Eat, Stay, and Play in San Diego

Andrew Collins
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Eat, Stay, and Play in San Diego

A city it’s awfully hard to leave after just a couple of days

With a storybook setting on the Pacific Ocean and a tremendous bounty of cultural offerings, San Diego’s only real drawback as a weekend destination is that it’s awfully hard to leave after just a couple of days. Indeed, the city’s main gay and lesbian neighborhood, Hillcrest, offers more in the way of nightlife, dining, and shopping than many U.S. cities. Throw in the miles of pristine beaches, and you can understand the immense appeal.

As popular as it is, San Diego – the nation’s seventh-largest city – exists somewhat out of the public eye, at least compared to L.A. and San Francisco. It’s a low-keyed place with a somewhat conservative sensibility. Of course, the gay nightclubs here know how to put on a big party, and Hillcrest was home to the original showroom of the over-the-top clothier International Male. But you’re more likely to enjoy a visit here if you take your time, admire the scenery, and smell the salt air than if you try to cram a week’s worth of activities into a short visit.

Here’s a step-by-step recipe for making the most of a weekend tour of duty in San Diego, complete with suggestions on where to eat, stay, and play.

Consider booking a room in the heart of Hillcrest at the Inn At The Park, which offers spectacular views of Balboa Park and is close to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Little Italy and more.

Hillcrest has many outstanding gay-popular restaurants. A great choice for your first night, Montana’s American Grill occupies a classic art deco building. It’s one of the city’s top purveyors of regional Western and Southwestern cuisine. Smoked fish, grilled-over-hardwood meats, and pastas are menu staples, along with regularly changing micro brewed beers. The New Mexico-chile fettuccine with blackened chicken, grilled prawns, and a serrano cream sauce packs plenty of punch. From here you can move on to one of the neighborhood’s several cool gay hangouts. Though it’s the see-and-be-seen video cruise bar in town, Flicks is down-to-earth, with flattering lighting and music played at a level that allows conversation. Friday nights are a major to-do here. San Diego’s oldest gay bar, the Brass Rail, is another good option – it’s a no-attitude dance club with a friendly staff. A bit farther a field, Club Bom Bay is a laid-back lesbian club with a fairly small dance floor. Fridays tend to be the busiest night here, too.

For nearly two decades, an eccentric mix of Deadheads, chic lesbians, club kids, and old ladies has congregated at the Big Kitchen for the best breakfasts in San Diego. It’s the perfect place to start off your Saturday morning, and it’s right by the city’s green lung, Balboa Park. You could spend a month exploring this lush urban oasis and never quite see it all. In one day, it’s best to prioritize – you can get a good sense of the variety of the park’s museums at the Balboa Park Visitors Center. If you prefer the outdoors, spend your time at the world-class San Diego Zoo, which can be explored on foot (somewhat rigorous), by double-decker bus, or via an aerial tram. Among the indoor attractions, the San Diego Museum of Art contains a great wealth of paintings from all over the world – you’ll see works by artists ranging from 20th-century Americans (Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt) to European masters (Canaletto, Rubens).

For dinner, head to San Diego’s downtown, the renaissance of which was spurred on by the restoration of the Gaslamp Quarter, a 16-block historic district that runs along 4th and 5th avenues from Broadway to Market Street. The city’s commercial hub during the late 1800s, the quarter turned into a grim red-light district in the early 20th century and foundered for many years. Then in 1985 Ingrid Croce, the widow of folk balladeer Jim Croce, opened Croce’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar. This move helped kick off the neighborhood’s astounding comeback.

Today the quarter is one of the nation’s most successful and appealing urban success stories. The original buildings have been remodeled and reopened as art galleries, coffeehouses, jewelry shops, restaurants, and antiques shops. Several places here have a gay following, although at night it’s mostly a sea of straight collegiate types standing outside the red velvet ropes of numerous Euro-trashy nightclubs. Croce’s remains a great choice for dinner or listening to live jazz. The kitchen turns out sophisticated Cal-Mediterranean fare like grilled Pacific swordfish with spaghetti squash, smoked applewood bacon, green onions, and parsley oil.

The Renaissance San Diego Downtown Hotel is located 11 minutes’ walk from Little Italy, and features a vibrant lounge, restaurant and contemporary art gallery. It also has an outdoor heated pool and a 24-hour open-air fitness centre that offers treadmills and elliptical machines, along with complimentary spring water and lemon-scented towelettes.

