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Gay Pride parade New York - the Big (gay) Apple and centre of the Universe (as the native New Yorkers see it). From Chelsea Boys to Leather Men, Greenwich Village to the Fire Island Pines, and 7 days a week nightlife; you'll need a vacation to recover after visiting this non-stop city. journey agent's favourite time of year to visit is in summer when the heat is up, and the Chelsea Boys are out there shirtless. Grab your map of Manhattan and let journey agent be your guide...

 


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Grab some zzzz's sleep Eat it ! eat Party hard, dudes party R & R play
Retail Therapy retail Sights view More info more  

 


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journey agent is in the enviable position of not having to spend valuable party dollars on accommodation when visiting New York, (this is where friends are invaluable). But we can recommend the following places to try for somewhere to lay your head (if you ever get time to sleep, that is).

New York B&B Reservation Center Ph (212) 977-3512. Price: $ - $$
A gay & lesbian reservation service that can get you a whole apartment or a guest room in someone's apartment.

The West Side YMCA or Vanderbilt YMCA (Westside) 5 West 63rd St @ Central Park West, Ph (212) 787-4400. (Vanderbilt) 224 East 47th St bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves, Ph (212) 756-9600. Price: $
Make like the Village People and rough it with backpackers and students at the "Y".

Chelsea Pines Inn 317 West 14th St bet 8th & 9th Aves. Ph (212) 929-1023. Price: $$
Located on the border of Greenwich Village and Chelsea, this is an 1850 townhouse that's been converted into a gay B&B.

The Royalton Hotel 44 West 44th St bet. 5th & 6th Aves. Ph (212) 869-4400. Price: $$ - $$$ A KEWL place
A guide to architecture in New York had this to say about the Royalton: "Chic and silly, this is an entire hotel dedicated to the fashion victim.Do not bother arriving unless you are clad in black and own a mobile phone. Do not be intimidated by the relentlessly beautiful staff." In other words, queers will love this place. At least visit for cocktails in the impressive lobby or champagne bar if you can't afford to stay here.
The Royalton

 

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OK, so if it's a happening fad food thing, then you'll find it happening in New York.

LIPS 2 Bank Street (off 7th Ave), Greenwich Village
ph (212) 675-7710 Price: $$
A Mme Wanda favourite!
Publicised as "New York City's Most Entertaining Drag Restaurant" - and rightly so. Be prepared to be waited on by some of New York's funniest drag queens. Give 'em a hard time and they'll give you one right back (they love it). These Divas don't just lip-synch during the dinner shows, but some actually sing (and pretty well too, or maybe that was due to one too many cocktails). Mid week they also host Bitchy Bingo - bingo with a load of bitchiness - e.g. the hostess said one of the diners puts ice down her panties - why? - to keep her crabs fresh! They also do a Sunday Champagne Brunch.
journey agent recommends that if you only have time for one restaurant in N.Y., then this is the one! Gusty Winds (I think her sister must be Gail Force), and the girls will really look after you.
Drag queens do it better!

Markt 401 West 14th St @ 9th Ave. ph: (212) 727-3314 Price: $$ A KEWL place
Belgian food and imported Belgian beer seem to be popular in the Big Apple. Markt is a big Belgian style brasserie in the Meat Packing district, with a noisy buzzing wood-panelled dining room. They have a list of Belgian beers as long as your arm, and some are very pricey - try the Lambic fruit beers at US$12 a bottle. journey agent rates Markt well for good food & those potent Belgian brews, but the minus is the very noisy dining room. 

Belgo Nieuw-York 415 Lafayette St (bet. Astor Pl & 4th St). ph: (212) 253-2828. Price: $$
Yep, another Belgian restaurant. Belgo in London opened a few years ago in a cavernous designer warehouse, and Belgo Nieuw-York is not too different with an interior somewhere between a science fiction movie set and an Eastern European factory. The waiters are dressed as monks, but journey agent doubts that they are celibate. More mussels, pommes frites, stews, and an unbelievable list of Belgian beers.

Food Bar 149 Eighth Ave, Chelsea. Price: $+
Right in the middle of Chelsea gay-boy territory. The food's really quite good, but the waiters are even tastier !

Arte Pasta 81 Greenwich Ave @ 7th Ave. Price: $-$$
Reliable, affordable pasta and Italian food, just around the corner from the heart of the Village.

Manatus 340 Bleecker St (West Village). Price: $+
Reasonable food and service at good prices. A good place to go for brunch any day of the week, especially after a hard night on the town.

O Padeiro 641 Avenue of the Americas. Price: $
This is a great upscale but authentic Portuguese bakery, cafe and bar to hit for a break during retail therapy. Try the sandwiches, salads & coffee.

Dean & Deluca Broadway, Soho. Price: $-$$ A KEWL place
London has Harrod's foodhall & Fortnum & Mason. New York has Dean & Deluca. For foodies, this is heaven. 

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And partying HARD is what it's all about in New York. Whatever you're in to, they'll be a bar or club for it. And it's happening 7 days a week, when even Monday can host some funky dance clubs.

The Lure 409 West 13th St. (bet. 9th Ave & Washington)   A Mme Wanda favourite! click here to view website
journey agent's all-time favourite leather and fetish bar...this is leather heaven on earth. It's been open for years, and still going strong. Very friendly rough-looking and hunky barmen, and cruisey clientele in a large venue with different rooms, including a leather and fetish shop for a spot of retail therapy in between beers. Be sure to observe the strict dress code (leather, uniforms, rubberwear, torn Levis, jockstraps, etc) on Friday & Saturday, and no-cologne zone rules (check the web site for details), and make a pig of yourself!

