April 9, 2013. Scottie Gage celebrated the release of his new single and music video
“Moonglow” at the Hell’s Kitchen gay country bar.
(L-R: Brett & Steven, Kris & Ryan, Matt & Daniel)
Photographer: Gustavo Monroy
By Michael Musto Wednesday, Jan 2 2013
Hell’s Kitchen is actually heaven’s boudoir for gays these days. The queer ratio is so high there that if the person to the left of you is straight and the person to the right of you is, too, then you’re definitely gay.
Way back in the mid 2000s, I was nudging everyone that the gay energy was migrating north, as Chelsea became a little too fancy, expensive, and hetero for the younger gays. Hell’s Kitchen beckoned with its relatively cheap walk-ups, Thai noodle restaurants, and growing lounge-based nightlife. What’s more, it seemed relatively unvarnished—an off-limits work in progress whose malleability was extremely appealing to gays who like to be part of an urban aesthetics project.
Jump ahead, and HK is now the NYC neighborhood with the most gay bars—13, as opposed to seven in Chelsea.
But my two favorite HK spots are the ones that are so wrong they’re right up my alley. Flaming Saddles is a brightly lit country-western bar that attracts a surprising crowd of flamboyantly gay wannabe cowboys and cowpokes. The screens there seem to show The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas on continual repeat (with Dom DeLuise and Jim Nabors in prominent roles, it’s gayer than a sheriff in a gingham dress), and at odd moments, three short, frisky dancers perform a hoedown on top of the bar—uniquely amusing, even if it tends to interrupt drink service.
August 29, 2012. Zeke Stokes and Afruitfli (a.k.a. Jamie Ranieri) host a happy hour meet and greet with military ’mos and members of the Servicemember’s Legal Defense Network
(L-R: Lt. J Seefried & Chris Barnes, Ramze & Jim and Jamie Ranieri)
On the one-year anniversary of the month gay marriage became a reality in New York State, the NYC Pride parade was louder — and prouder — than ever this afternoon.
Rainbow flags flooded the streets and flamboyant drag queens paraded in wigs and sparkly dresses to kick off the 43rd annual LGBT Pride March, which 1.5 million people were expected to attend.
Grand Marshals of the event included Grammy-award winning artist Cyndi Lauper, who performed last night on Pier 54, and Chris Sagardo, the openly gay president of Kiehl’s, the beauty and skincare line. Phyllis Siegel and Connie Kopelov, the first same-sex couple to get married in the city following the passage of New York’s gay marriage law, also served as grand marshals for the event.
The past 12 months have seen some watershed moments in gay rights: In June 2011, the New York state Legislature voted to allow gay marriage in the state. One month later, in July, President Barack Obama announced the official repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military.
According to flirters at Flaming Saddles bar | By Carrie Seim
“Say, ‘It’s a good thing same-sex marriage is legal in New York, because I’m already planning our wedding.’ ” Matthew
“Say, ‘When I’m around you I can’t think straight.’ ” Nicole
“Wear a rainbow T-shirt, then tell them they’re your pot of gold.” Mario
“Say, ‘Don’t worry, I brought protection,’ then hand them a copy of the equal protection marriage law.” Matthew
“Ask if he’s really a shirtless cop or he just plays one during Pride.” Andy
Flaming Saddles | 793 Ninth Ave., nr. 53rd St.; 212-713-0481
An establishment that (like straight dancing-bartender predecessors such as Hogs & Heifers) pulls off the trick of being both rousingly festive and laid-back at the same time. The venue commits to its Wild West saloon theme with wood- plank floors, steer motif, Bonnie Raitt on the jukebox, and Westerns on TV. But it isn’t above pleasing its clientele with flashing rainbow lights and bar-dancing cowboy bartenders. The beers on tap are a tad expensive, but that’s more than made up for by two nightly happy hours: the usual four-to-eight, plus an Absolut-ly Stoli Happy Hour (two-for-one vodka drinks) from midnight to one.