From the Gaslamp Quarter, make the short drive or taxi ride back to Hillcrest for some serious nightclubbing. The city’s top lesbian hangout is the Flame, which has a large dance floor and several bars. Saturday it’s absolutely packed. Guys – and also some women – usually head to Rich’s, which has a small video bar for getting cozy and a large dance floor for grooving. The normally mainstream disco Club Montage pulses pink on Saturday, drawing a mix of club kids, male and female. It’s like a weekly circuit party, and the layout is impressive – three levels, four bars, and a rooftop patio.

Depending on just how late you partied the previous evening, you might start things off Sunday morning at Cafe on Park, an offbeat neighborhood greasy spoon that serves hearty breakfasts and healthful salads, along with some truly outrageous works of mad culinary inspiration (pancakes filled with Cap’n Crunch Berries cereal and blackberries, anyone?). You can usually count on a big crowd of alternative artsy types and scenesters.

Next, make the 25-minute excursion up the coast to La Jolla, the region’s most prestigious resort and beach town. You can stroll along the lovely beach, of course, but the real draw here are the fancy shops along Prospect Street. Take time out for lunch at George’s at the Cove. For many locals George’s is the restaurant to bring friends from out of town for steak and seafood. Typical lunch fare includes ahi tuna tartare with fennel, cucumber, lemon oil, and toasted pine nuts; and grilled New York Steak with potatoes, green beans, radishes, fresh tomatoes, and diced avocado with a sherry-mustard vinaigrette. The dining room is in the formal tradition of grand seaside restaurants, but you can also nosh in the less-expensive cafe or on the rooftop terrace, which has to-die-for views of La Jolla’s oceanfront.

North of town is Torrey Pines City Park Beach, known locally as Black’s Beach. This spectacular stretch of sand beneath a steep cliff is the most openly gay of San Diego’s beaches. Nudity is officially not permitted but widely practiced. Once you’ve parked, hike down any of the rugged trails to the beach below.

On your way back from La Jolla, if you’re still up for more exploring, plan a short detour to Old Town San Diego, which preserves the city’s rich 18th-century Spanish roots. Here at Presidio Park, Father Junipero Serra founded the first of California’s missions. Along the main thoroughfare, San Diego Avenue, you’ll find dozens of art galleries and open-air crafts shops. A five-minute drive back to Hillcrest, and you can finish off the day with dinner at Mixx. Fiestaware, warm lighting, and pretty patrons create a festive ambience at this upscale eatery that’s widely regaled for its international menu. Highlights include fried calamari with honey-jalapeno aioli, and a memorable entree of herb-grilled lamb sirloin with sauteed spinach and feta cheese, minted-tabouli salad, and sun-dried tomato beurre blanc.

More revelry awaits anyone still with a yen for bar-hopping. If you’re looking for a change of pace from the usual discos and video bars, San Diego’s country-western dance hall, Kickers, is one of the city’s friendliest options. Two-stepping and line-dancing (free lessons most weekday nights) take place in a large, handsomely furnished space adjacent to Hamburger Mary’s restaurant. Or play out your leather fantasies at Wolfs, where a rough-and-ready male crowd is packed into two dark and cavernous rooms. A motorcycle hangs from one ceiling, and the usual butch accoutrements adorn the walls. This is one great place to end your weekend with a bang.

Related: Flourishing and Artsy San Antonio

Exploring San Juan

Andrew Collins
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Exploring San Juan

Foreign and exotic while yet formally still in the US

San Juan, Puerto Rico may just be the solution to the next argument a gay couple could have over where to vacation. Let’s imagine the scenario – Jane may want to go some place foreign and exotic, but Joan would rather stay on U.S. soil. Jim has his heart set on a tropical-island getaway, while John is insistent on going somewhere with an urban edge. You both prefer a place with a gay social scene, but it doesn’t have to be circuit-party central. San Juan may be the only city in the world that satisfies all of the aforementioned criteria.

In this sultry, waterfront city of 1.5 million, it’s hard not to feel you’re in a foreign country – it’s many times farther from southeastern Florida than either Cuba or the Bahamas, and the music, language, cuisine, architecture, and social customs borrow from both indigenous tribes of the Caribbean and the island’s former overlord, Spain. Yet English is widely spoken, U.S. dollars are used, and placing phone calls or mailing letters costs the same as it does back on the mainland. The United States assumed control of the island following the Spanish-American War in 1898 – officially, Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth, and a quite gay-friendly one at that.