Niels
barman from The Lure
pepper2.wmf (4102 bytes)  Tip: "PORK" on Wednesday night at The Lure comes highly recommended. The dress code is more relaxed than the strict Friday / Saturday nights. There's usually some form of live entertainment or show which can be dull, bizarre or full-on fetish. Other diversions include checking out the barmen, and the boot lick / boot shine boy.

The Spike 120 11th Ave at West 20th StA Mme Wanda favourite!
A popular Levi / Leather bar just one block away from The Eagle Bar. There's a large circular bar room, pool table, coat check, and cruise space. On one visit, journey agent & friend Dirty Craig got really plastered while spending the night cruising the barmen who were very friendly. journey agent ended up in the bathroom getting into some trouble with some guy called "Beer Can" ...   

Splash 50 West 17th St (bet. 5th & 6th Aves) A KEWL place
A hang-out for Chelsea boys - buff and beautiful, damn it. A large trendy bar space with lots of TV monitors playing videos, a dance floor, podium go-go boys, and models doing the shower shows. The lower floor has table seating, a bar and cruisy bathroom. All the barmen were drop-dead gorgeous (or maybe they just looked that way after one too many cocktails).

Brian from Splash

The Pyramid 101 Avenue A
The Pyramid hosts "1984" on Friday nights. If back in high school you were listening to Madonna, Haircut 100, Prince, Erasure, ABBA and Eurythmics, then "1984" will be a time warp. There's a long bar in front with a packed dance floor room out back. Surprisingly, it's a young crowd who were probably only in Junior school back in 1984.

Roxy 515 West 18th St (@ 10th Ave) A Mme Wanda favourite! A KEWL place
Saturday night is Roxy night! A warehouse sized club, with a large dance floor flanked by 2 bars, and lounge areas with comfy sofas and heavy velvet drapes (a la private gentlemen's club style). Upstairs on the mezzanine is a lounge / cocktail bar with a small dance space (playing handbag & classic disco), and a balcony overlooking the downstairs bar and main dance floor . On a recent visit, journey agent and friend Kandy got more than an aerial view eyeful of the bar top go-go boys, especially one who stripped down to nothing more than boots and a face flannel!
Still the best place to be on a Saturday night in the Big Apple.

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When checking out the Chelsea boys gets too much, maybe it's time to head to the gym yourself

David Barton Gym 552 Sixth Ave, Chelsea
The motto at David Barton Gym is "Look Better Naked". The Chelsea branch has more than its share of Chelsea boys and famous New Yorkers. Aside from the work out area with machines and free-weights, there's a steam room and shower room (with the most bizarre art-deco panels between each shower stall, with strategically (?) placed holes in the design - at one time there was a "Shower Monitor" keeping an eye on the gym members). All manner of strangeness can happen in the main gym - including drag queens spinning disco records while you pump.

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New York offers some excellent Retail Therapy experiences. As expected, US labels can be found at reasonable prices and bargains can be had!

CENTURY 21 Department Store ( 22 Cortlandt St, off Broadway) is a mecca for designer labels, often at bargain prices. It's like a giant clearance sale. The entire ground floor is devoted to menswear ranging from racks of US and designer names, to sports wear, casual wear, and underwear.

TOM OF FINLAND (261 West 19th St) click here to view website opened in early 1999, stocks the current seasons range of the new Tom of Finland clothing label, supposedly modelled after clothing worn by the men in ToF's many drawings. Stick to the classic low cut, butt hugging ToF jeans and tank tops and you can't go wrong.

NEW YORK BODYWORKS (45 Christopher St, Greenwich Village)click here to view website stocks some excellent gym clothing ranging from track pants (affectionately referred to as "Chelsea Boy pants" by journey agent), to tank tops, g-strings for go-go dancing, and club clothing. 

WESSEL O'CONNOR GALLERY (242 West 26th St bet. 6th & 7th Aves) click here to view website A Mme Wanda favourite!. A great small mainly gay gallery, representing some well known gay photographers including Bruce of LA, Jim French, and journey agent's favourite, Howard Roffman.

FETISH STUFF: For leather and S&M equipment, visit LEATHERMAN (111 Christopher St, Greenwich Village). The leather & fetish stuff is expensive, but they have a good range. For NYPD t-shirts, caps etc (but not uniforms), go to NEW YORK 911 (265 Lafayette St, bet. Prince & Spring Sts) click here to view website . Next door, the same guys also run a fireman's theme store, NEW YORK FIREFIGHTER'S FRIEND (263 Lafayette St) click here to view website. They have great t-shirts and an annual FDNY fireman's calendar.


Tom of Finland clothing store

 

 

 

 

 

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If you have limited time in the Big Apple, then journey agent rates the following tourist stops as not-to-be-missed:

The Statue of Liberty Go early - especially if you decide to climb to the top, as there's always a line.

The Empire State Building (350 Fifth Ave). Visit at sunset with the boyf for a romantic start to the night.

Museum of Modern Art A KEWL place(11 West 53rd St). An amazing collection of recognisable modern art. They have a good museum shop across the road selling classic and modern design desirable objects and knick knacks.

Times Square (Broadway & west 42nd St). Worth a visit just to remind yourself that you're in New York, especially good at night when the neon signs are in overload mode.

West Side Highway Not necessarily a must-see, but if you're in NYC during summer, it's a good place to go on a sunny day. Unfortunately the piers are all being dismantled for a new West Side park, but there are still lots of gay guys roller-blading, cycling or walking during summer.

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For further info on New York, journey agent recommends these sources:

Gay publications (all weekly)

HX (Homo Extra) - free
Next Magazine - free
Time Out New York magazine

Travel Guides (website links) :

The Rough Guide
New York Sidewalk (Microsoft)
HX

 

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this page was last updated on 12/11/2001

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