Cruising Waiters in West Hollywood, Florida, and New York

Ok, I've told you about 114 boyfriends, dates, hookups, and sharing experiences on four continents over a period of 36 years.  I have a few more good dating/hookup stories, but it's about time to expand to some of the other things I've done.  Like eat.

My memories of places I've lived often center on restaurants where we went.  The food, the waiters, the people I went with, and the food.

1. Rock Island.  Harris Pizza, no question, the best in the universe.  We ordered several times a year when I was growing up, and I always insisted on getting it when I returned for a visit.  Once I tried to pick up the guy at the counter, but my friend Dick did instead.  They've been together ever since.

2. Bloomington, Indiana.  Viju and I used to go to Bob's Burgers (no relation to the tv show)  after an unsuccessful night of cruising at Bullwinkle's, and sometimes with out hookups after a successful night.  You could get a hamburger with a fried egg on top.  The waiters were paid extra to get enthusiastic over the food.  And they never gave us weird looks for being two (or four) men together.

3. West Hollywood.  Obviously the French Quarter, our go-to place for brunch, lunch, and an occasional dinner.  Remarkable for their 8" long fried zucchini sticks.  And for their cute waiters who flirted for tips.  If you sat at the little tables outside, sooner or later everyone you knew would pass by.  Once I hooked up with our waiter -- the next day, when I saw him at the gym.



4. San Francisco.  Orphan Andy's, with a diner atmosphere, cute waiters, and even cuter clientele at the beginning of Castro Street.  It was also cruisy -- my friend David hooked up with a lot of guys there.

5. New York.  There were about 10 Thai restaurants in a 10 block radius of my apartment, but I always went to a little Thai restaurant near the Flatiron Building that's not there anymore.  Stuffed, deep-fried chicken wings with a sweeet sauce!  Never found them anywhere else. I brought Yuri there the first time he visited me in Manhattan.




6. Paris.  Speaking of Thai restaurants, during my summer in Paris I went to Suam Thai almost every night, and I tried to go back whenever I visited later.  No Angel wings, but good pad thai to go. I managed to hook up with the chef -- while he was still working.

7. Florida.  The Courtyard Cafe, Wilton Manors' answer to the French Quarter, with a huge patio where dozens of gay men gathered for brunch every Saturday.  Lunch was ok, too.  My friend hooked up with a waiter here, and dated him for six months.

8. Amsterdam.  Indrapura, an Indonesian restaurant notable for its chicken and beef satay, was on Rembrandtplein, just across the street from the guest house I always stayed in, and less than a mile from the Horseman's Club.  I never hooked up with any waiters, but I did get cruised by a lot of the regulars.


9. Dayton.  I didn't eat out much, but when I did, it was Giovanni's in Fairborn, the best pizza outside of Rock Island.  You walked through a narrow hall to get there, where you could see the pizzas being made by muscular guys in tight green t-shirts.

10. Upstate New York.  The Neptune Diner, one of those old-fashioned glass and steel diners that advertises "steaks and chops," whatever those are, but has a menu 30 pages long. I liked the gyros, the moussaka, the pancakes, and the chicken.  Chad, the housemate of the Satyr , who I dated in the fall of 2008, was a waiter there.

11. The Midwest.   No gay restaurants in this small town -- there's a gay coffee house with a limited menu -- so we always go to the Lone Star Barbecue for breakfast.  Pancakes, "cowboy potatoes," and brisket-omelettes.  Plus a long-haired hipster waiter with a ripped chest and huge biceps.  I've seen him naked at the gym.  It's only a matter of time...

Ok, looks like I included a few hookups here, too.