San Juan has appealing accommodations all along its shoreline, but the Condado Beach district has the most visible gay scene. The La Concha Renaissance Resort is definitely geared towards the party crowd. Check out the bar scene and if you’re lucky, find the Latin man (or woman) of your dreams.

The Condado Plaza Hilton features a great location overlooking the Condado Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, and near Condado Plaza. Guests enjoy the three pools and the hotel bright and cheery decor.

For socializing, keep in mind Junior’s, a low-keyed neighborhood bar that usually has strippers.

Condado’s El Canario by the Lagoon makes for a more charming overnight. This intimate 25-room hotel has dapper, brightly appointed rooms and a lush courtyard where Continental breakfast is served. The beautifully situated 650-room Caribe Hilton has a full-service spa, excellent restaurants, and several oceanfront swimming pools. Try to dine at least once at the Escambron Beach Club, which might prepare the freshest Puerto Rican seafood around. Here you can savor delicious octopus-and-conch salad, plus tender steaks, fried plantains, and garlic chicken. It’s along the beach, almost behind the Hilton.

Just east of Condado lies the residential and exclusive Ocean Park neighborhood, home to several small hotels, some with quite reasonable rates. Particularly inviting is the Numero Uno, a mainstream but gay-welcoming inn with a pretty courtyard and both standard rooms and efficiencies with kitchenettes – the restaurant, Pamela’s, serves highly acclaimed West Indian cuisine. Foodies should check out Ocean Park’s aromatic Kasalta Bakery, which serves delicious and creative breakfast and lunch fare, freshly baked pastries, and hefty sandwiches.

In the other direction, Old San Juan occupies a hilly promontory jutting into the Atlantic. This fabled historic district dates to 1521 and is famous for its weathered, pastel-hued colonial buildings, intricate iron work, narrow cobbled streets, and two massive historic ramparts. Here the romantic Hotel El Convento occupies a beautifully restored former Carmelite convent built during the 18th century. The 58 lavish guest rooms have handcrafted antiques, Andalusian tiles, marble bathrooms, and modern amenities like full stereo/VCR entertainment centers.

Finally, there’s the modern, some would say antiseptic, high-rise resort district of Isla Verde, with the posh Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Spa, and Casino. This lavish resort has top-notch facilities, including a state-of-the-art health and beauty spa. Trendy types prefer the nearby Water & Beach Club Hotel, an ultrachic boutique property on the beach with spare, avant-garde furnishings in its 84 rooms. The stellar restaurant, Liquid, serves memorable Nuevo Latino delectables like cinnamon-basted breast of chicken with garlic-potato mash and a coconut-peanut sauce. There’s also a small pool and lounge up on the roof, and the staff is absolutely first-rate.

One key neighborhood that’s less interesting as a place to stay but definitely deserves a visit is Santurce, which recently saw the transformation of an old hospital into the outstanding Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. Here you’ll find a rich permanent collection of local art and one of the best restaurants in Latin America, Pikayo, which serves artful renditions of nouvelle Caribbean fare in a softly lighted dining room overlooking the sculpture garden. Grilled shrimp with guanabana-fruit beurre blanc and chorizo is a show-stopping dinner entree.

Nearby Avenida Ponce de Leon cuts through Santurce’s rather drab business district but at night blossoms into a vibrant nightclub strip. The traditional favorite in these parts is Eros, a bilevel club with a small but potent dance floor. Newer is swanky Maroma, a super trendy lounge catering to a stylish stand-and-model crowd. This place has a large central bar and several cozy nooks with ambient red and amber lighting. Both clubs draw a mix of lesbians, gay men, and heteros. Neighbors include Cups, a locals-oriented gay disco with great Latin music and minimal attitude, and De Incognito, a relatively new spot that opened in November 2001 and has campy drag shows and go-go dancers.

Wherever you go to play or to stay, try to set aside at least an afternoon and plan a couple of your dinners for Old San Juan. As you stroll its old-world lanes, be sure to take a look at San Juan Cathedral, an imposing structure that dates to 1549 and contains a marble tomb encasing the body of the island’s first governor. Also be sure to walk out along the point to El Morro, a dramatic walled fortress from which Spanish soldiers defended the city from attacks by Sir Francis Drake. Within this massive compound you can explore a warren of hidden dungeons and tunnels (this may very well have been the inspiration for a few forbidding leather bars out there).

