Selecting Riverfront Times' Best of St. Louis 2011 was no picnic. Choosing the winner meant several worthy candidates would go unmentioned -- until now. In this RFT Music series, we're beeboping and scattin' our way through notable runners up in a number of categories. This week: The best gay bars in St. Louis.
See also: The Ten Best 3 a.m. bars in St. Louis. The Ten Best Neighborhood Bars in St. Louis The Ten Best Sports Bars in St. Louis The Ten Best Juke Boxes in St. Louis The Nine Best Blues Clubs in St. Louis
Absolutli Goosed Martini Bar Oh my, can the bartenders make a good drink here. Known to regulars as "Goosed," this place keeps newbies and old friends alike coming back again and again for fierce cocktails and a chill bar atmosphere. With tons of small but tall tables for two, this place is a perfect place to take first date. While the capacity is low and the tiny space creates intimacy, it's not necessarily a mingling atmosphere. So bring your date here and get him drunk on classy cosmos -- you won't have to worry about him going home with anybody else.
Attitudes Bar & Grill Attitudes was one of St. Louis' first gay dance clubs. It's still everything a club should be: dark, mirrored, crowded and loud. The space has a built-in stage for entertainment and drag shows, but on the weekends it's a full-on hedonistic dance-fest. There's a little cage for the exhibitionists to freak-dance in, a deep dance floor lined with leather couches and a long perch above the crowd to watch the action from above -- highly recommended if you're into people-watching. Visit Attitudes if you're seeking lots of people, reasonable drink prices and bumpin' bass.
Boxers 'n Briefs Boxers 'n Briefs' website boasts: "All races, colors, sexes and sexual orientations are welcome," and that is the damn truth. It doesn't matter if you're gay, straight or a penis-veil-wearing bachelorette, if you want to ogle dancing dudes, this is the only place to be. The cover charge is a little steep -- $10 on the weekends -- but you get hours of fun. The entertainment rotates all night, and it doesn't take the dancers long to get fully nude and do acrobatic flips right on the bar; here the entertainers are very accessible. The club also boasts a shower (on the bar -- for the dancers to perform in), private rooms and a drag show every Sunday night.