From the 2012 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine
No, not those Giants! Last night, a club for New York’s tallest men convened in Hell’s Kitchen for drinks, conversation, and (sorry, ladies) a lineup of dancing, muscled cowboys at Flaming Saddles, the Western-themed gay bar co-owned by Jacqui Squatriglia, the famed choreographer of Coyote Ugly.
The group, Tall Gay Agenda, is a coterie of gay men from assorted backgrounds, united by their lofty stature. “6’2 and up,” is the general rule of admission, with a range that extends to over 7′.
Membership is obtained through word of mouth, or tall applicants can apply to the group’s Facebook page for updates on the next meeting’s location, which is apt to change.
And while fans of tall men are always welcome, the shorter set seemed a little ill at ease last night among the towering group. “I should have worn my heels, I feel like I’m lost in a forest,” one petite guest quipped, jumping up and down to attract attention.
Founded by Justin Ocean, Evan Hoyt Thompson and his husband Addison Smith, TGA was born out of a casual joke among tall friends. In an interviewwith NEXT Magazine, Mr. Thompson states:
“A few years ago, we went to this party that [Magnetic Fields frontman] Stephin Merritt was having in the East Village for short guys and their admirers called Runt,” Thompson told us. “We met Stephin and joked with him about how fun it would be to be in a room with everyone the same height.”
And a movement was born. Although it was a Monday night, Flaming Saddles was packed with, overall, the kind of guys you’d bring home to mama. Tall, attractive, fit, and educated, the men drank beer and cocktails, debating topics like the Republican primaries and the last Harvard-Yale tailgate. And although the crowd tended toward the white-collar, there were enough creative types like actors, photographers, poets, and opera singers to provide conversational diversity.
While flirtation was certainly an element, many guests claimed to be attracted to TGA by a feeling of tall fraternity. “Never has 6’3″ felt this small,” one member glowed after the night was over, and friends agreed, commenting on how refreshing it was to look others in the eye–or look up–for a change.
Many also bonded over the shared travails that come with living at a higher elevation. Common complaints included airline legroom (it’s discriminatory against the tall!), back pain (gravity!), and shorter life expectancy. But in particular, members commiserated over the gawking they often receive among those of average heights.
“I hate it when people ask if we play basketball,”said one tall, suited, professional, as he checked his blackberry. “I’m a lawyer, I haven’t played basketball since high school.”
“Yeah,” responded one giraffe-hatted young man, laughing. “And the weather up here is just fine.”
Left: Co-founder Evan Hoyt Thompson, Photo via | Right: Daniel Reynolds, Dennis Kwan, Will Sheridan, Evan Hoyt Thompson
A western-styled cowboy-hatted joint has opened in Hell’s Kitchen, for those craving both a hoe-down and a ‘ho-down.’ It’s Flaming Saddles Saloon, which goes against the sophisticated, too-cool-for-school trend in gay nightlife, instead promising friendly cowpokes, so to speak, and hot shooters, as it were. It’s “the new kickass Western Gay Saloon, where the bartenders strut their stuff (behind as well as on top of the bar) & always aim to please. Customers are advised to pull themselves up by their boot traps, put on their Tight Ass Jeans, and boogie on over to the wild Wild West Side of NYC.”
YEE HAW! – Michael Musto
It looks like it could be an actual Western bar and not something over dramatized with leftover Annie Get Your Gun props lining the bar. A cute addition to the coyote ugly style saloon is that the servers do some line dancing on the bar. The wait staff, which was rocking all different shapes and sizes, got up on the bar periodically to give everyone a little show. More than anything I’m excited to try out their menu of burgers, chili cheese tots, and ice cream sandwiches! A bar that sells burgers and ice cream sandwiches… come on! What more does a boy want?! With different drink specials every day of the week, I assure you I’ll be back to try out each and every one of them. Now they just need to knock down a wall and add a mechanical bull. AM I RIGHT?!
The cowboy-booted staff hoofed on top of the bar with the glee of chorus boys while a mixed, friendly crowd took advantage of the beer. A very welcome addition to the ever-expanding Hell’s Kitchen boy-bar crawl.