Old San Juan’s rather new culinary hot spot is Calle Fortaleza, which has several acclaimed options – Tantra, an decadent space decked with iron and clay pots and serving exceptional upscale Indian fare, and the Parrot Club, which is especially famous in the gay community for its weekend brunch. The kitchen turns out stellar Latin fare like tamarind-glazed baby back ribs. A little more expensive, Trois Cent Onze is an elegant, tropical space where you might sample mahimahi fillet with black truffle oil, pureed pumpkin, and nutmeg. A few blocks away, Amadeus has been a gay fave for decades, serving burgers and salads as well as more elaborate Continental-meets-Caribbean fare like plantain gnocchi with an Italian sausage sauce.

Save time, and room in your stomach, for a stop at Mallorca, a quaint pastry cafe, that serves an eponymous sweet pastry that’s absolutely addictive – these buttered and grilled delights are served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Charming Cafe Berlin draws its fair share of “family” for coffee, sweets, and light, healthful meals – it even gets a little cruisy in here on weekend afternoons.

If you have only the chance to spend one evening in Old San Juan, try to make it a Tuesday, and head for the Hotel El Convento, which is home to a pair of excellent restaurants. El Picoteo specializes in authentic Spanish tapas and has seating on a romantic tiled terrace overlooking the hotel courtyard. The second option, Cafe Bohemio, also serves great food but is perhaps best known in gay and lesbian circles for its Tuesday evening social mixer. Get your hair done, wear something sexy, and make a night of this festive event that draws just about everybody who’s anybody in Puerto Rico’s gay community. It’s a spectacle you won’t soon forget.

Related: Exploring Vieques

Fire Island Versus Provincetown

Andrew Collins
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Fire Island Versus Provincetown

Most queer summer-resort habitues have developed a clear preference

The Northeast’s two premier gay vacation destinations both evolved in isolated, tip-of-the-universe communities within an afternoon’s drive of major cities, but that’s where their similarities end. Cape Cod’s Provincetown and Long Island’s Fire Island are strikingly different breeds of the same general species. It’s not uncommon to find gay folks who love both towns, sometimes for different reasons, but most queer summer-resort habitues have developed a clear preference for one or the other.

Somewhat complicating comparisons is the fact that Fire Island’s GLBT communities, Cherry Grove and the Pines, themselves enjoy a good-natured rivalry. The two villages are separated both geographically – by a cruisy swath of sand and forest – and philosophically – by a vast gulf of attitude. Cherry Grove is the senior of the two villages, catering to an eclectic crowd: retirees, dykes with tikes, campy queens, artists, and a highly diverse bunch in terms of race, age, and style – everyone seems to fit in well in this low-keyed enclave. Houses here are generally funkier and more affordable than those in the Pines, which was developed more recently and has a mostly male, more upscale following. Domiciles in the Pines tend to be angular, sleek, and palatial; the crowd at Pines restaurants and bars is closer in style and attitude to the buffed, bronzed, and somewhat affluent bunch you might see wandering around Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. You’ll find elements of both these populations in Provincetown, but without such obvious divisions.

Fire Island

Related: Three Great New York Neighborhoods

If truly getting away from civilization is your intent, either community on Fire Island is a better choice than the whole of Provincetown. The Pines and Cherry Grove are accessible only by boat and are without streets or automobiles; they’re also nearly devoid of heteros (which can be fun for a few days but can feel a little Twilight Zonish after a week or two). Provincetown is equally remote (it’s at the tip of Cape Cod) but easier to get to, as you can drive here or take a high-speed ferry directly from Boston. Also, even during its summer peak, it’s still only about 50 percent gay, drawing a mix to its handful of museums, scads of shops, dozens of restaurants, and stunningly beautiful swath of Cape Cod National Seashore.

If you’re traveling with your lover or with friends, you’ll find that both destinations have plenty going for them, but that on Fire Island your day may revolve more closely around those in your party – there simply aren’t many places to wander off and do your own thing. It’s a good place to read, lie in the sun, and relax. In Provincetown, it’s not unheard of for a group of friends to arrive together and see each other only three or four more times during the rest of their stay. This is a decent-size town with numerous distractions and plenty of chances to meet new friends. For these reasons, if you’re traveling alone, Provincetown may be your better choice.

Because it has only a few hundred hotel rooms (most of which command more than $200 nightly), Fire Island draws fewer short-term visitors than it does weekly, monthly, or seasonal guests. If you’re an outsider, you may find it somewhat difficult to crack such an established, cliquey social scene; on the other hand, newcomers, especially by summer’s end, are often welcomed enthusiastically by the regulars who’ve by now grown a little weary of the island’s insularity. Provincetown has more than 50 gay-oriented guest houses and inns, and therefore has a steady turnover of visitors – you rarely see the same folks in the same bars every night.

