Gay Travel Buddy

Bonfire Steakhouse in JFK airport – gay friendly

We all love to travel, or we probably wouldn’t be on this website. So I chose to take a minute to review some airport bars and restaurants. I’ll start with JFK, one of the most popular and highly trafficked airports in the United States.

Coming home from the holidays at JFK, we had an hour to kill in Terminal 7, the United/Continental terminal. There isn’t much in the way of food options: a McDonalds, an Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Balducci’s, and a Wolfgang Express. Seeing as how we wanted to sit and enjoy the hour, we opted for Bonfire Steakhouse, which is an actual full service restaurant.

With prices ranging from $11 for guacamole and chips to $18 for a Quesadilla, the prices aren’t cheap, even compared to regular inflated airport pricing. Considering it is a Steakhouse, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the steak itself, priced in the $28 to $35 dollar range with sides coming in at $8 each.  A glass of wine will run you $12 a glass and a large beer will set you back $10.50.

We made a beeline for the bar, which was occupied by two single gentlemen and two women adjacent at a table. It was obvious to us that one of the gentlemen and the two ladies were LGBT and we weren’t quite sure about the other man until we logged on to Grindr and saw him.

The waitress was friendly without being in your business but remained attentive to our needs.

One of the gentlemen made a comment that it seemed awfully hot in the restaurant and she replied “maybe it’s the company at the bar.” Normally, a comment like that could have been insulting, but was said in such a way, you could tell she meant it, and in a positive and knowing tone. She followed the comment up with me later when I asked, and told me that somehow Bonfire Steakhouse had become the unofficial “gay bar” of Terminal 7, and she assured me she wanted it no other way. According to her, we as an LGBT community tend to be more fun, more outgoing and tip better.

Yes, the pricing is higher than a normal airport establishment, but it has won this traveler over with its good service, decent food, friendly staff, and some nice eye candy decorating the bar. As I am wrapping up this article, a rather handsome gentleman has sat down at the opposite end of the bar and is giving us an alluring smile. Hmm, somehow gay-dar is in full force in Terminal 7 at JFK.

I know it may be hard to believe, but there are a ton of gay guys in New York City.  All joking aside, there is a lot to do in Manhattan.  I took a few photos on my last business trip, I was hoping to take more but I will take more on my next visit in about a month.

My writing is assuming you have either never been to NYC before or have not seen much on previous trips.  I did not first visit the city until I was 24, but living all of my life in California it’s not exactly a 20-minute drive.

The city is broken up in sections and burrows, with very light borders.  The upper East and West sides are more known for residences and some high end shopping, apartments and homes are known for being the high rent district.  Which is not saying much, since it’s easy to spend $5k a month on a 1 bedroom for rent.  Typically the upper side starts off in the 70’Th street numbers, give or take a few.

Mid Town is also broken down in an East and West division.  The West side is known for Times Square, which basically starts at the upper 30’s and goes up to about 60^th St, between 5^th and 9^th.  West of 9^th is Hell’s Kitchen, you may see HK in ads or when someone talks about Hells Kitchen.  Hell’s Kitchen has been an up and coming gayborhood for the past 6 years or so.  HK is a great spot for it’s wide range of restaurants; some of my favorite places are around there.  If you are a fan of Argentinean Empanada’s stop by Empanada Mama, which is just around the corner from Posh one of my favorite gay bars in Hell’s Kitchen.

Time’s Square is home to some of the best shows on and off Broadway, there is tons of information all over regarding what’s playing and when.  Time’s Square is also the hotel hotspot in Manhattan; you will have a hard time walking 20 steps without walking past a hotel.  Since it is the single largest concentration of hotels, it is going to be the most cost effective place to stay.  If your budget permit’s staying in Chelsea or other parts of the city will provide a less congested and more comfortable place to get in and out of.  Personally I am a fan of the Starwood brand of Hotels, which include Westin, W, Sheraton and St. Regis to name a few.  The Starwood chain is very gay friendly and if you ever have a problem, CALL their main office and tell them about it.  They will take action immediately.

