Omnivore - Restaurant patron's gaydar goes berserk
A visit to Havana Restaurant
A reader writes:
I don't believe we've ever met, but I've read your Creative Loafing food columns for over a decade, so you're the first one I think of when it comes to a dining/restaurant question. Plus you're gay, which is kind of the crux of my particular question. I hope this doesn't sound odd; I'm being completely genuine here.
Last night, I guess around 9PM, I went by the Havana Restaurant on Buford Highway at Clairmont Road. That place has been one of my favorites since before the old location on North Druid Hills as Havana Sandwich Shop burned down. I had gone there to get a pork dinner plate, which has always impressed me as a large portion of good food at a good price (I can make 2-3 meals out of it for under $10).
Anyway, when I entered the restaurant, there had to be 30-40 guys in there, with an average age range of 40-50. And my gaydar went off the register.
I got several warm smiles as I wove my way through the crowd to the back where you normally place your order, but before I got there an employee came out to inform me that they were closing and wouldn't be taking any more orders. I should have struck up a conversation with some of the guys there to find out if this was some kind of food club or something, but I've always been overly, painfully shy at striking up conversations face-to-face with random strangers like that.
Anyway, do you have any idea which/what group that might have been? I'm aware of "The Big Gay Supper Club," but it wasn't them and I'm not familiar with any others.
Nope, I have no clue who it could be. If anyone out there knows, please leave a comment.