Both towns have plenty of dance clubs and bars, but, again, on Fire Island you may have a more difficult time meeting other singles. This is very much a couples destination, although Cherry Grove has several bars that keep busy all day, all season long. The Pines has just a couple of nightlife spots, but they’re extremely popular and downright packed on weekends. If you do happen to meet somebody interesting, the odds that either of you have a single, private bedroom are rather slim, given how many visitors share rooms or crash with friends. This is one more reason Fire Island is a better destination if you’re bringing your own friend or lover, rather than seeking a new one. Because rooms are on average cheaper in Provincetown, there’s a better chance that you’ll meet somebody with a single room – in fact, P’town has a number of accommodations that fit modest budgets, even during the summer high season. Also, Provincetown has two great lesbian bars, and a couple others with a mixed following or occasional women’s nights. Fire Island’s nightlife is decidedly more male-oriented, especially in the Pines. Lesbians will definitely find more to do on Provincetown in terms of socializing and bar-hopping.

Provincetown

Both Fire Island and Provincetown can be visited as day trips from their closest big cities – New York City and Boston, respectively. However, some fairly ambitious planning is needed. To visit Fire Island in a day from New York, you either need to drive or take the Long Island Railroad to the town of Sayville (about 90 minutes), and then take a 30-minute ferry ride to either the Pines or Cherry Grove. During the summer high season, the last ferries from Cherry Grove and the Pines return to Sayville as late as 2 a.m. on weekends (but earlier on weekdays). The Long Island Railroad has return train service to New York City leaving as late as 12:30 in the morning. Ideally, give yourself a couple of nights to enjoy a visit to Fire Island. You’ll save money on hotels if you come during the week rather than on weekends, but you’ll also find Fire Island nightlife options quieter on weekdays.

To get from Boston to Provincetown, you can drive, but it’s a pretty long haul – two-and-a-half hours without traffic, and easily up to four hours on busy weekends in during the summer high season. A much simpler and quicker option is to take the 90-minute high-speed ferry from Boston, which docks right at the main wharf in Provincetown, just steps from shops, restaurants, and nightlife. Two different companies, Bay State Cruise Company and Boston Harbor Cruises, offer this service, but only from May through October. The earliest boats leave Boston at 8 a.m., and the last boats back to Boston depart from Provincetown at 8:30 p.m.

Finally, although both communities enjoy maximum crowds from about Memorial Day through Labor Day, Provincetown continues to draw a significant number of visitors through the late fall, and even into the barren but broodingly romantic winter months. Provincetown also hosts a wide range of events and theme weeks from spring through fall. Single Women’s Weekend and Women of Color & Allies Weekend are both in May, and Women’s Week takes place in October. Meet Your Man in Provincetown Weekend occurs each November, and Provincetown Summer Bear Week draws plenty of guys in the middle of July. The town also has a playwright’s festival (early April), JazzFest (early August), Circuit Party Week (early July), Carnival (late August), Tennessee Williams Theater Festival (late September), and Fantasia Fair (mid-October) – there seems to be a lot to do out here. Fire Island is a ghost town from mid-October through April, and you’ll find the most activity and the liveliest bars and nightclubs in July and August. Despite the increased crowds of summer, Fire Island and Provincetown both offer significantly cooler climates than mainland New York or Massachusetts. When the mercury rises above 90 degrees, these breezy and scenic getaways offer the perfect retreat from city life.

Related: Eat and Play in Provincetown

Summer Fun in Minneapolis

Andrew Collins
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Summer Fun in Minneapolis

A few memorable ways to make the most of a summer visit to Minneapolis

The office of tourism in Minneapolis bills this gay-friendly city “the coolest place on earth,” and they’re not kidding. The climate here is downright chilly much of the year, but in summer, when a typical July or August day might see high temperatures in the 70s, Minneapolis becomes the meteorological envy of most Americans. The city’s great summer weather sets the tone for all sorts of enjoyable activities, from leisurely bike rides to gay pride festivities to meals al fresco at one of the region’s many inviting restaurants.

Here are a few memorable ways to make the most of a summer visit to Minneapolis.

Get a bird’s eye view of the city
Especially if it’s a clear day, make a trip to the elegant 32-story Foshay Tower, a 1929 landmark building with a public observation deck that affords terrific views for miles around. After your skyscraping adventure, take the elevator down to Cafe Un Deux Trois, an excellent choice for a lunch of first-rate French fare, such as steak tartare or mussels with fries.

