, U Street club Republic Gardens re-opened in 2003, becoming part of that area’s explosion as the hottest new destination for young D.C. Four years later, the place is just as popular as ever. The three-story building is not specifically a gay bar, but unites people of all sexualities through the common bond of dancing.
Republic Gardens has several separate lounge and bar areas, but the one known as the Mahogany Room is the best equipped for partying. Whichever parts of the walls aren’t lined with the titular wood are inset with TV screens, and a DJ setup provides the final element for a good night out.
The eclectic mix of music will appeal to almost anyone, boasting selections from genres as varied as hip-hop, rock and reggae. If you and your straight friends are too tired for dancing, but too amped up just to lounge, pool tables provide a chance to take a break, grab a cue and get competitive until you feel like hitting the floor one more time.
1355 U St., NW
202-232-2710
www.republicgardens.com
Dining | People | Community | Nightlife
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