Looking for a gay bar near downtown Chicago? This old-school spot is the place. Tucked away above the bustling streets of Streeterville, Second Story is a relaxed refuge that’s remained virtually unchanged since it opened 35 years ago. The bar is one of the last remnants of “Tower Town”, a former bohemian enclave that was known as an epicenter of LGBTQ life in Chicago.
Roscoe’s TavernĪ Northalsted essential, the welcoming Roscoe’s Tavern has been a go-to for the local LGBTQ community for more than 30 years. Come for the drink specials, pool table, and outdoor patio - and stay for their famous Roscoe’s Drag Race, billed as the city’s longest-running amateur weekly drag competition. Kansas City is an amazing bar city-and it has been for a long, long time.Other popular events include dueling pianos, themed dance nights, and karaoke hosted by Chicago cabaret legend Honey West. We’ve argued before that the birth of Kansas City as we know it came when the city took a pass on the whole Prohibition thing. As the rest of the country ripped up its bar culture and had to start from scratch, KC experienced a golden era of nightlife, music and cocktails. It’s been almost a decade since a local publication made a comprehensive guide to the city’s best bars. With the pandemic behind us and everyone eager to make up for lost time, we surveyed the city to document the 87 best bars, pubs, jazz joints, speakeasies, mixology temples and clubs in KC. We revisited every spot included post-pandemic.īars are social spaces, and our definition of a great bar is a great place to be for a while. We picked bars that are good at what they’re doing. We are not judging dive bars on their Mezcal selection, nor are we downgrading trendy speakeasies for their lack of pull-tabs. We take each place on its own terms and judge it by how it’s meant to be enjoyed.
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While researching this list, we did not ask for special treatment, announce our presence or take free drinks (unless someone was buying a round). Classic neighborhood spots (named after dudes) #Gay bar chicago alcoholic slushie free O’Leary’s cow to thank for the charms of Harry’s Country Club. Back in 1871, that cow kicked over a lantern, starting a fire that burned much of Chicago.
Urban environments changed thereafter, with new buildings built of brick and concrete. In KC, the first one to go up was this one, believed to have been a slaughterhouse. The weathered brick walls lend a natural warmth to this space, which is accentuated by well-made cocktails, well-chosen spirit flights and a four-hour happy hour that goes until 7 pm. I happened to be inside Charlie Hooper’s a couple years ago when it caught on fire. There was a remarkably undramatic scene inside the wood-paneled walls of this laid-back Brookside pub-we smelled smoke and a waiter said maybe we should wait outside for a few minutes. That’s sort of how it goes at Hoop’s, which is as much a community center as a bar. When Hooper’s eventually reopened, nothing had changed.
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#Gay bar chicago alcoholic slushie codeĪ global pandemic hit, so they make you scan a QR code to see the ever-changing beer list and lineup of fancy hot dogs. If zombies attack, I’ll meet you on the patio.ĭave Golad opened this Westport bar in 1952. It moved to its current location-a former machine shop-in 1972. Since then, it’s been a stronghold of loyal regulars in this party district, with bargain-priced drinks, a pool table, a jukebox and a decent patio. Buy cigarettes and lottery tickets from an always-stocked vending machine, catch up on the neighborhood gossip, or hunker down on your favorite barstool (it’s ripped, but it’s comfortable) and watch the game. This three-story bar is basically three separate bars and has one of the best rooftop bars in Kansas City.
The first floor is low-key, with friendly, chatty bartenders and plenty of Bud Heavy. Floor two is where things get turned up a bit: There, low lights, heart-pumping music and beer pong tables are aplenty. The rooftop returns to the chill vibe and is the perfect place to watch the game or make friends over nachos. This barn-sized bar on the main strip in Mission unironically plays Ratt but ironically serves beer in mason jars, embedding the tin toppers in its bartop. There’s classic shall board but also glowing kiosks for “legally compliant game of skill” Dragon’s Ascent.