The Foshay Tower is roughly the geographic center of downtown; linking it to buildings on more than 50 surrounding blocks is a vast network of second-story interior skyways – these come in quite handy on the blustery winter days for which Minnesota is famous. But if you’re a shopaholic, even during the warmer months, a walk through these skyways makes for great treasure- hunting (and downtown is a far more pleasant shopping venue than the overhyped Mall of America in nearby Bloomington). Shops accessible from the 5-mile skyway system include Marshall Field’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and a flagship store of the Minnesota- based, and gay-employee-friendly, Target Corporation.

Related: A Seattle Shopping Spree

Take a walk through the Warehouse District
The Warehouse Historic District, west of Hennepin Avenue, is characterized by stately, old-world architecture that’s rare elsewhere downtown. The 150 buildings here contain shops, restaurants, nightclubs, a few strip clubs and adult bookstores, and a growing number of art galleries – this is a stroll that’s equally interesting day or night. Most of the upper floors of these buildings have been reconfigured as loft apartments and design studios. Note the Cass Gilbert-designed Minneapolis Van and Warehouse Company Building, now the renowned Theatre de la Jeune Lune, which specializes in cutting-edge theatrical works.

This is a great neighborhood for gay-friendly dining. Try Cafe Havana for excellent Latin American food – it’s something of a playground for posing, sipping martinis, and smoking cigars. Or stop by Cafe Brenda for delightfully fresh and inventive organic cooking, like savory wild mushroom-pistachio pate and organic mock- duck tacos. Pizza Luce, staffed with punker-kid waitrons, is where a lot of fags like to dish over deep-dish pizzas. And for arguably the finest Northern Italian fare in the city, book a table at D’Amico Cucina, which is also notable for its stunning Art Nouveau interior and 500-vintage wine list.

Make a bicycle tour of the Chain of Lakes
There are 22 lakes within Minneapolis city limits, and the most prominent of these form the Chain of Lakes, a string of azure oases southwest of downtown. The terrain is mostly flat and the traffic generally slow along the roads that circumnavigate these lakes, making this exceptional biking – or blading and jogging – territory. You can rent bikes at Calhoun Rental, which is just a couple of blocks from Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles; rates (for basic bikes) begin at $6 per hour, $15 per half day, and $24 per full day.

Surrounding the lake are fashionable enclaves like Bryn Mawr, Calhoun-Isles, and Kenwood, in which many of the city’s wealthiest residents built houses in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. Real estate around these lakes remains pricey, although many of the large mansions have been divvied up into apartments. Such has not been the fate of the imposing private home at 2104 Kenwood Parkway, although its depiction in the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as the first residence of Mary Richards, might lead you to conjecture otherwise. Go ahead and cycle by, but don’t ask the no doubt frazzled owners for a tour – curiosity seekers are said to show up occasionally expecting to find the place laid out and decorated exactly as it appeared on the show, complete with Rhoda’s fabulous beaded doorway.

The Mary house is just a couple of blocks inland from the western shore of Lake of the Isles, a particularly picturesque member in the Chain of Lakes; it’s so named for the two small isles in the center of it. Due south is the largest of these rippling waterways, Calhoun Lake, around which legions of walkers and runners make their way. The grassy eastern shores, especially between 33rd and 34th streets, tend to be particularly popular among lesbians
and gays, many of whom live in the adjoining Uptown neighborhood. Continue southeast through leafy Berry and Lyndale parks to reach Lake Harriett, the final link in the chain.

Attend a performance or festival
Minneapolis’ GLBT Pride Festival and Parade, held the last weekend in June, is one of the best-attended such events in the world, drawing more than 250,000 each year. But summer is a great time to catch all kinds of concerts, shows, and events. The Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus performs at the Ted Mann Concert Hall at University of Minnesota; their summer concert, which in 2002 features the Broadway tunes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, is set for two nights during Gay Pride weekend.

After New York City, Minneapolis has the most theater seats per capita in the United States – there are dozens of venues throughout the city, from the famous Guthrie, the country’s largest regional theater, to cutting-edge spaces like the Hey City and Mixed Blood theaters, which often present works with lesbian, feminist, or gay themes.

