Arts & Entertainment
San Antonio makes great gay winter escape spot
Tex Mex food, biodiversity and thriving nightlife among features
San Antonio makes for a perfect winter get away. Temperatures stay mild, the historic city offers plenty to do complete with a great LGBTQ nightlife scene with all the bars except one located close together on Main Street. The historic city is a mix of Mexican, German, Spanish and native cultures and of course features the River Walk.
Getting there: I paid just $200 on Southwest Airlines round trip to SAT (the airport code for the city airport). Once there, catch the VIA no. 5 bus Yto downtown for just $1.30. You can take VIA all around the city and they have two cultural buses to all the attractions. An all-day pass is just $2.75. Plan your trip at viainfo.net
Where to stay: I stayed at the Grand Hyatt one night and the Marriott River Center the other four. Both were great. Bargain hunters will want to stay at the LaQuinta or TRU by Hilton. All are near the famous RiverWalk area downtown.
What to do: Make your first stop to the Alamo, site of the famous battle against Mexico which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Texas. The building was constructed in 1724.
Walk north on the RiverWalk to the Art Museum which is located in an old Brewery. The Museum is open until 8 p.m. on Fridays.
Take the 11B VIA bus to the Botanical Gardens which features three different areas of Texas botany. The region is unusual as plants from the east meet plants from the Southwest. They also have endemic species unique to the limestone-covered Hill Country. Palms, oaks, cacti, pines and Mexican species make for an interesting biogeography.
Take the VIA 11A bus to The Witte Museum to learn about Texas culture, history and biogeography. The museum is free and open until 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Learn about the regions of the state and its colorful history. Don’t mess with Texas. It still has an independent streak.
Don’t miss the Pearl District just north of downtown. The former brewery has interesting shops and restaurants.
The food everywhere is excellent and features great Tex Mex and Mexican as well as German.
The San Antonio Gayborhood may be found on Main Street just north of downtown. Make your fist stop Pegasus Bar (1402 Main St.) which features great drink specials and a friendly crowd. Fierce Fridays features $2 wells and $2 beers. Try the Shiner Bock or Lone Star beer.
Nearby is Heat, a dance bar at 1500 N. Main.
You can pick up new clothes or leather gear at Ouch Apparel and Hard Core Leather. Knockout Pizza is good for a bite.
Across the street on Main is Luther’s Café and Bar which features Wigstock Karaoke on Fridays.
Dance the night away at the Bonham Exchange. The two-story building is located in an old German meeting hall. The mixed crowd allows minors and can be found at 411 Bonham downtown. On Saturdays, they have strippers plus a great dance area on two floors. They were having a Studio 54 birthday party the night I was there.
Travel tips: Out in San Antonio is its LGBTQ publication (outinsa.com) and has bar ads to help you plan your visit. The Current is the city’s weekly paper, which also has great ideas.
Visitsanantonio.com is your one stop shop for information on all the attractions and upcoming events. Thanks to Eva Alvallotis for the help.
San Antonio makes for a great winter get away and is a big city with a small town feel without the attitude of Austin or the big city hassles of Dallas and Houston. Plus a great gay scene
Bill Malcolm is an Indianapolis-based traveler whose syndicated LGBTQ value travel column appears in publications around the country. He does this as a hobby.
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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”
Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.
Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.
“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.
Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”
Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.
Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.
Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.
Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.
Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.
Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”
The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.
Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.
“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.
On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”
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