I would suggest avoiding the Sheraton Manhattan, it’s old and run down, however much cheaper than the Sheraton Towers just across the street.  If you can afford to stay at the Towers then do it, even though I have had my problems with the Towers,, its much newer and the rooms are nicer.  The Westin and the W are my favorite Times Square properties, but they are pricey.  I have arranged a few discounts with the Westin and the W hotel, see links I posted below.  I am not going to hide it, I get a little kick back when you book with these links, but it helps pay for my $200 a month hosting bill.  There is also a 4 Points Sheraton on 40^th, I just stayed there for the first time this trip.  The rooms are freshly remodeled and though are small are comfortable.  My biggest peeve with the 4 points is the hallways and elevators are not air-conditioned and it feels like a sauna in there.

On the West side below 30^th is Chelsea, another heavily gay neighborhood that has a nice selection of bars, restaurants and a few hotels.  My favorite restaurants in Chelsea are Cafeteria a fun place that has some very fun spins on dishes like their deep fried mac and cheese spring rolls, these things are to die for!  A few of the great local gay bars are XES, Baracuda, G Lounge and Splash NYC a big gay club that is very expensive and of course they have hot guys dancing on the bars in their underwear so it is worth the price of admission.  Unfortunately Splash also has all of the hot New Yorkers, who know they are hot and look down on everyone else as if they are second rate humans, my single word for them “CUNT”.  That should sum it up all in a jiff!

Chelsea is also home to one of my favorite coffee shops in North America, Grumpy Coffee.  This place has some great organic coffee and espresso.  I am a caffeine junky and just one shot of their espresso has me shaking for an hour.

Just below Chelsea is the Village, it’s another hopping gay area with tons of great food options and bars as well.  Not much for hotel’s, maybe a bed and breakfast.  I attempted to stay in what they called a hotel in the Village once, the manager gave my room to someone else.  I showed up at 1am as agreed upon in my reservation and was sent away after pre-paying for my room, never the less I reversed the charges.  I wrote a review on Expedia about it, but they rejected it.  Don’t believe the hotel reviews there, I often find fake reviews from the hotel owners there.

When planning on flying to New York, there are 3 major airports that cover this large metropolitan area.  JFK, is the largest and is pretty far from NYC, you can take a train, cab or limo to the city.  My experience is the town car drivers from all of the companies ALWAYS show up late to JFK.  They will make up half a dozen excused but I am stuck either freezing or sweating my balls off on the curb with them saying I am 2 minutes away, 30 minutes later they show up.  Just take a cab, it’s a flat $45 to anywhere in NYC and they have to take credit cards, make sure you tell them in advance to prevent the argument when you get to your hotel.  DO NOT take rides from the guys just outside the airport, a few years ago I made the mistake and the guy made me sit in the front seat of his PEACE OF SHIT sedan that had no shocks, after my teeth where ground down from fear he had the audacity to demand $100 for the ride.  I told him to fuck himself and gave him $40 and told him to call the cops if he had an issue with it.  I just don’t want you to go through the same shit I have.

Laguardia (LGA) is the closest option, however none of the carriers on the West Coast fly directly to LGA, you can fly to Denver and take United over.  From SFO I prefer the United PS service, which is a 3 cabin flight.  The Business class is great and they have WIFI.  I am writing this article from my connecting flight from Denver to Las Vegas or as I call it HELL.  The PS flight also has all Economy Plus seating as well, which if you cannot upgrade makes it a little better for 5 hours.  Just a tip, on every row in Economy Plus there is an 110 AC plug under the middle of the seat.  There is no indication that it’s there, so before you sit look for it.

Newark (EWR) or as my friend calls it, Bayroot is your 3^rd option.  Flights may be cheaper both in and out of Newark but the cab ride will make up for it.  Expect $100 each way, it’s not a fixed rate.  Do yourself a favor and NEVER stay in hotels in Newark, it’s an awful city and if you walk down the wrong road you can kiss you wallet and life good bye!