Take a stroll around Loring Park
On the southwest edge of downtown, you’ll find one of Minneapolis’ most inviting green spaces, Loring Park, a seeming slice of small-town America that’s just steps from a clutch of modern office towers. Here a true mix of Minneapolitans wanders around the grassy shores of the park’s central pond, feeding ducks and enjoying the scenery. This is where the aforementioned gay pride parade commences the last weekend in June, and where Mary Richards seems to thank the stars for life in Minneapolis during the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. (In a related note, a statue of MTM tossing her hat in the air, also as she does in the show’s credits, was unveiled at 7th Street and Nicollet Mall in May 2002).

A short street called Harmon Place fringes the north edge of the park and houses some neoboho shops and eateries, including the urbane Loring Cafe, which comprises an avant-garde theater, a relentlessly counter- cultural bar (with its own light menu), and a more formal dining room where you can sample tasty delicacies like chilled, seared ahi tuna. A couple of doors down, Joe’s Garage serves tasty global fare with such eclectic offerings as basil-pesto turkey burgers and red Thai curry-and-mushroom risotto. The restaurant’s motto, “Food fit for a king…and a few queens,” should clue you in to the giddy clientele. You can always order food to go at one of the above restaurants and enjoy your meal outside in the park. There may be no more perfect ending to a beautiful summer day in Minneapolis than a picnic with friends or your honey beside the pond in verdant Loring Park.

Related: Gay Minneapolis – Romance on the Mississippi River

Flourishing and Artsy San Antonio

Andrew Collins
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Flourishing and Artsy San Antonio

San Antonio makes for a delightful long-weekend getaway

The most-visited city in the state, San Antonio in many ways embodies the quintessential Texas spirit that outsiders seek but never seem to find in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. There’s also a flourishing arts scene, a sizable if somewhat inconspicuous gay community, and plenty of sophisticated restaurants and elegant hotels. Granted, this generally conservative city has no shortage of schmaltzy family attractions, raucous theme parks, touristy dance halls, and rowdy bars and chain restaurants. But with its rich history and engaging cultural attractions, San Antonio makes for a delightful long-weekend getaway.

The city’s downtown has been carefully protected by a zealous spirit of historic preservation. At the turn of the century, concerned local citizens fought developers bent on converting the Alamo into a hotel. Similar efforts led to the restoration of the city’s other iconic landmark, the San Antonio River, with its enchanting River Walk.

Only a fraction of the original Spanish Colonial mission known popularly as the Alamo stands today: the small chapel whose facade has come to symbolize the pride and independence of Texas, and one of the living quarters. The buildings are set within a tranquil walled plaza of lawns and gardens. It’s one of five missions built along the San Antonio River during the 18th century. The other four, which are south of downtown within 6 miles of one another, have been preserved and are open to the public. Stop by the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park for details.

Related: Queer Historic Sites of the East

Steps from the Alamo you’ll find the fabled River Walk, a network of cobbled and flagstone paths hugging the San Antonio River some 15 feet below street level. The branches of cypress and willow trees droop over the walk. During the day it makes for a peaceful stroll, and river taxis offer tours that provide an excellent sense of the architecture and greenery.

At the far northeastern edge of downtown, about a 15-minute walk from the Alamo, you’ll find the San Antonio Museum of Art, which inhabits the former Lone Star brewery and is famous for its Asian works and arguably the nation’s premier collection of Latin American art. A few blocks south of downtown, HemisFair Park contains the remnants of the 1968 World’s Fair attractions, including the 750-foot Tower of the Americas and several museums. Be sure to check out La Villita, a nearby complex of more than two dozen arts and crafts shops. Continue south to reach the King William Historic District, where many of San Antonio’s early German immigrants settled and built elaborate Victorian mansions. It’s adjacent to the more modest but increasingly hip Southtown area, which buzzes with funky shops, galleries, and restaurants.

If you have time to explore farther afield, consider checking out some of the notable attractions outside of downtown, such as the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, the Japanese Tea Gardens, the San Antonio Zoological Gardens and Aquarium, and the McNay Art Museum. And on the city’s true outskirts, there’s fun to be had at Schlitterbahn Waterpark, Seaworld of Texas, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

San Antonio has become decidedly more swank and sophisticated from a culinary perspective. Biga on the Banks earns praise for serving some of the finest contemporary American fare in Texas, including a mouthwatering venison with juniper sauce, goat-cheese strudel, frisee-gooseberry salad, and chili jam. A number of hip lounges and restaurants have popped up along Houston Street, including the much-talked-about Acenar, a sensuous, modern space overlooking the River Walk and presenting creative renditions of Tex-Mex cuisine.

Also on the river, Paesanos is a terrific Northern Italian trattoria, and it’s one of the relatively few spots in this area that draws as many locals as tourists. In Southtown, Azuca is an airy space decorated with colorful glass art (blown next door at Garcia Glass studio) and serving terrific Nuevo Latino fare, from ceviche to caramelized pork loin with mashed sweet yams and a caipirinha glaze. There’s live Latin music and dancing many evenings.

One of the most famous Mexican restaurants in Texas, La Fogata is worth the 15-minute drive north of downtown for its authentic cooking. In Southtown, Rosario’s, a loud and spacious joint with live music on weekends, offers such tasty Mexican recipes as chicken with pumpkin mole sauce. A funky dive that’s perfect when you have a fast-food craving, Pig Stand opened in 1921 and claims to be America’s first drive-in restaurant. It turns out amazingly good chicken-fried steak, thick malted milkshakes, and breakfast any time of day.

The historic Liberty Bar was a German-style beer garden for much of this century. These days, gay and straight locals drop by to mingle at the bar or nosh on pear and Stilton salad, peppered tenderloin, and traditional Mexican favorites. A longtime staple of the gay community, W. D. Deli is a cheerful spot with the best chicken tortilla soup around, and healthy sandwiches (try the turkey-avocado wrap) and salads.

Candlelight Coffeehouse is the perfect blend of a wine bar, cafe, and rainy-day hangout. In good weather enjoy the lushly landscaped patio. In the King William District, Madhatters draws a “who’s who” of local characters for coffee, beer, wine, conversation, and great food. And north of downtown near several of the city’s gay bars, Timo’s is a relatively new gay-owned coffeehouse serving tasty sandwiches, fresh smoothies, and leafy salads in addition to the usual coffees and teas.

There is one gay nightclub of note downtown, the long-running (and enormous) Bonham Exchange, lovingly nicknamed the “Bottom Exchange.” It’s a high-energy club drawing a mostly gay bunch along with quite a few straights for hot dancing. Most of city’s other well-frequented bars are clustered along North Main Avenue, less than a 10-minute drive from downtown. Here you’ll find the pulsing dance club Heat, which is jammed nightly with buff-bodied revelers, and The Saint, known for arguably the best drag shows in Texas.

Other North Main options include Pegasus, a convivial video bar with a volleyball court and patio out back, and the Silver Dollar Saloon, which plays a mix of Tejano and country-western music. San Antonio’s gay nightlife is decidedly male-oriented, even more so than in most other U.S. cities, but Petticoat Junction is a friendly neighborhood spot with a lesbian following. A few blocks away, the Annex is a rugged, cruisy bar with a leather-and-Levi’s following. A more hard-core leather hangout is the San Antonio Eagle. And just off I-35, ACI is the city’s quite popular bathhouse.

San Antonio has a wonderful mix of inviting accommodations, from quaint gay-friendly B&Bs to chic “designer” hotels to historic grande dames. Among gay-owned options, the Beauregard House B&B in the King William District occupies a handsome 1905 Victorian house done with sumptuous period furnishings and fabrics. The rooms are named for literary figures, such as Walt Whitman and William Faulkner. Breakfast here is outstanding – you might start the day with a apple-and-brie omelet, for instance. Straight-owned and in the same neighborhood, the Italianate-inspired Adams House B&B has four rooms done with lovely antiques and local artwork – the decor is elegant but not overdone.

A marvelous boutique hotel set inside a 1914 Mediterranean Revival former boarding school, the 28-room Havana Hotel captures the sophisticated sensibility of 1920s Paris along with the romance of vintage Cuba. It’s on one of the less noisy stretches of the River Walk. Opened in November 2005, the sleek and contemporary Hotel Contessa has quickly drawn raves for its palatial rooms with floor-to-ceiling river views, 12-story atrium lobby, and friendly staff. Mokara Hotel & Spa, which occupies a former saddlery and has 99 of the snazziest rooms in the state, also offers highly polished service as well as a state-of-the-art spa and superb dining in its Pesca on the River restaurant. Finally, looking more West Hollywood than Central Texas, the uber-hip Hotel Valencia provides a strikingly contemporary contrast to the historic downtown blocks that surround it. The hotel’s restaurant, Citrus, serves wonderfully inventive contemporary American food. And there may not be a sexier room in the city than the Valencia’s V Bar – definitely plan to toast your visit with a cocktail in this vibrant lounge.

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